Program Information
VALERIE COLEMAN | Seven O’Clock Shout
GRIEG | Selections from Peer Gynt
FAURÉ | Requiem
Chad Goodman, conductor
Elgin Master Chorale
Laura Strickling, soprano
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Ticket Information
Prices: Gold $68 / Red $42 / Green $20
Student tickets $10
Call and ask about our Free Youth Tickets for children ages 17 and under
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Since becoming Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in 2023, Chad Goodman has been praised for taking the orchestra to new artistic heights and dramatically expanding its impact in the community. In his first two seasons he led the ESO premieres of more than a dozen works, increased community engagement through run-out concerts and engaging presentations in Elgin and neighboring cities, and spearheaded the orchestra’s first ever Día de los Muertos concert, uniting the symphony with folkloric dance and vocals in a city-wide cultural celebration.
Named Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras in 2025, Goodman has led orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Puebla (OSEP).
From 2023 to 2025, Goodman served as Artistic Director of IlluminArts, a Miami-based arts organization dedicated to the synthesis of music with visual art, poetry, and dance through bold, interdisciplinary collaborations. His programming created immersive experiences that transcended traditional boundaries, bringing audiences together to engage and connect in vibrant cultural dialogue.
From 2019 to 2023, Goodman was the Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony and Assistant Conductor to Michael Tilson Thomas. In addition to leading the orchestra in more than fi fty performances, he collaborated with sound engineers, videographers, animators, and light designers to push the boundaries of how classical music can be presented.
Goodman has also served as an Assistant Conductor to the San Francisco Symphony, working alongside Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, Elim Chan, Manfred Honeck, Daniel Harding and Simone Young, among others.
Goodman additionally leads workshops that teach young musicians the business skills needed to successfully navigate the music world. Forbes praised the conductor’s bold strides both on and off stage and hailed him as “An entrepreneur bringing innovation to classical music.” In 2022 he published the book You Earned a Music Degree. Now What?
Goodman holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from San Francisco State University. His mentors include Michael Tilson Thomas and Alasdair Neale.
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The Elgin Master Chorale is a cultural cornerstone of Elgin and the Fox Valley creating a thrilling, emotional experience for audiences at each performance by achieving an overall level of excellence in singing, presentation and production. Elgin Master Chorale is comprised of approximately 85 adult singers – admitted by audition only – who share a passion for choral masterworks and other fine choral repertoire.
Far from a solitary organization, Elgin Master Chorale creates collaborations with performing arts organizations such as the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the Maud Powell String Quartet, and others that elevate and energize the entire community.
We annually produce an educational outreach concert, with matinees free of charge created specifically for the engagement, education, and artistic enjoyment of young people. We are committed to educational outreach in performing for – and with – area students who learn to value the arts as an integral part of their growth and a path to achieving their full potential. You can attend an Elgin Master Chorale concert in the assured expectation of experiencing great choral music performed with passionate excellence. See for yourself why audiences are saying, “It’s my choir.” Make it yours, too.
Elgin Master Chorale was formed in 1947, under the name Elgin Choral Union, when local musician Dean Chipman had a vision of a large-enough vocal ensemble to perform Brahms’ famed German Requiem. His dream became reality when 192 singers from over 15 local choirs joined together to give voice to this grand work. The premiere took place on May 7, 1948 at the First Congregational Church of Elgin. Frank Kratky directed the performance accompanied by two pianos. The house was full, the audience enthusiastic, and the largest vocal group in the Fox Valley was underway.
Incorporated as a not-for-profit in 1966, the organization changed its name to Elgin Master Chorale in 2014 to better reflect our mission emphasis on musical excellence. In-residence at Elgin Community College, Elgin Master Chorale presents several concerts per year at the renowned Blizzard Theatre at the college, as well as the Hemmens Cultural Arts Center and other locations in the Chicago area. Under the direction of Maestro Andrew Lewis, Elgin Master Chorale is comprised of approximately 85 adult volunteer singers from across the Fox Valley communities. We are proud of our rich history, dedicated singers, and drive to excel; we have grown from our valued roots as a 'union' of church choirs, and are dedicated to our mission of being the premiere vocal ensemble in the Fox Valley.
