As part of the 2009 Discover: Bernstein Festival, hundreds of area students will have their artwork on display from May 1 to 3 during the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s Leonard Bernstein: American Icon festival performances. Students’ works were inspired by his music, including “West Side Story.”

This year’s Discover: Bernstein Festival is the fifth initiative in the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s multi-year Exploring Our American Voice project presented to the greater Chicago community. The two-month festival includes a series of concerts and humanities programs that began March 1, running through May 3, examining the life and work of Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). Digging deep into Bernstein’s roots, the festival examines the ways his music found relevance outside the concert hall and became woven into the fabric of American culture. The festival is made possible in part through support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council.

Lecture
“A Total Embrace” by Nina Bernstein will be presented at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 2 in the Gail Borden Library in downtown Elgin. Participants will spend the afternoon with Nina Bernstein, daughter of the late composer, as she recounts tales of her father’s vibrant professional life and endearing family life. The event is free to the public, but requires registration through www.gailborden.info.

Concerts
The ESO presents its Leonard Bernstein: American Icon Concert at 1:30 and 8 p.m. Friday, May 1; 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2; and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 3, in The Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Robert Hanson conducts, and violinist Isabella Lippi is featured. The program includes the “Overture to Candide” and Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story.”

Tickets start at $15. For tickets, call the ESO Box Office at (847) 888-4000 or visit www.ElginSymphony.org.

ESO

Named “Orchestra of the Year” an unprecedented three times by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, the ESO, under the leadership of Maestro Robert Hanson, performs more than 60 concerts a year. In 2008, it released its first international recording, an album featuring works of Aaron Copland, as part of the NAXOS label’s American Classics collection. The ESO continues to broadcast its Classics performances on the fourth Friday of each month on 98.7FM WFMT.