• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • ESO In the News
  • Concert Archives
    • 2021-2022
    • 2020-2021
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019
    • 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017
    • 2015-2016
  • About Us
    • Leadership & Staff
    • Music Leadership
    • Musicians
    • Partners & Sponsors
    • Elgin Symphony League
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Get Our Newsletter
Elgin Symphony Orchestra

Elgin Symphony Orchestra

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra, four-time winner of Orchestra of the Year!

  • Health and Safety
  • Concerts & Tickets
    • Concerts
    • Ticket Info
    • Box Office
    • Subscriptions
  • Your Concert Experience
    • At the Concert
    • Driving Directions
    • Nearby Restaurants
    • Local Hotels
  • Education
    • Ainsworth Concerts for Youth
    • Traveling Ensembles
    • Masterclass Opportunities
    • Listeners Club
  • Community
    • Listeners Club
    • Musicians Care
  • Support the ESO
    • Ways to Give
    • Make a Difference!
    • Donor Benefits
    • ESO Sponsorship
  • ESO in the News
  • Concert Archive
    • 2021-2022
    • 2020-2021
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019
    • 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017
    • 2015-2016
  • About the ESO
    • ESO Leadership & Staff
    • ESO Music Leadership
    • ESO Musicians
    • ESO Partners & Sponsors
    • ESO League
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Get Our Newsletter
Please read our complete COVID-19 Health and Safety Statement

Meet the Musician: Loretta Gillespie, Viola

July 3, 2020

Elgin Symphony Orchestra Violist, Loretta Gillespie

Loretta Gillespie, Viola


When did you begin to play your instrument?

I began viola lessons in 5th grade when a new string program was established at my school. I chose viola because I didn’t really know what it was and I also didn’t want to be like everybody else (lots of kids were choosing violin); I wanted to be different.

Do you play any other instruments?

I started on piano when I was about five or six years old but haven’t played in years. In middle school I tried flute for a year.

Where did you study your main instrument; with whom?

I began my undergraduate degree at Wichita State University studying with Charles Benson Headley, then transferred to Northern Illinois University where I joined the studio of Richard Young, the violist of the Vermeer Quartet. After receiving my Bachelor of Music degree from NIU I attended the University of Houston where I studied with Lawrence Wheeler and Kerry O’Hare.

When did you join ESO?

1998

What other orchestras have you played with/do you play with now?

I frequently play with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and sub with other groups in the area, including the Illinois Philharmonic and the Grand Rapids Symphony in Michigan. I also appear in pit orchestras with Broadway in Chicago and the Paramount Theater in Aurora.

Your most memorable ESO performance

It’s hard to pick just one! Sibelius isn’t usually on my list of favorite composers but I loved playing his Second Symphony with Daniel Hege on the podium. Also, I found Maestro Grams’ “audition” especially moving. I love Shostakovich anyway but that concert was particularly intense.

Additional interesting information

While playing Cabaret at the Paramount Theater a few years ago, we (the pit musicians) always had a puzzle going in the green room. I was reminded of how much I enjoy doing puzzles, so when the show ended I started doing them on my own – there’s always one living on my dining room table. Sometimes I finish in a week, sometimes it takes a month, depending on how much free time I have. Now that I’m not employed it feels like all I do is work on puzzles. Actually, “work” is the wrong word – it’s an addiction. I forget to eat and just keep going. The accompanying picture shows my latest effort; I think I’ll try a colorful one next.

  • Puzzle finished by Loretta Gillespie
    Loretta Gillespie’s most recent puzzle, as referred to in the final paragraph of her player profile.
  • Elgin Symphony Orchestra Violist, Loretta Gillespie
    Loretta Gillespie performs at her niece’s wedding in the summer of 2019.

Filed Under: Meet the Musicians, Strings

Footer

Elgin Symphony Orchestra

Elgin Symphony Orchestra (office)
20 DuPage Court
Elgin, IL 60120
(map)

Box Office 847-888-4000
boxoffice@elginsymphony.org
Se habla español.

Admin 847-888-0404
Fax 847-888-0400

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Join Our Email List

English EN Spanish ES

Venues

Hemmens Cultural Center (map)
45 Symphony Way, Elgin, IL 60120

North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (map)
9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60077

Raue Center for the Arts (map)
26 N Williams Street, Crystal Lake, IL 60014

The Venue at Goebbert’s (map)
42W813 Reinking Rd., Pingree Grove, IL 60140

Search this Site

Explore Elgin Area
Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin
Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce

Copyright © 2022 · Elgin Symphony Orchestra · Wolko Design Group