ELGIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CENTER FOR CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
A new initiative extends ESO's mission beyond the concert hall, connecting orchestra musicians, young artists, and emerging cultural leaders across the United States and around the world
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra (ESO) establishment of the ESO Center for Cultural Diplomacy, an initiative that expands the focus of the orchestra's educational and artistic mission through international cultural exchange, performing-arts education, youth development, and professional training.
Founded with funds from The Association of American Voices and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, the Center builds upon the ESO's longstanding belief that music and the performing arts can do more than entertain they can educate, connect communities, develop young people, and build long-lasting bridges among cultures, and enhances the work the ESO has been doing in the past five years to introduce artists from around the world to its audiences.
Through the Center, the ESO is developing partnerships and programs that bring together young musicians, educators, performing artists, diplomats, policymakers, and emerging cultural leaders from the Elgin area, across the United States and abroad.
"This is a natural evolution of what an orchestra can be in the 21st century," said Marc Thayer, Executive Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. "The orchestra has always been about bringing people together through music. The Center for Cultural Diplomacy allows us to extend that mission to communities around the world — and then bring those experiences, relationships, and ideas back home to our own community in ways that join us closer together.”
The ESO Center for Cultural Diplomacy develops programs at the intersection of the performing arts, education, youth development, international cultural exchange, diplomacy, and public policy.
The Center will also extend its work into Elgin and the greater Chicago region, creating opportunities for local immigrant and multicultural communities to share their cultural traditions, artistic heritage, and contemporary experiences through music and the performing arts. Through locally based programming, the Center will seek to build bridges between Elgin’s diverse communities and the countries and cultures they represent.
Its programs include YES — Youth Excellence on Stage, international performing-arts academies for young people, and cultural-diplomacy training programs for emerging professionals.
Building Bridges Through Music and the Performing Arts
The Center for Cultural Diplomacy focuses on two complementary areas.
The first is youth development through the performing arts, particularly in international communities with connections to Elgin and Greater Chicago, where young musicians and artists have limited access to international educational opportunities.
The second is the development of emerging professionals in the United States who are interested in the intersection of the performing arts, international relations, diplomacy, cultural policy, and public service.
The Center's programs are designed not simply to provide short-term artistic experiences, but to create lasting relationships, professional networks, educational opportunities, and institutional partnerships.
Drawing on the international programming experience of The Association of American Voices, founded in 1993 by pianist, John Ferguson, the CCD will benefit from the organization’s 33 years of programming in over 170 nations with a focus on nations emerging from conflict or isolation. American Voices’ recent decision to close due to federal funding cuts and to transfer assets to the ESO, will also involve bringing on Ferguson to work with the CCD on a contractual basis.
"We believe cultural diplomacy begins with relationships," said John Ferguson, incoming Programs Manager International Programs Manager at the CCD. "When young people from different cultures rehearse together, perform together, learn from one another, and discover that they share the same aspirations, something much more important than a concert is taking place."
A Year of International Impact
The Center launched its first major programs in 2026, creating opportunities for young people and emerging professionals on both sides of the cultural diplomacy equation.
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In July 2026, the Center presented YES Academy Syria — Youth Excellence on Stage, providing young Syrian musicians and performing artists in Damascus with intensive educational experiences, artistic training, and opportunities to work with international faculty, in a setting where they could build relationships with fellow students and professional artists.
For participating Syrian youth, the program offered something beyond technical instruction: the opportunity to see themselves as part of an international community of young artists.
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In August 2026, the Center produced the 20th year of YES Academy initiatives in Iraq, bringing together young musicians, composers, and performing artists for intensive training, ensemble work, master classes, and cultural exchange.
The program further established the Center's commitment to creating sustained opportunities for young artists in the Middle East and to connecting them with international artistic networks.
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During Spring 2026, the Center also launched a Cultural Diplomacy Training Program for 12 emerging professionals in the performing arts, diplomacy, and public policy.
Over the course of four two-hour sessions, the program brought together young professionals from various backgrounds and cultures to learn and discuss how music and the arts can contribute to international relationships, public diplomacy, cultural policy, and community development. Guest instructors included Janet Garvey, former U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, and Ross Wilson, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Tyler Lackey, Academic Advisor and Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, noted that the workshops were relevant to situations he was currently facing.
