Wheaton Symphony Orchestra

Wheaton Symphony Orchestra A summer-only orchestra that plays a wide array of music. The Wheaton Symphony was founded in 1959 by the longtime manager Donald Mattison.

Besides managing the day-to-day operations of the group, Don is also a member of the board and plays in the orchestra. Since that time, the Wheaton Symphony has performed annually each summer, getting through in three months what would normally take other semi-professional ensembles a year to perform. That means that we can offer to our audiences a wide variety of music in a compressed time-span.

No two of our concerts in a season are ever the same. Wheaton Symphony is made up of both older and younger players. While the majority of woodwind and brass performers have played with us for many seasons, the string sections, which tend to have more fluid membership due to the larger number of available seats, are often made up of a few long-time members plus many new faces. Altogether, the total number of performers tends to hang around eighty-five to ninety, fluctuating between performances due to differing needs. Anyone can join the Wheaton Symphony, but there is an audition process. However, once you have made it into the Symphony, you are never required to audition again, unless you are absent one year or wish to gain a better chair position. The Wheaton Symphony is a member of both the League of American Orchestras as well as the Illinois Council of Orchestras. This year we are offering a new promotion; you can contact us to receive a demo CD of past years' performances.

06/16/2018

This is the time that many of you are looking for information about the upcoming season, whether as a concertgoer or musician. In case you missed our update in March (see below), the Summer 2017 season was our last. The owner/creative director, who gave 59 seasons of hard work, dedication, and creativity to the symphony, made the decision to bring our chapter of musical history to a close. I know that we will all miss those nights of musical magic!Please honor us and continue to support great music and musicians by seeking out other orchestras to enjoy. Check out websites—there are community orchestras in Elgin and Elmhurst; many of the high schools and colleges in the area have terrific orchestras, such as the professional New Philharmonic at College of DuPage. Elmhurst College Philharmonic Orchestra has several members from Wheaton Symphony, performs wonderful programs including a world premier symphony in 2017, and most of their concerts are free! Our great conductor, Kevin McMahon, is the conductor of the Sheboygan Symphony in Wisconsin—plan a road trip one weekend and say hello! Once again, thank you for your support of Wheaton Symphony—we trust that you enjoyed listening to the music as much as we enjoyed making it!

07/16/2016

Tonight's the night - Great Men of Music! Some tickets still available. Concert starts at 8:00. Come join the fun!

This just in: memory isn't perfect. That's why you should save the remembering for really important things like birthday...
08/17/2015

This just in: memory isn't perfect. That's why you should save the remembering for really important things like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. So kill two birds with one stone - buy CDs of this season's concerts so you can keep your memory focused on giving CD's of this season's concerts for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. $25 gets you a two CD set of some of the best music ever written, what a deal! Buy one for yourself, buy one for a friend. Give the gift of music!

Order now: http://wheatonsymphony.org/order.html

The 2015 Season has concluded. Tickets can no longer be purchased, though any unused tickets can still be turned in as a charitable donation to the Orchestra. You will receive a form detailing your donation for tax purposes.

Thank you everyone for helping to make this season of the Wheaton Symphony great! This evenings performance of a Tribute...
08/09/2015

Thank you everyone for helping to make this season of the Wheaton Symphony great! This evenings performance of a Tribute to Judy Garland was an enormous success. The audience was especially thrilled by Joan Ellison's performance of Judy Garland's greatest hits and gave a standing ovation for Themes from Showboat.

Read about the details behind the music in this evening's to program notes:

http://wheatonsymphony.org/garland_notes.html

This 1927 collaboration between Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II was a turning point for the world of Broadway musicals. Productions up to this point were generally lighthearted in nature, often musical revues or comedies. Show Boat, based on the 1926 novel by Edna Ferber, explored racial prejud…

What a night! The penultimate concert of the Wheaton Symphony's 2015 season was a real blockbuster paying tribute to Joh...
08/02/2015

What a night! The penultimate concert of the Wheaton Symphony's 2015 season was a real blockbuster paying tribute to John Williams. As one of Hollywood's most prolific and beloved composers, Williams has led and interesting life that has taken him from burning skyscrapers to the open ocean, from the Egyptian desert to the Wild West, from magical moors to a galaxy far, far away. Check out the details in our expanded program notes; it's well worth the read.

http://wheatonsymphony.org/williams_notes.html

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) has composed, arranged, conducted, and performed music for film, television, and concert halls for over fifty years. The son of a jazz percussionist, Williams grew up on Long Island, New York, moving to Los Angeles with his family in 1948. He attended UCL…

Get the behind the scenes info on how last night's movie music became so memorable with our expanded program notes:http:...
07/26/2015

Get the behind the scenes info on how last night's movie music became so memorable with our expanded program notes:

http://www.wheatonsymphony.org/movies_notes.html

James Horner was one of the top film composers of the 1980s and 90s, achieving massive success and recognition through collaborations with directors James Cameron & Ron Howard, as well as his breakout work on two Star Trek films. A pianist from an early age, Horner studied at the Royal College of Mu…

Seats are filling up quickly. There are still some available!
07/26/2015

Seats are filling up quickly. There are still some available!

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344 Spring Road
Glen Ellyn, IL
60137

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(630) 790-1430

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Our Story

The Wheaton Symphony was founded in 1959 by longtime manager Donald Mattison. Besides managing the day-to-day operations of the group, Don was also a member of the board and played in the orchestra. Until 2018, the Wheaton Symphony performed annually each summer, getting through in three months what would normally take other semi-professional ensembles a year to perform. That meant that we could offer to our audiences a wide variety of music in a compressed time-span. No two of our concerts in a season were ever the same. Wheaton Symphony was made up of both older and younger players. While the majority of woodwind and brass performers had played with us for many seasons, the string sections, which tended to have more fluid membership due to the larger number of available seats, were often made up of a few long-time members plus many new faces. Altogether, the total number of performers tended to hang around eighty-five to ninety, fluctuating between performances due to differing needs. Anyone could join the Wheaton Symphony, but there was an audition process. However, once you had made it into the Symphony, you were never required to audition again, unless you were absent one year or wished to gain a better chair position. The Wheaton Symphony was a member of both the League of American Orchestras as well as the Illinois Council of Orchestras.

After its 59th season, the Wheaton Symphony officially ended. We thank all of our audiences over the years for your patronage and enthusiastic support, especially those people who returned year after year. After all, we did it all for all of you and for the love of music.