Ravenswood Community Orchestra

Thank you to everyone who attended our Bold & Bright concert at St. Sylvester/Jesus Bread of Life Parish.

Sunday December 14, 2025, 4 p.m.

St. Sylvester’s Church / Jesus Bread of Life Parish

2157 N. Humboldt Blvd., Chicago, IL 60647

Program:

Leroy Anderson: Christmas Festival

Louise Farrenc: Overture No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 1

Georges Bizet: L’Arlesienne No. 2

Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride

General Info:

— Concerts are free to attend, but consider a cash donation at the door

— Please stay for a post-concert reception with the musicians and RCO fans

— Street parking is available and there is a parking lot behind the church on the corner of Palmer & Richmond.  

Accessibility information: 

The concert will take place at St. Sylvester’s Church which is fully accessible. Please ask if you need assistance. 

Thank you for your support of the RCO!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual Halloween celebration!

Program:

Amy Beach:  Bal Masqué

Doyle/Williams, arr. Brubecker:  Suite from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Mussorgsky (rev. Rimsky-Korsakov):  Night on Bald Mountain

Stravinsky Firebird (1919) – Ronde des Princesses

Schubert arr. Berlioz:  Erlkoenig

Stravinsky Firebird (1919) – Berceuse and Finale

Eli Chen, Principal Conductor and Richard Corrigan, Music Director

General Info:

— Concerts are free to attend, but consider a cash donation at the door

— Please stay for a post-concert reception with the musicians and RCO fans

— Street parking is available and there is a parking lot on the northwest corner of Sunnyside and Western. 

Accessibility information: The concert will take place in the lower level of the Queen of Apostles Church. There are three steps up to the building, and ten stairs down to the lower level. There is a ramp on the exterior and an elevator/lift down to the lower level. Please ask if you need assistance. There are bathrooms on the lower level as well. 

Thank you for your support of the RCO!

Thank you to everyone who devoted countless hours to practicing for this season’s concerts! And, thank you to all of our audience members who attended our concerts and made contributions — we appreciate your financial support!

Do you have a suggestion or idea for the RCO? Is there a special piece of music you’d like to hear, or a place where you think we should play or rehearse? Please fill out the quick survey here to give us your thoughts — all ideas are welcome!

Our next concert is slated for October 26 — check back soon for more information. If you love orchestral music, then we suggest you check here to find more concerts!

Sunday May 18, 2025, 4 p.m. at Queen of Apostles, 2330 W. Sunnyside, Chicago

Program:

Overture from Treemonisha, Words & Music by Scott Joplin, adapted, arranged and orchestrated by T.J. Anderson

Children’s Corner (Le coin des Enfants) by Claude Debussy

1. Doctor Gradus as Parnassum
2. Jumbo’s Lullaby (Berceuse des Elephants)
3. Serenade for the Doll (Serenade a la Poupee)
4. The Snow is Dancing (La Neige Danse)
5. The Little Shepherd (Le Petit Berger)
6. Golliwogg’s Cake-Walk

Idyll (1901), by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Edited by Rotem Weinberg

Suite, Op 39 by Maurice Moszkowski

1. Allegro molto e brioso
2. Allegretto giojoso
3. Intermezzo (Allegretto con moto)
4. Perpetuum mobile (Vivace)

Eli Chen, Principal Conductor and Richard Corrigan, Music Director

General Info:

— Concerts are free to attend, but consider a cash donation at the door

— Please stay for a post-concert reception with the musicians and RCO fans

— Street parking is available and there is a parking lot on the northwest corner of Sunnyside and Western. 

Accessibility information: The concert will take place in the lower level of the Queen of Apostles Church. There are three steps up to the building, and ten stairs down to the lower level. There is a ramp on the exterior and an elevator/lift down to the lower level. Please ask if you need assistance. There are bathrooms on the lower level as well. 

Thank you for your support of the RCO!

Sunday March 9, 2025, 4 p.m. at Queen of Apostles, 2330 W. Sunnyside, Chicago

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1

Max Bruch: Suite from Russian Folk Melodies, Op. 79b

Eli Chen, Principal Conductor and Richard Corrigan, Music Director

General Info:

— Concerts are free to attend, but consider a cash donation at the door

— Please stay for a post-concert reception with the musicians and RCO fans

— Street parking is available and there is a parking lot on the northwest corner of Sunnyside and Western. 

Accessibility information: The concert will take place in the lower level of the Queen of Apostles Church. There are three steps up to the building, and ten stairs down to the lower level. There is a ramp on the exterior and an elevator/lift down to the lower level. Please ask if you need assistance. There are bathrooms on the lower level as well. 

Thank you for your support of the RCO!

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Sunday, December 15, 2024!

In case you missed it, here’s the video:

Program:

Haydn: Symphony No. 101 “The Clock”

Kile Smith: Chorale Fantasias from Vespers for Small Orchestra

Gabrieli: Canzoni for Brass Ensemble

Thank you for joining us at our annual Halloween celebration. We’re grateful to all of the audience members who joined our standing-room-only crowd! We love playing for you and hope to see you again soon!

Heinrich Marschner – Der Vampyr (Ouvertüre)

Anatoly Liadov – Kikimora, Op. 63 (1909)

Anatoly Liadov – Baba Yaga, Op. 56 (1904)

Cecile Chaminade – Suite Callirhoë, Op. 37

Franz Liszt – Mephisto Waltz for Orchestra, S. 110

General Info:

— Concerts are free to attend, but consider a cash donation at the door

— Please stay for a post-concert reception with the musicians and RCO fans

— Street parking is available and there is a parking lot on the northwest corner of Sunnyside and Western. 

Accessibility information: The concert will take place in the lower level of the Queen of Apostles Church. There are three steps up to the building, and ten stairs down to the lower level. There is a ramp on the exterior and an elevator/lift down to the lower level. Please ask if you need assistance. There are bathrooms on the lower level as well. 

Thank you for your support of the RCO!

Thank you for joining us for the final concert for the RCO’s 2023-24 season!

We look forward to seeing you in the fall. Our suggestion box is always open. If you have a piece you’d like to hear or a comment, question, or concern for us, please chime in!

General Info:

— Concerts are free to attend, but consider a cash donation at the door

— Please stay for a post-concert reception with the musicians and RCO fans

— Street parking is available and there is a parking lot on the northwest corner of Sunnyside and Western. 

Accessibility information: The concert will take place in the lower level of the Queen of Apostles Church. There are three steps up to the building, and ten stairs down to the lower level. There is a ramp on the exterior and an elevator/lift down to the lower level. Please ask if you need assistance. There are bathrooms on the lower level as well. 

Thank you for your support of the RCO!

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 4 p.m. at Queen of Apostles (2330 W. Sunnyside). Due to copyright, we’re unable to post a video of the program. But, here’s a youtube playlist with some of the repertoire for you to enjoy:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3DGvEyMk1QJ1FKfnmLLhZeZC4I1UEAIe&si=P9Yk6sVcqcnlrVXi

Thank you to everyone who attended Making Spirits Bright! Everyone there - family members, friends, and music fans – made our musical year. Please stop back soon for information on our 2024 concerts!