“The curriculum feels directly aligned with the work many of us are actively navigating,” Lackey said. “The timing is especially apt. I have been reflecting this week on how to strengthen my skills in budget financing and fiscal planning within creative practice, and I keep returning to the gap between strong conceptual execution and the rigorous governance required to sustain and scale that work. This seminar speaks directly to that need. I am eager to develop these proficiencies and apply them meaningfully to current and future collaborations.”
Looking Ahead
The Center will expand its programming in 2027.
In addition to returning to the Middle East, an upcoming YES Academy Mexico (April 2027) is planned for Oaxaca, bringing the Center's youth-focused performing-arts model to Mexico and creating new opportunities for cultural exchange between young artists from Mexico, the United States, and the broader international arts community.
The Center also plans to present more Cultural Diplomacy Training Programs in early 2027 in both Elgin (February) and New York City at Drom World Music Venue (April), bringing together emerging professionals working at the intersection of performing arts, diplomacy, international affairs, and public policy.
These programs are part of a broader vision to develop a network of young artists and cultural leaders who understand that the arts can be a powerful instrument for communication and international engagement.
Bringing the World to Elgin
While the Center's programs reach far beyond Illinois, the initiative is deeply connected to the mission and future of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the Elgin community.
International cultural exchange creates opportunities for the ESO to:
Develop new relationships with artists, educators, orchestras, and cultural institutions around the world;
Expand educational, professional development, and collaborative opportunities for music and arts students;
Bring international perspectives and artistic experiences back to Elgin;
Create potential future exchanges, performances, and collaborations;
Raise the national and international profile of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra; and
Strengthen Elgin's identity as a community that values music, education, cultural exchange, and international engagement.
The Center also creates opportunities for the Elgin community to become a participant in international cultural diplomacy, rather than simply an audience for it.
As the program grows, the ESO envisions expanding its current community programming to bring international artists, educators, students, and cultural leaders to Elgin for not just performances, but also for educational programs, workshops, residencies, and community events.
"This initiative is international in its reach, but it begins here in Elgin," said Chad Goodman, Music Director at the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. "Our community has an opportunity to be part of something much larger—to welcome artists and young people from around the world, to learn from them, and to share our own musical and cultural traditions with them."
About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1950, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra is a leading regional professional orchestra serving Elgin – Chicago Metropolitan area. Through performances, education, and community engagement, the ESO connects people of all ages with the transformative power of live orchestral music.
The establishment of the ESO Center for Cultural Diplomacy expands that mission through international performing-arts education, youth development, professional training, cultural exchange, and partnerships with artists and cultural institutions around the world.
Bringing the World to Elgin
While the Center's programs reach far beyond Illinois, the initiative is deeply connected to the mission and future of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the Elgin community.
International cultural exchange creates opportunities for the ESO to:
Develop new relationships with artists, educators, orchestras, and cultural institutions around the world;
Expand educational, professional development, and collaborative opportunities for music and arts students;
Bring international perspectives and artistic experiences back to Elgin;
Create potential future exchanges, performances, and collaborations;
Raise the national and international profile of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra; and
Strengthen Elgin's identity as a community that values music, education, cultural exchange, and international engagement.
The Center also creates opportunities for the Elgin community to become a participant in international cultural diplomacy, rather than simply an audience for it.
As the program grows, the ESO envisions expanding its current community programming to bring international artists, educators, students, and cultural leaders to Elgin for not just performances, but also for educational programs, workshops, residencies, and community events.
"This initiative is international in its reach, but it begins here in Elgin," said Chad Goodman, Music Director at the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. "Our community has an opportunity to be part of something much larger—to welcome artists and young people from around the world, to learn from them, and to share our own musical and cultural traditions with them."
About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1950, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra is a leading regional professional orchestra serving Elgin – Chicago Metropolitan area. Through performances, education, and community engagement, the ESO connects people of all ages with the transformative power of live orchestral music.
The establishment of the ESO Center for Cultural Diplomacy expands that mission through international performing-arts education, youth development, professional training, cultural exchange, and partnerships with artists and cultural institutions around the world.