Over the years the Elgin Symphony Orchestra has engaged world-renowned musicians including Benny Goodman, Yo-Yo Ma, Sir James Galway, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Janos Starker, Pepe Romero, Midori Goto, Rachel Barton Pine, Kathleen Battle, Jennifer Koh, Alisa Weilerstein, Nicola Benedetti, Jaime Laredo, and Lynn Harrell, and rising musicians and vocalists such as Randall Goosby, Ryan Speedo Green, Albert Cano Smit, and Thomas Mesa.
The symphony began its Holiday Showcase at the Sears Centre arena in 2006[1] which became an annual event for three years[2] bringing in hosts such as Jodi Benson and Phantom of the Opera star, Doug LaBrecque.
It featured the Elgin Children's Chorus and had NASA visuals of the cosmos projected over the stage of The Hemmens Cultural Center while Leonard Nimoy narrated.
In 2011, the Elgin Master Chorale held a performance in collaboration with the ESO, which it named A Concert of Remembrance, in memory of the September 11 attacks.
[9] On May 20, 2023, the ESO, in collaboration with JCC Chicago and the Gail Borden Public Library, presented a concert featuring instruments from the Violins of Hope collection.