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Two-time GRAMMY® award nominee for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album, soprano Laura Strickling was recognized by The New York Times for her, “flexible voice, crystalline diction, and warm presence.” Celebrated for her work in art song with an emphasis on new additions to the canon, she has been featured twice in Classical Singer Magazine for commissioning and recording new music, curated The New Music Shelf Anthology of Contemporary Art Songs for Soprano, and recently announced The 40@40 Project – her personal initiative to commission new music, which has surpassed original goals and continues to foster exciting collaborations between important contemporary composers and poets.
Equally acclaimed for her work on the concert stage, her “powerful and expressive voice across a large range, her variety of timbre and character,” (Classical Scene), make her a welcome guest soloist for a range of oratorio and concert works, from Handel to Britten and beyond. These include Fourth Symphony (Mahler) with the Knoxville Symphony and the San Antonio Philharmonic, Ninth Symphony (Beethoven) with the Seattle Symphony and the Elgin Symphony, Bachianas Brasileiras (Villa-Lobos) with the San Antonio Philharmonic, Exsultate, jubilate (Mozart) with the Cathedral Choral Society, Messiah (Handel) with the Indianapolis Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, and the Richmond Symphony, Gloria (Poulenc) with the Asheville Symphony, Mass in c minor (Mozart) with the Richmond Symphony, Cathedral Choral Society, and Berkshire Choral International, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Barber) with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, Stabat Mater (Dvorak) and Elijah (Mendelssohn) with Berkshire Choral International, Ein Deutsches Requiem (Brahms) with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee and Chorosynthesis, Luonnotar (Sibelius) with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and Les Illuminations (Britten) with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and Mexicoliederfest, and Pierrot Lunaire (Schoenberg) with the Chiarina Chamber Players and the Mid-Atlantic Reed Consort, as well as Carmina Burana (Orff), Requiem (Mozart), Credo Mass (Mozart), Dixit Dominus (Handel), Gloria (Vivaldi), Lord Nelson Mass (Haydn), and Mass in C (Beethoven).
Nominated for GRAMMY® awards for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for Confessions (2022) and 40@40 (2024), Ms. Strickling has received widespread critical acclaim for her recordings: “…a compellingly honest performer, whose rich, expressive soprano conveys vulnerability with a balance of shimmering tone and unaffected diction,” (Opera News Magazine). “This extraordinarily expressive and versatile singer…performs with an intelligent combination of restraint and letting go. Her voice is full and lustrous and then bright and nimble…” (Schmopera). "Strickling fulfills and FILLS this role, her voice as a siren-chameleon, changing shape and color and nature with total control as contexts switch and emotions bend ever so slightly from word to word,” (American Record Guide). She was also praised for the Naxos Opera Classics recording of The Parting by Tom Cipullo, “…deeply expressive, secure voice. Her exposed highs are managed wonderfully, with notable beauty,” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Her discography also includes Times Alone (James Matheson), The Vineyard Songs (Glen Roven), Edna St. Vincent Millay (Jake Heggie), and Of a Certain Age (Tom Cipullo).
Ms. Strickling created the role of Fanni Radnòti in the world premiere of Tom Cipullo’s opera The Parting with Music of Remembrance in Seattle and San Francisco in 2019 and revisited the role with Chelsea Opera in Syracuse in Spring 2022 and New York City in Fall 2022. She created the role of Dr. Slade in the nine-episode TV-opera film, Everything for Dawn with Experiments in Opera, which received its AllArts and Opera Philadelphia broadcast premiere in 2022. An alumna of the Berkshire Opera Company resident artist program, her performance of the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel was praised by Opera News: "Laura Strickling offered the creamy, clear, younger-sister-of-Eva-Pogner instrument ideal for singing the role over full orchestration." She appeared as Pamina in the Metropolitan Opera Guild's touring outreach production of The Magic Flute. Ms. Strickling’s operatic roles also include Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Cleopatra (Julius Caesar), Mimi (La boheme), Dinorah (Dinorah), Elvira (L’Italiana in Algeri), Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Micaëla (Carmen). She created the role of Muriel in the world premiere of Thomas Benjamin's The Alien Corn with the Peabody Opera Theater.
