Lake County Symphony Orchestra

Lake County Symphony Orchestra Musicians With Passion Serving the Community. We present six concerts each season, with two of them being free outdoor concerts right at home in Zion, Illinois.

We are an ensemble of passionate musicians dedicated to serving Lake County, Illinois by providing quality and exciting music for all ages. Tickets for our classical series are available through our website, and donations are gratefully accepted. Thank you for your support!

One of the best parts of a real piano bar night?The audience helps shape the show.Request something.Sing along.Laugh whe...
06/05/2026

One of the best parts of a real piano bar night?

The audience helps shape the show.

Request something.
Sing along.
Laugh when somebody asks for something unexpected.
Stay for “just one more song.”

That’s the atmosphere Alyse Merry brings to Piano Bar Classics this Friday night in Gurnee.

Live music.
Cash bar.
Friday Fish Fry.
BBQ.
And a room full of songs people actually know.

🎟 Tickets:
Link in Bio
https://lcso.short.gy/Post771-PianoBar

FRIDAY NIGHT PLANS.Live piano bar.Audience requests.Sing-alongs.Cash bar.Friday Fish Fry.BBQ.On Friday, June 5, Alyse Me...
06/03/2026

FRIDAY NIGHT PLANS.

Live piano bar.
Audience requests.
Sing-alongs.
Cash bar.
Friday Fish Fry.
BBQ.

On Friday, June 5, Alyse Merry brings Piano Bar Classics to American Legion Post 771 in Gurnee for a fun, high-energy night of live music built around the songs everybody knows.

Billy Joel.
Elton John.
Journey.
Queen.
Sinatra.
Taylor Swift.
Adele.
And your requests.

JR SMOKEHOUSE BBQ will be on site with their Friday Fish Fry and BBQ menu throughout the evening.

This is not a formal concert.
It’s a Friday night out.

🗓 Friday, June 5
🕔 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 American Legion Post 771 – Gurnee

🎟 Tickets: Link in Bio
https://lcso.short.gy/Post771-PianoBar

This is not a sit-quietly-and-clap kind of night.Piano Bar Classics returns on Friday, June 5 at American Legion Post 77...
05/27/2026

This is not a sit-quietly-and-clap kind of night.

Piano Bar Classics returns on Friday, June 5 at American Legion Post 771 in Gurnee featuring Alyse Merry live at the piano.

Requests.
Sing-alongs.
Classic hits.
Big ballads.
Drinks.
Fish Fry.
BBQ.

Billy Joel, Elton John, Journey, Sinatra, Queen, Adele, Taylor Swift and more.

Bring friends. Bring requests. Come hungry.

Come enjoy the crowd favorite Friday Fish Fry specials and Jrsmokehousebbq LLC catering will be on site with BBQ throughout the evening.

🗓 Friday, June 5
🕔 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
📍Gurnee American Legion Post 771

🎟 Tickets: Link in Bio
https://lcso.short.gy/Post771-PianoBar

Gurnee Park District
Visit Lake County, Illinois
Village of Gurnee
Waukegan Park District Navy Band Great Lakes
ArtsLink North Grayslake Area Chamber of Commerce

What a night. ✨Thank you to everyone who joined us for Roots & Resonance on May 8 at the James Lumber Center for the Per...
05/26/2026

What a night. ✨

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Roots & Resonance on May 8 at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County .

From the opening notes to the final applause, this concert was a reminder of what live music can do — bring people together, tell stories across cultures and generations, and create moments that stay with us long after the performance ends.

We are incredibly grateful to our guest music director Eli Chen, guest soloist Bahareh Poureslami, composer Sepehr Pirasteh, our dedicated musicians, volunteers, board members, and everyone who supported this special evening.

The response from both our audience and guest artists meant the world to us, and we are honored to share some of those reflections in this post.

To everyone who attended:
Thank you for supporting live orchestral music in Lake County.

And if you missed this concert…
you missed something truly special. ❤️

Grayslake Area Chamber of Commerce ArtsLink North Illinois Council of Orchestras

Wednesday night rehearsal for Roots & Resonance — Lake County Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert.Three very different wor...
05/07/2026

Wednesday night rehearsal for Roots & Resonance — Lake County Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert.

