The Illinois Symphony Orchestra Guild of Bloomington-Normal has a decades-long tradition of support for the Orchestra. Now numbering over 120 members, the Guild keeps busy year-round with a wide range of activities that spotlight the ISO and include sponsoring the annual Candlelight Concert performance by the Illinois Chamber Orchestra.

Music education activities are a specialty of the Guild, which works with local schools and includes the Step-by-Step education program annual concert and pre-concert school visits.

Popular fundraisers include the Tea and Togs high tea and fashion show and the Gourmet Dinner. This past year, the Guild raised over $34,500 for the ISO from events such as these and our award-winning Symphony-Celebrities gala, a joint effort between the Guild and the symphony Community Council.

Our fabulous cookbook, Encore Recipes, is a great seller and the recipes are very popular.

The Guild also participated in the July 4th dinner and concert at the Corn Crib. The Guild provided the barbeque dinner and it was a lot of fun. Our fun and successful "Putting on the Glitz" event was held on October 22, 2011 at the Double Tree hotel, and a Kentucky Derby Party is planned for May 5, 2012 at the Snyder Cabin. Additional fundraising activities include our Mah Jongg and Bridge Club. The Bridge Club meets September through May, while the Book Club and Mah Jongg groups meet year-round. Be sure to contact us if you are interested in joining any of these activities.

We stay busy and have fun with our projects for the Orchestra. We'd love to have you join us.

Illinois Symphony Orchestra

The Illinois Symphony Orchestra is the only professional orchestra performing regularly in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The orchestra's home base for Symphonic Concerts is the beautifully restored Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Bloomington.

Contact us at BloomingtonNormalSymphonyGuild@frontier.com.