Elmhurst Symphony Presents BEETHOVEN 9 on May 6

Music Director Stephen Alltop conducts the Elmhurst Symphony and Elmhurst Choral Union in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – one of the greatest symphonies of all time.

ELMHURST — The Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra (ESO) presents Beethoven 9 on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 7:00 PM at ESO’s home venue, Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, featuring Beethoven’s awe-inspiring masterpiece, Symphony No. 9, along with the beautiful and technically-challenging Violin Concerto by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Violinist Elinor Detmer, a Stanger Young Artist Competition Winner, and the Elmhurst Choral Union join ESO and music director/conductor, Stephen Alltop, for a magnificent evening. ESO’s popular pre-concert lecture with Ted Hatmaker will be held before the concert at 5:45PM. This will be Mr. Hatmaker’s last lecture before his retirement.

What’s Interesting About This Concert
Joy! Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony adapts the text of the “Ode to Joy”, a poem by Friedrich Schiller (with some additional text thrown in there by Beethoven himself). If there was ever a piece to feed your soul, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is it!
The very first symphony to ever employ a chorus (sung at this performance by the Elmhurst Choral Union), the work is considered Beethoven’s greatest and one of the most significant pieces of music in history.
The program opens by featuring violinist Elinor Detmer, winner of the 2022 Stanger Competition, in a performance of the Violin Concerto by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, widely considered one of the best (and most difficult) violin concertos ever written.

What’s Playing
Sibelius: Violin Concerto — I. Allegro moderato
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Who’s Performing
Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra
Elmhurst Choral Union
Members of Apollo Chorus of Chicago
Stephen Alltop Music Director & Conductor
Elinor Detmer Violin | 2022 Stanger Competition Winner
Michelle Areyzaga Soprano
Tetyana Vakhnovska Mezzo-Soprano
Peder Reiff Tenor
Bill McMurray Bass-Baritone

Learn More and Get Tickets
General Admission tickets ($35) and reduced fare tickets for Students and Seniors are available online at ElmhurstSymphony.org/event/beethoven-9.