Talented young performers, thrilling new music inspire Lori Julian

When Lori Julian attended her first Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert at age 17, she didn’t understand why the Ravinia Festival was so crowded that night, but she still recalls that it was an amazing performance. It wasn’t until years later, after becoming a CSO subscriber, that she discovered who had conducted that unforgettable concert — none other than Igor Stravinsky.

This is only one of the many special memories that Julian treasures from her long involvement with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. She has volunteered as a docent and as president of the League, which was called the Women’s Association at the time. Currently, she serves on the CSOA Board of Trustees and the Negaunee Music Institute Board; she generously supports a variety of initiatives, including the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Civic Fellowship program, the Negaunee Music Institute and the CSO MusicNOW series.

After a brief stint of piano lessons as a child, Julian returned to the instrument as an adult, enrolling at Elmhurst College. “They gave me an opportunity to study something that I thought it was too late for me to do,” she said in a recent interview. “But it’s never too late to study music.”

She went on to teach private piano lessons for several years before learning about the CSO’s docent program, which sends trained volunteers into local schools to teach students about classical music and prepare them to attend CSO School Concerts.

Relishing the opportunity to reach more young people than she could through individual lessons, Julian became a docent. “I thought, if I can go and speak to 35 or 50 children at a time and get them turned on to music, how much more meaningful that would be,” she said.

Building on this experience, Julian continued to be an active volunteer with the Women’s Association. After her term as president, the group rebranded as the League and began to accept all volunteers, not only women. This also paved the way for a new volunteer group, the Women’s Board, which was founded in the 2009/10 Season.

For many years, Julian has prioritized the educational programs of the CSO’s Negaunee Music Institute and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in her charitable giving. When she began attending Civic Orchestra concerts, she was moved by “the passion, gratitude and delight” of the young musicians. This led to her annually supporting a scholarship for a Civic musician, and she now sponsors two musicians per season.

In the 2012/13 Season, a new opportunity emerged with the founding of the Civic Fellowship program, which provides a small group of Civic musicians with additional professional development experiences beyond their orchestra membership. Yo-Yo Ma, who was then the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, was integral to developing the program. Julian was immediately attracted to the program’s mission and has supported it ever since.

“[The Civic Fellows] are amazing people, because they’re all interested in community outreach and engagement, and they recognize that it’s not just about getting up on stage and playing a concert,” she said. “It’s about relating to your community.”

Many Civic members and Fellows have remained friends of Julian’s. Since her husband passed away, she has often invited a Civic musician to stay in her home. Erina Yashima also lived with her during her tenure as the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Apprentice of the CSO. Whether keeping in touch over Zoom or hosting friends when they’re back in Chicago, Julian cherishes these relationships. She also regularly hosts chamber music salons with Civic musicians, Ryan Opera Center members and other Chicago artists.

Julian also supports the CSO MusicNOW series, which has introduced audiences to works by contemporary composers for the past 25 years. She loves this series because “it’s so scintillating to your brain to hear new things.” One concert that remains a vivid memory was in 2013, when Tim Munro performed Mexican composer Edgar Guzmán’s Prometeo y Epimeteo, a work for flute that Julian describes as “bone-chilling.”

Julian also serves on the boards of the Ryan Opera Center and WFMT/WTTW, and she especially enjoys opportunities to support collaborations for the benefit of all. For example, on January 1, 2023, at 6:00 PM, WFMT will broadcast the recording of a June 2022 Civic Orchestra concert with Ryan Opera singers performing excerpts from Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus.

Reflecting on the many ways she has been involved with the CSOA, Julian said, “The opportunities that I’ve been given to expand and grow all these years have just been marvelous. I feel so grateful, and I just can’t give back enough.”