Elgin Area Chamber Of Commerce: Elgin Symphony Orchestra Presents Old American Songs April 2 And 3

Press release from the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce:

March 14, 2022

Elgin Symphony Orchestra presents Old American Songs April 2 and 3

Featuring Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and conductor Jose Luis Gomez
 

(March 9, 2022 -- Elgin, Ill.) The Elgin Symphony Orchestra (ESO) welcomes Grammy Award winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and Venezuelan-born Spanish conductor José Luis Gomez when it performs “Old American Songs” Saturday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 3, at 3 p.m. at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, Illinois. The program also includes Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal and Dvořák’s Symphony No.9, op.95, B.178, E minor “From the New World”. A pre-concert chat with the conductor will take place one hour before each concert.
Green has performed at prestigious opera houses, including The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, and Theatre an der Wein, and has been a guest soloist with several U.S. symphonies. In 2020, he made his debut with Columbus Opera for a digital residency and broadcast of the stage version of his best-selling book: “Sing for Your Life”. The book, published in 2016 and a New York Times bestseller, details Green’s personal and artistic journey from his time spent in Virginia’s juvenile detention facility to his rise on The Met stage.

Maestro Gomez is in his sixth season as music director at the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Gomez began his musical career as a violinist. He won international attention when he was awarded First Prize at the International Sir Georg Solti Conductor’s Competition in Frankfurt in September 2010, securing a sensational and rare unanimous decision from the jury, and leading to his appointment as assistant conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his performance at the ESO, he is also conducting in Belgium, and with the Colorado Symphony and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra during the 2021-22 season.

Tickets are available at the ESO Box Office, 20 DuPage Ct., Elgin, or by phone at 847-888-4000, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased online at ElginSymphony.org. Youth and student tickets are $10. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Proof of complete Covid-19 vaccination is required for all attendees; masks are optional.

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About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra has a long history of highlighting the works of world-renowned conductors, composers, and musicians, and of promoting the advancement of women in the arts. Founded in 1950 as a community orchestra, the ESO became a professional ensemble in 1985, in good part due to the leadership of the late Margaret Hillis, who was music director at the ESO from 1971-1985. Hillis was one of the first females to break through the male-dominated world of conducting and is credited with being the impetus behind the creation of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Association, the formation of the ESO League, and the start of the ESO’s outreach to youth through concerts for school students.

Today, the ESO continues to draw its creativity and artistry from the Elgin area and gives back to the community through ensemble members’ performances at local hospitals and retirement homes, free Listeners Club experiences, and open rehearsals.

The ESO has been named Orchestra of the Year four times by the Illinois Council of Orchestras (1988, 1999, 2005 and 2016).

The ESO is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. To learn more or to support the ESO, visit www.elginsymphony.org.

This press release was produced by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.