The co-founders of the newest musical group at Elmhurst College hope to amplify awareness of the Chamber Orchestra, described as an “intimate ... fearlessly energetic ensemble” by Deborah Ryan-Hennel.

As co-director and cellist, she and conductor Ken Haebich founded the ensemble, in part, to provide a base camp for string players without a true musical home within the school’s music department. The 2-year-old ensemble, accredited as a course last year, is open not only to students but to community members of any age who perform at an intermediate to early advanced level, she said.

“Most of our performers are music education and music business, or jazz studies majors, who have found a new niche,” she said.

Still growing, the 27-member ensemble currently includes violin, viola, cello, bass, oboe, flute, bassoon, clarinet, euphonium, trombone, trumpet and timpani.

The Elmhurst College Chamber Orchestra meets from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursdays. ECCO performs at least one or two concerts each semester, including a showcase of compositional works by the students. Next is a free performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, which Ryan-Hennel said will feature a selection of character dances from “The Nutcracker Suite” and a work by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

“It is modern, but tonal, very rhythmic,” she said of the latter’s quartet, arranged by Haebich for the full string orchestra.

He said the ensemble also will play the Third Symphony by French, post-modern composer Darius Milhaud.

“We discovered some of the French music fits ... our little group,” said Haebich, who also leads a combo in the college’s acclaimed jazz program. “We don’t have a full supply of strings yet. Last year, I wrote a couple pieces and tailored it just for our orchestra.”

“If you haven’t played your violin in a few years and want to dust it off ... we welcome all new faces,” Ryan-Hennel said.

For details on joining ECCO, call Ryan-Hennel at (630) 408-6103.

Notable

Deborah Ryan-Hennel: “Our music is meaty ... we specialize in classical, neoclassical and post-modern music ... encompassing modern and classical music, especially avant-garde music, which sometimes is difficult to play with a symphony orchestra. With a chamber ensemble, you can do more intense music, because of the intimacy between the players.”

& quotable

Ken Haebich: “We do a lot of avant-garde stuff, but we try to mix it up with something that’s very popular. This spring, we’ll do some Mendelssohn. I will probably write another new piece just for the group. I sometimes call it my little chamber militia.”

Concert

Works by Milhaud, Villa Lobos and Tchaikovsky will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, in Elmhurst College’s Buik recital space in Irion Hall, 190 S. Prospect Ave. Admission is free. No reservations are required. For information, call (630) 617-3330.

Favorites

Ken Haebich: “I’ve been a professional musician since I was 13. I really like almost everything —  everything from Bach to the wildest, strangest, avant-garde thing you can think of and anything in between have been my favorites and my influences.”
Deborah Ryan-Hennel: “As far as classical, I love Haydn because he’s humorous, Beethoven because he’s fearless — and pretty much anything that is modern, composed 1900s and later.”