Ms. Strickling’s art song repertoire includes over 450 songs and vocal chamber works in 14 languages, performed with such organizations and institutions as the Brooklyn Art Song Society, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Mexicoliederfest, Chiarina Chamber Players, Liederfest in Suzhou (China), the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, Lyric Fest, Joy in Singing, Songfest, Calliope’s Call, Trinity Concerts at One, the American Liszt Society, Baltimore Lieder Weekend, Concerts on the Slope, SongFusion, National Sawdust, Art Song at the Old Stone House, and the Brooklyn New Music Collective. She has been a featured performer at the New Music Gathering, presented a radio broadcast recital of American songs on “Live from WFMT” in Chicago with pianist Daniel Schlosberg, and was an Artist in Residence at the Yellow Barn Music Festival, and has presented guest artist recitals, masterclasses, and lectures at the University of Georgia, San Antonio College, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Mercer University, College of William and Mary, Mercer University, University of Notre Dame, New World School of the Arts, Notre Dame University of Maryland, Pittsburg State University, McDaniel College, St. Mary’s College, and University of Richmond. She is on the New Music Advisory Board of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and the Artistic Advisory Boards of Cincinnati Song Initiative and Calliope’s Call.
A Chicago native, Ms. Strickling is an avid traveler, having lived in Fez (Morocco) - where she studied classical Arabic at the Arabic Language Institute of Fez, Kabul (Afghanistan) - where her husband was the founding chair of the Department of Law at the American University of Afghanistan, and for the last nine years in St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands). She recently relocated to Wisconsin where she is learning to appreciate cheese, beer, and being cold.
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Baritone Jesse Blumberg enjoys a busy schedule of opera, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries. He has performed featured roles at Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Atelier, and at Château de Versailles Spectacles and London’s Royal Festival Hall.
The 2025/2026 season sees Jesse collaborate with American Bach Soloists, Indianapolis Baroque, the Elgin Symphony, Chorus Niagara, and Victoria Baroque, as well as appear with the Canadian Art Song Project in recital. He looks forward to his debut with Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah, and the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra for Haydn’s Creation. In the second half of the season, he joins Opera Baltimore for the titular role of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisandre.
This past season, Jesse presented Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Grand Philharmonic Choir, and Fauré’s Requiem with Symphony New Brunswick. Additionally, he performed Handel’s Messiah with Symphony Nova Scotia, American Bach Soloists, and Boston Baroque. During his summer season, he joined the Amadeus Choir (Toronto) for the Duruflé Requiem, the Toronto Bach Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts for several programs, and Toronto’s premiere contemporary ensemble The Happenstancers for works by Linda Catlin Smith, Thomas Adès, Oliver Knussen, Ann Southam, and world premieres of work by Ryan Chase and Luis Ramirez
Jesse's engagements in 2023-2024 included Messiah and St. John Passion with American Bach Soloists, Marazzoli cantatas with Boston Early Music Festival, and All is Love with Opera Atelier. He also debuted with the Pacific Symphony and Toronto Bach Festival, and returned to the Johnstown Symphony, New York Baroque Incorporated, Cincinnati Song Initiative, and Brooklyn Art Song Society.
Jesse has sung major concert works with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Carmel Bach Festival, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. He has been increasingly active on concert stages in Canada for the last several years, appearing with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Early Music Vancouver, Arion Baroque, Grand Philharmonic Choir, and at the Montréal Baroque Festival.
Jesse’s recital highlights include appearances with the New York Festival of Song, Marilyn Horne Foundation, and University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, in addition to teaching and performing residencies at song festivals across the United States. He is very proud to have participated in the world premieres of several acclaimed American operas and song cycles, and works closely with many renowned composers as a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble.