Chicago String Ensemble

Founded in 1977, Chicago’s only professional string orchestra presents eclectic programs featuring a good deal of unfamiliar music as well as the classics, often showcasing modern composers. Despite a good deal of personnel change, the ensemble remains velvety and eloquent. According to Chicago Reader critic Ted Shen, ballet maestro Allan Lewis “conducts the 22 members with a theatrical flair, meticulously sculpting melodic lines and adding both buoyancy and expressive color — an approach neatly suited to light, romantic, emotional music, the lifeblood of any string orchestra.”