Adopt-a-School Program

The ESO’s new Adopt-A-School program is a partnership with area schools, designed to enhance the schools’ existing music curriculum and foster meaningful, personal connections between ESO musicians and area students, their families, teachers, and school administrators. Over the course of the school year, four “instrument family” ensembles (strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion) will visit 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, engaging students in musical activities and acquainting them with orchestral instruments. In the Spring, students and teachers will attend the ESO’s annual Ainsworth Concerts for Youth at the ESO’s home venue, the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin. As the culmination of a musical introduction begun in the classroom, the live Ainsworth concert will be a field trip for students, which generates its own kind of excitement. Adopt-A-School aims to increase students’ interest in instrumental music and foster connections between musicians and students, thereby promoting engaged learning and positive experiences with orchestral music.

We are excited to announce that applications are officially open to be part of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Adopt-a-School Program for the 2023-24 academic year! We invite interested schools to visit the link below, and send a completed application to us by email to m.bennett@elginsymphony.org by August 1st, 2023. Please note that this program is intended for elementary students grade 3-5.