Submitted by the Evanston Symphony Orchestra
The Evanston Symphony Orchestra has appointed Michelle Pranger its general manager effective May 1. Pranger will oversee all operations of the community-based orchestra, work with Music Director Lawrence Eckerling and the Board of Directors on concerts, community programs and outreach, manage ticket sales and subscriber relations and help manage communications.
Pranger has been serving as general manager at Chicago’s Lakeview Orchestra and the operations manager for Evanston-based The Musical Offering. She has bachelor’s degrees in economics and trumpet performance from Illinois Wesleyan University and master’s degrees in trumpet performance and chamber music from the University of Michigan.
“I am delighted to welcome Michelle Pranger to the ESO family,” Eckerling said. “A general manager and a music director together form an important team, which is critical to the true success of any orchestra. I look forward to working with her as we begin our next chapter.”
Margaret Gergen, president of the ESO Board of Directors, said the board is excited about Pranger’s appointment. “We think that her experience both in orchestra administration and in the Evanston arts community will make this a great partnership.”
The ESO would like to thank Fiona Queen who stepped in as interim general manager last October and who worked so hard during this past year.
Information on the ESO and its programs, as well as ticket and subscriber information, can be found at the Evanston Symphony Orchestra website. The orchestra’s next concert, featuring music of Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, is 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 14, at Northwestern’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 70 Arts Circle Dr. on the south end of the Evanston campus.
Founded in 1945, the Evanston Symphony was the 2017 Illinois Council of Orchestra’s Orchestra of the Year and in 2019, was honored by the Council for Community Relations of the Year for its significant outreach to the Evanston community. The ESO mission is to provide community members of all ages with convenient, affordable opportunities to perform and hear fine classical music from locally, nationally and internationally renowned artists.