Three very different works.
Three completely different musical languages.
One program we’ve been looking forward to sharing for a long time.

Michael-Thomas Foumai’s Concerto Grosso opens the evening with sharp rhythmic energy and constant interaction across the ensemble.

Sepehr Pirasteh’s "When They Broke Down the Door" brings text, voice, and orchestra together in a newly reworked orchestration created for this performance.

And in the second half, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 appears in Klaus Simon’s chamber arrangement — reducing a work often performed by 70+ musicians down to just 17 performers on stage.

Guest conductor Eli Chen leads the program, joined by soprano Bahareh Poureslami .

Friday, May 8 • 7:30 PM
James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County

🎟 Tickets:
lcso.short.gy/May2026-Concert

Visit Lake County, Illinois Grayslake Area Chamber of Commerce ArtsLink North Illinois Arts Council Illinois Council of Orchestras

Just 2 days away!A quick look at the program: Foumai Pirasteh (new orchestration) Mahler (chamber version) This combinat...
05/06/2026

Just 2 days away!

A quick look at the program:
Foumai
Pirasteh (new orchestration)
Mahler (chamber version)

This combination only happens once.

Get your tickets today!
🎟 https://lcso.short.gy/May2026-Concert
pi Eli Chen Bahareh Poureslami .baha Michael-Thomas Foumai James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County ArtsLink North Sepehr Pirasteh Grayslake Area Chamber of Commerce Illinois Arts Council Illinois Council of Orchestras

Some pieces begin with sound.This one begins with a poem.Sepehr Pirasteh’s When They Broke Down the Door! is based on a ...
05/04/2026

Some pieces begin with sound.

This one begins with a poem.

Sepehr Pirasteh’s When They Broke Down the Door! is based on a text by poet Fatemeh (Shahrzad) Shams, translated by Dick Davis. The writing is direct and personal, and the music follows that same path—focused, detailed, and closely shaped around the text.

For this performance, Pirasteh has created a new orchestration for the Lake County Symphony Orchestra.

Soprano Bahareh Poureslami joins the orchestra in this work, carrying the text through the ensemble rather than standing apart from it. Her work across both opera and concert repertoire, along with her connection to contemporary music, makes her a natural fit for a piece like this.

This is where the center of the program sits.

Lead by guest music director Eli Chen
Friday, May 8
7:30 PM
James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts

🎟 Tickets & Info: Link in Bio
https://lcso.short.gy/May2026-Concert

Silk Road Cultural Center .road.cultural.center .smchs Association of the Friends of Persian Culture Arab American Cultural Center at UIC .baha .pi Grayslake Area Chamber of Commerce ArtsLink North James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County

A typical performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 uses 60 to 80 musicians.This one uses 17.Sixteen instrumentalists and o...
05/02/2026

A typical performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 uses 60 to 80 musicians.

This one uses 17.

Sixteen instrumentalists and one soprano.

That changes everything.

Instead of a large symphonic sound, you hear individual lines clearly.
You notice how material moves between players.
Moments that might feel distant in a full orchestra become direct and exposed.

This version, arranged by Klaus Simon, keeps Mahler’s structure and character intact—but brings it into a much smaller space.

At the end, soprano Bahareh Poureslami sings Das himmlische Leben (“The Heavenly Life”), not over a large orchestra, but within it.

It’s still Mahler.
Just closer.

Friday, May 8
7:30PM
James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County

🎟 https://lcso.short.gy/May2026-Concert

ArtsLink North Eli Chen Illinois Arts Council

One week out.If you’ve been meaning to decide, this is the moment.What’s on the program:• Foumai — rhythm and structure•...
05/01/2026

One week out.

If you’ve been meaning to decide, this is the moment.

What’s on the program:
• Foumai — rhythm and structure
• Pirasteh — newly reworked for this orchestra
• Mahler — stripped down, closer than usual

Guest conductor Eli Chen leads.

Soprano Bahareh Poureslami joins for the second half.

This combination happens once.

May 8
7:30 PM

🎟 https://lcso.short.gy/May2026-Concert

Address

825 S Waukegan Road A8, #265
Lake Forest, IL
60045

Telephone

(847) 746-3472

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