ROBERT HANSON
Music Director

STEPHEN SQUIRES
Associate Conductor

RANDAL SWIGGUM
Education Conductor

DAN MAKI
Pre-Concert Lecturer

MUSICIANS

 

ROBERT HANSON, Music Director
Robert Hanson, named 2001 Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, has been Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra since 1985. Hanson came to the ESO in 1974 as assistant to Margaret Hillis and became Co-Music Director in 1983. Under his guidance, the ESO has become one of the finest and most celebrated orchestras in the Midwest.

Maestro Hanson has demonstrated the rare ability to guide an organization through multiple phases of growth. During his 27-year tenure, he led the organization through the process of becoming Chicago’s first professional suburban orchestra in 1985, becoming Chicago’s premier regional orchestra in 1997, and is currently leading the organization through an unprecedented growth in programming. Under Maestro Hanson’s guidance, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra has become one of the finest and most celebrated orchestras in the Midwest. In addition to having been named Orchestra of the Year twice by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, it is one of thirty-nine arts organizations designated by the Illinois State legislature as an Established Regional Art Institution and a State Treasure. In 2001, the ESO joined the Chicago and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestras, as well as the New York Philharmonic, as one of only four orchestras whose concerts are regularly broadcast on WFMT, Chicago’s Fine Arts Station.

Maestro Hanson received his Master and Doctorate degrees in Music Composition at Northwestern University, where he won the coveted Faricy Award for excellence in music. He is a published composer; and his compositions have been performed internationally, including on a United States cultural exchange program in the former Soviet Union. He has received numerous commissions, including Hiawatha, a full-length oratorio commissioned by the Elgin Choral Union.

Maestro Hanson has served as Music Director of other ensembles including the Elgin Choral Union, the Lake County Chamber Orchestra, and Liberty-Fremont Chorus (IL), and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra (MI). He conducted the Ruth Page Nutcracker at the Arie Crown Theater for a number of seasons and recently conducted the Grant Park Symphony.

With a strong commitment to music education, Maestro Hanson has had a significant impact on the musical life of young people. His many accomplishments include initiating and developing the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s Family concerts; founding the Elgin Area Youth Orchestra; the Elgin Community College (ECC) Conservatory; and the Elgin Community College Institute for the Performing Arts. He currently serves on the faculty of Elgin Community College.


STEPHEN SQUIRES, Associate Conductor
This year marks Stephen Squires’ 15th season as Associate Conductor with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Squires received his musical training at the Eastman School of Music and earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Eduction at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. Mr. Squires also earned a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting/Trumpet Performance at California State University, Northbridge. He has studied conducting in seminars with Helmuth Rilling, Maurice Abravanel, Daniel Lewis and Tsung Yeh.

Stephen Squires was recently names Principal Conductor, Professor of Conducting and Chair of the Orchestral Instruments Department in the Music Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. Prior to this appointment he served as Professor of Music at the Northern Illinois University School of Music.

A conductor active in orchestral, wind, operatic and ballet music, Mr. Squires is also an accomplished recital accompanist and freelance trumpeter. In addition to his duties with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, he is the Music Director of the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra (Rockford), Principal Guest Conductor of the Millar Brass, and Conductor of the Salt Creek Ballet Orchestra. Mr. Squires has also conducted recordings for Delos, Spring Hill (a division of EMI) and Centaur labels.


RANDAL SWIGGUM, Education Conductor
Randal Swiggum joined the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in the 2005-2006 season as the Education Conductor. Mr. Swiggum works closely with the Education and Artistic Departments in designing, developing, administering and evaluating all education and community engagement programs offered by the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. He is also responsible for conducting the annual Kidz Konzerts an Music in the Middle programs that will take place in April 2008. Mr. Swiggum is very active in music education enjoying a diverse teaching career that has spanned first grade general music, high school choir, college orchestra, music theory and conducting. Mr. Swiggum is also currently the Music Director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra.


DAN MAKI, Pre-Concert Lecturer
Daniel Maki received the Bachelor of Music Degree with Distinction and the Performer's Certificate in Flute fron the Easman School of Music, Rochester, New York. He also holds a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from Northwestern University. Among his flute teachers have been William Hebert of the Cleveland Orchestra, Joseph Mariano at the Eastman School, and Walfrid Kujala of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

As a flutist, Mr. Maki has appeared as soloist with the Eastman–Rochester Symphony Orchestra and served as Artist-in-Residence of the New Hampshire Music Festival. He has also been Principal Flutist of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and, as a chamber music performer, the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., and the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art.

Mr. Maki has been a faculty member at various institutions, serving for a number of years as Instructor of Flute at the Eastman School of Music, as Instructor and Resident flutist at the Kinhaven Summer Music School in Weston, Vermont, and as Instructor of Flute at Judson College, Mr. Maki has held many positions, including those of Professor of Flute and founder and conductor of the Elgin Community College Concert Band. His current positions at the college are Professor of Music Theory and Coordinator of the E.C.C. Conservatory.

As a member of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra's artistic staff, Mr. Maki has served as the orchestra's program annotator and concert lecturer for over two decades. He has also lectured and written program notes for many other organizations, including the Woodstock Mozart Festival, the Chicago Youth Orchestra, the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Lyon and Healy Concert Series, and for Chicago's Music of the Baroque.