Who We Are

singer2b - who we areThe Symphony Today

The West Suburban Symphony Society is a not-for-profit organization that operates two orchestras and a symphonic chorus as volunteer community groups. Our mission is to:

  • Delight audiences by offering enjoyable and affordable musical programs in the Chicago area
  • Inspire, educate and foster the musical talent of children and young adults
  • Enrich the musical lives of our members and the communities where we perform

The Symphony Society presents concerts year round, with a focus on serving residents of DuPage County and western Cook County, with performances in communities that include Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, La Grange, Naperville, Oak Brook, and Wheaton. Beyond those areas, our audience typically includes individuals from Kane, McHenry, and Will counties, northwestern Indiana, and southern Wisconsin. We also have performed in the City of Chicago as well as on tour in Colorado and England.

We provide playing and singing opportunities to volunteer performers from throughout the greater Chicago metropolitan area, many of whom make round trips of an hour or more between their homes and our rehearsal and concert venues. The Symphony's outreach to young people includes an annual school-day concert for elementary and middle school students, an annual solo competition for high-school players and singers, free concert admission for children, and $5 tickets for teenagers.

History

  • In 1947, the West Suburban Symphony Orchestra was founded by the West Suburban YMCA in La Grange Park, at the request of a dedicated group of local residents (see more below). In 1950, the orchestra transitioned to management by a not-for-profit fine arts organization. This orchestra performs during the academic year.
  • In 2003, the West Suburban Symphony Singers chorus was founded to facilitate performance of works for orchestra and symphonic chorus.
  • In 2008, the West Suburban Symphony Festival Orchestra was founded to perform during the summer, complementing the symphony orchestra.

Six music directors have served our organization: Karl Schulte (1947-1955), Irwin Fischer (1955-1977), Ralph Lane (1978-1988), James Winfield (1988-1996), James MacDonald (1997-2000), and Peter Lipari (2001 to present).

Our Founding

As reported in the La Grange Citizen newspaper on March 8, 1972, our founders met in Western Springs in August 1947 to launch the orchestra: YMCA representatives Winifred Colton and Charles Stotz and area residents Clarence Dissinger, Edwin Goerges, Mr & Mrs. Frank Howell, Earl Rieger, Everett Shaw, and Mr. & Mrs. Duncan Wiedemann. The Wiedemanns hosted the organizational meeting at their home on Woodland Avenue in Western Springs.

The first president of the orchestra's board of directors was William E. Stiegelmeier. Other members were Mary Fieg, Karl Heim, Kenneth McCracken, Clarence Peebles, and Gwendolyn Roberts.

A partial list of charter members of the orchestra, assembled in the 1970s, includes violinists Eugene Heeter, Lorraine Landefeld, Max Pointel, Margaret Thompson, and Edward VanCura; violist Roger Uyttebruck; bassist John Alden; flutist Edwin Goerges; clarinetists William Kierig and Jean Quick Piper; trombonist Charles Stotz; bassoonist Raymond Novy; and percussionist Earl Rieger.

Founder Dissinger, an influential musical leader and educator in the La Grange area, merits special mention. He graduated from North Central College in Naperville in 1921 and served as music director at Lyons Township High School in La Grange from 1924 to 1959; he died in 1969. The Clarence Dissinger Memorial Award for teaching, endowed by his family, is awarded annually to exceptional North Central College faculty members.

Old newspaper clippings in our archives show that Dissinger also served as music director of a "West Suburban Symphony Orchestra" that began rehearsing in October 1930 and gave its first concert at his high school on April 12, 1931. As of September 1932, the group had 80 musicians, had performed two concerts in the 1931-32 season, and was planning an expanded concert series in 1932-33. We have no later records on this group, which apparently dissolved, perhaps under the strains of the Great Depression and World War II.