Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra

🎭 Act I: Arrive at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. 🎭 Act II: Repack 21,840 pounds of food for seniors across Chicagoland. 🎭 Act III: Sing a little song, cry happy tears, & feel incredible.
Fin. 👏🥫❤️

Yesterday the Lyric Opera Orchestra family joined forces with LOSA and Lyric administration for our annual volunteer session, and, honestly?

Best. Performance. Yet.

Turns out, orchestra musicians are very good at packing things. Years of fitting instruments, stands, mutes, and snacks into tiny spaces finally paid off.

Alongside our colleagues from across Lyric, we helped repack 21,840 pounds of food and 848 cases for seniors across Chicagoland. Not a bad day’s work.

Different kind of rhythm. Same teamwork. Same attention to detail. Slightly fewer high notes.
Huge thanks to everyone who showed up, pitched in, and made it such a genuinely great day to be together.

From the pit to the community, we are proud to be part of this city.

The Soloists of the Lyric Opera Orchestra – Part 3

After Parts 1 and 2, you already know how this series goes: Lyric is packed with ballet, and our soloists are still out there stacking concerts like it’s the main plot.

This weekend, First Violinist Eleanor Bartsch returns to the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra as featured soloist in Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto for their program Symphonic Landscapes.

And this one comes with a story.

When Eleanor was concertmaster of the Dubuque Symphony, she and Music Director William Intriligator had talked about performing this very concerto together. At the time, they chose a different piece. Now, years later, they finally get to bring that shared vision to life. Full circle. Promise kept.

Intriligator calls the Barber “dessert” and honestly, who are we to argue with that?

From Lyric’s first violin section to Kontras Quartet tours across the U.S. and Europe, to serving as Professor of Violin and Head of Strings at Elmhurst University, Eleanor’s career is a true mix of performing, leading, teaching, and building. She has appeared with numerous symphonies and is widely sought after as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, concertmaster, soloist, educator, and entrepreneur. With two studio albums and major touring and residency work through Kontras Quartet, plus her return ties to Dubuque, she brings both deep experience and fresh momentum to every stage she steps onto.

If you read this from Dubuque, make sure to catch this! Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1, at 7:30 PM at the Five Flags Theater.

Opera may be between cycles… but our soloists are absolutely not resting.