Our 46th Season
Four Community Concerts
Sundays at 3 p.m.

“Congratulations and thank you to Larry Block and the incredibly talented members of the Highland Park Strings! May they continue to provide a cultural focal point for our city and beyond.” – Nancy Rotering Mayor of Highland Park

As we prepare to embark on our 46th season, we take pride in all we have accomplished. Over 450 unique works performed for over 100,000 persons. We are grateful for the support of the Highland Park Community Foundation, the Negaunee Foundation, the M.S. Bauer Foundation and the many individual contributors. Under the direction of Dr. Allan Dennis we look forward to a very special season

The opening concert on October 27 will feature our neighbor BAIRD DODGE in his debut performance with the Strings. Baird joined the Chicago Symphony as a violist in 1996. He moved to the second violin section that same year. In 2002, he was appointed principal second violin by Daniel Barenboim, a position he has held with distinction for 22 years. In this all Brahms concert Baird will perform his magnificent Concerto for Violin–the only one written by Brahms. The Strings will add the Academic Festival Overture and the delightful Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn.

For our “Holiday” Concert on December 8, we are thrilled to have another esteemed member of the Chicago Symphony,
JOHN BRUCE YEH, also make his debut performance with the Strings. John joined the CSO in 1977, the first Asian musician ever appointed to the CSO and now is the longest serving clarinetist in CSO history. Currently serving as Assistant Principal Clarinet and Solo Eb Clarinet. John will perform the Concerto for Clarinet by Mozart and the Strings will play, in this “nearly” all strings concert, the Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony by Mahler and the brilliant Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky.

Our Gala Benefit Concert in the acoustically perfect Bennett Gordon Hall at Ravinia on February 2
brings back for his sixth appearance with us the brilliant pianist ALON GOLDSTEIN. Considered one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, Alon has played with the Chicago Symphony as well as the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver symphonies among many others. In this all Russian Program, Alon will play the thrilling Concerto No. 3 by Serge Prokofiev and the Strings will perform for the first time Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov.

The final concert on May 18 will present the amazing phenom, 17 year old CECILIA O’MALLEY. An accomplished violinist, cellist, and pianist, she began her musical studies at the age of two! Performing at the highest level on all three instruments Cecilia currently serves as Concertmaster of Midwest Young Artists Symphony Orchestra and previously served as Principal Cello of the Chicago Youth Symphony. In a dazzling display of her talent, Cecilia will play the Rococo Variations for Cello by Tchaikovsky and La Campanella from Paganini’s Violin Concerto. The concert will begin with the Overture to William Tell by Rossini and the season will conclude with the great Symphony No. 5 of Beethoven.

Lawrence Block
Founder and General Manager
With Pride in the Past, We Embrace the Future
Phone: 847.831.3622