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A Brief History of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra

Fifty-five Chicago Chamber Orchestra seasons represent a distinguished Chicago tradition of admission-free concerts presented on highest artistic levels as a public cultural service.

Dieter Kober, founder and music director, developed the organization from an amateur string ensemble at the University of Chicago in 1952 to a professional orchestra-in-residence at the Art Institute of Chicago. From there it expanded into an independent cultural service organization. Under the guidance of a board of directors made up of prominent Chicago citizens, a full-sized Chicago Chamber Orchestra—35 musicians playing woodwind, brass, percussion and string instruments—became a reality in 1962. Initial funding was obtained by matching grants from the Music Performance Trust Funds of the Recording and Film Industries with audience support. Additional funding soon followed from a growing audience, governmental subsidies, and corporate and foundation grants.

With the enthusiastic support of directors, membership, and audiences Chicago Chamber Orchestra performances soon extended into many neighborhoods—museums, churches, public buildings, and educational institutions—with the objective of bringing great music directly to the community, to people from many different backgrounds, and to all ages. Thus, a significant service is offered, especially to those people for whom the rising cost of concert tickets make experiencing great music a luxury they cannot easily afford.

An extensive series of Music for Young Listeners was initiated in co-operation with the Chicago Board of Education and public schools. A series of outdoor concerts, Lakeside Promenades presented and sponsored by the Chicago Park District, included appearances for capacity audiences in the Lincoln Park’s Zoorokery and at the South Lagoon of the Museum of Science and Industry. By the mid-seventies Chicago Chamber Orchestra concerts were regularly scheduled in auditoriums of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Historical Society, Shedd Aquarium, Carson Pirie Scott Department Store, and Apollo Savings Bank.

Notable performance locations for special concerts include the Cathedral of St. James, Fourth Presbyterian Church, and ballrooms of the city’s most elegant hotels. The orchestra was honored to perform for the festive opening of Preston Bradley Hall following renovation of the former Chicago Public Library. The now renamed Chicago Cultural Center has become the Chicago Chamber Orchestra’s favorite and most popular concert site.

The orchestra’s participation in many other civic functions included performances for the King and Queen of Denmark; Prince Charles of England; and heads of state from Germany, Ireland, Africa, and Australia The orchestra has commemorated the Great Chicago Fire, Chicago’s Pan-American Festival, and the inauguration ceremonies for The Eternal Flame at Daley Plaza.

The scope of the orchestra’s activities was eventually extended to concertizing in the Midwest, North, and South of the United States; to producing and presenting radio and television programs; and releasing phonograph and compact disc recordings, including the music of Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Nielsen, Prokofiev, and Copland. Its distinctive repertory of music, ranging from the Baroque to the Contemporary, and its diverse soloists, drawn from its own ranks as well as artists of international renown, has drawn universal praise, including four ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Arrangers and Publishers) and one NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) awards. Following its triumphant tour of l989 as the first Chicago orchestra to perform in East Germany, it was named Orchestra of the Year in Illinois.

Three subsequent European tours with appearances in Berlin’s Philharmonic Hall, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Prague’s Smetana Hall, and the Polish National Radio and Television Hall in Warsaw became memorable experiences with seemingly unending applause from enthusiastic audiences and praise of rave critical reviews. An Asian tour including two performances for capacity audiences in Seoul, Korea, confirmed the Chicago Chamber Orchestra’s popularity abroad and enhanced Chicago’s international reputation as a cultural center. Of this tour local papers observed, "This is one of the most notable success stories in Chicago music, one in which we can all take pride." CHICAGO TRIBUNE and "Kober lets a concert blossom musically—winning prestige for Chicago.…" CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

Chronology of Highlights

1952   Debut as the Collegiate Sinfonietta, Sunday morning, June 6th at International House, University of Chicago

1956   Art Institute of Chicago "Calling Card" garden concert in McKinlock Court, performing Mozart's Haffner Serenade

1957   Assumes professional status as the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, joining the Chicago Federation of Musicians, Local 10

1958   As resident orchestra of the Art Institute of Chicago performs complete Water Music of Handel at McKinlock Court, initiating an     annual outdoor tradition of welcoming summer (recording of Handel's Water Music among Chicago's first CDs)

1960   Performs Danish music at Mayor Richard J. Daley's reception for King Frederick IX and Queen Margaret of Denmark

1961   First concert tour (Minnesota, South and North Dakota) with Dutch-American violin-piano duo Kooper and Boehm

1962   Five concerts with twenty-four compositions of Music from Denmark concluding with Voice of America broadcast to Copenhagen

1963   Initiates Lagoon Promenade Concerts at the south portico of the Museum of Science and Industry facing Jackson Park lagoon; subscription concert series and promotion specials at Carson Pirie Scott and Company store; hosts Paris Chamber Orchestra, Paul Kuenz, conductor, at Apollo Savings concert series

1965   Tour of Midwest with Scandinavian Gala program featuring Swedish pianist Inger Wikstrom in premier of Piano Concert by Erland von Koch

1967   Tour of Southwest and Midwest with guest artist Siegfried Behrend, guitarist, in program presented as a television special on WBBM-TV

1969   Blair Memorial Concerts initiated at Saint James Cathedral and continued annually on Mother's Day; inaugural concerts for the openings of the Chicago Cultural Center and the Beverly Art Center

1970   Beethoven's 200th Birthday Celebration performance on CBS television network

1977   Mozart on Michigan Avenue, a promotion by Lake Shore National Bank and "a recording of interesting and for the most part unfamiliar works by Mozart, featuring violinist Samuel Magad and horn player Dale Clevenger.  The record is sure to become a collector's item." -- Art Lange, Chicago Reader

1983   Richard Wagner's birthday gift, Siegfried Idyll, performed on WBBM-TV with host Lee Phillips

1985   Messiah-Sing-along sponsored by Chicago Tribune initiates concerts at Fourth Presbyterian Church

1986   Salute to Lithuania at Museum of Science and Industry with guest artists from the Soviet Republic of Lithuania

1989   Three Centuries of Music from Germany presented by the Federal Republic of Germany at the Union League Club of Chicago; tour of East Germany sponsored by the government of the German Democratic Republic; the Chicago Chamber Orchestra is named   Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras

1992   Tour of Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland with appearances in Berlin's Philharmonie, Leipzig's Gewandhaus, Prague's Smetana Hall, and on Warsaw Radio/TV

1993   Tour of South Korea with an audience of 5,000 cheering in Se-Jong Cultural Center, Seoul

1994   Tour of Germany with appearances in Erfort, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Osterode, Böhl-Iggelheim, Germersheim, and Kloster Chorin

2002

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