DuPage Symphony Orchestra

The purpose of the DuPage Symphony is to maintain a symphony orchestra in DuPage County, Illinois; to foster and encourage the production of music; to give musical performances; to foster and develop musical talent in the county; to educate the public in symphonic literature, and to encourage attendance at symphonic concerts.

That is the foundation of your DuPage Symphony Orchestra, as set out in its original Constitution that was adopted in January 1956, when the symphony was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation. The DSO had been established as an all-volunteer performing ensemble in 1954 and played its first concert in December of that year, but it was not until a year later that the organization’s reason for being was given this specific expression.

The DSO remains true to these purposes, our five “E”s

- Excellence – Making it the standard for every performance.
- Exposure – Treating our audience to fine soloists from Chicago and the world.
- Education – Stretching beyond the familiar; offering something to learn from, something to delight in.
- Encouragement – Giving opportunities to young musicians through concerts, competitions, and instrument collections just for them.
- Enrichment – Sharing in the beauty of fine classical music, for your enjoyment as well as ours.

In its beginnings in 1954, the orchestra consisted of fewer than 50 musicians under the direction of founder Russell Harvey. Today’s DSO, under the baton of its second music director, Barbara Schubert, is somewhat less itinerant, performing principally in Pfeiffer Hall on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, or at College of DuPage’s McAninch Arts Center in Glen Elllyn.

Audiences will also generally hear longer works, full symphonies and suites, and more names such as Bernstein, Debussy, Elgar, and Respighi. The style is different, but the soul is the same. The orchestra has grown up, but not grown old.