Internationally-renowned conductors showcase their talents in front of an award-winning orchestra as the transformative winds of change dance across the stage. The Elgin Symphony Orchestra treats music lovers to an exciting slate of conductors, music and themes for its 63rd season, opening Saturday, Sept. 8

The overarching theme, “World of Change,” reflects the music director search as a catalyst for change at the ESO, the global nature of the music director candidates and guest artists, and several works in the season’s programming that were inspired by nature and appreciation for world culture. A full listing of all concert dates and music to be performed are provided in the season preview brochure available on the ESO web site at http://www.elginsymphony.org/
Musically, the ESO’s classics series, known as Classic Masterworks, brings audiences the greatest works from throughout classical repertoire. Staying within the classical tradition, the ESO will present many works not previously performed by the orchestra.
Examples of pieces that are new the orchestra and ESO audiences include Piazzola’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks, Vaughan William’s The Lark Ascending, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor.
In the ESO’s Spotlight Pops series, the talents of a headlining performer are showcased against the backdrop of the extraordinary ESO. An example of such partnerships includes “A Night in Havana” on October 20 and 21, in which three-time Grammy-nominated Cuban music group Tiempo Libre accompanies the orchestra for an exciting weekend of Latin rhythms. Tiempo Libre’s Miami-based members are true modern heirs to the rich tradition of the music of their native Cuba. Classically trained at Cuba’s premier conservatories, today, the group is a hit in the U.S. and abroad, celebrated for its joyful performances of timba, an irresistible, dance-inducing mix of high-voltage Latin jazz and the seductive rhythms of son.
The ESO enters the second year of a multi-year search for a new music director, resulting in a series of guest conductors—selected from among the finest conducting talent in the world—who are vying to be the next music director.
Eight of the 13 finalists will take the podium in the new season. In order of appearance in the 2012-13 season, the finalists are Dorian Wilson (Sept. 8-9), Rafael Payare (Nov. 3-4), Stephen Squires (Nov. 17-18, Dec. 15-16 and Jan. 26-27), Ignat Solzhenitsyn (Jan. 11-13), Donata Cabrera (Feb. 9-10), Alastair Willis (March 8-10), Marcelo Lehninger (April 5-7), and Andrew Grams (May 4-5).
The remaining five finalists conducted the orchestra in the 2011-12 season.
For additional information about the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-2013 season or to be added to the ESO mailing list, please call 847-888-4000 or write to boxoffice@elginsymphony.org.