Patron Services supervisor Justin Corp champions Hancock and Hisaishi

The 2023-24 seasons of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents are just weeks away, and members of the Sales and Patron Experience team are here to help. Tickets and subscriptions for all series are now on sale and can be ordered online or over the phone.

Can’t decide which concerts to select? Over the next weeks, staff members will offer their own choices for the must-see performances of 2023-24.

Justin Corp, Patron Services supervisor, compiled a list of his Top 5 concerts in the 2023-2024 season after several tough decisions and countless sleepless nights. With an emphasis on special guests, his Top 5 features living legends and rising stars from a variety of disciplines:

Herbie Hancock, March 30: When we have a household name coming to Symphony Center for a one-night event, you have to be there. Chicago’s own Herbie Hancock has been at the forefront of the music industry for more than 50 years, and has always been on my bucket list for must-see artists. The number of times that he has come to Symphony Center in the past 26 years lines up with the number of Grammy Awards that he holds — 14. I’m a SCP Jazz subscriber, and I was ecstatic when I found out that he was coming this season.

Klaus Mäkelä and the CSO with Yuja Wang, April 4-6: For the second consecutive season, Klaus Mäkelä’s work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra went down as arguably the most electric concert of the year. This season, he will be following up his Stravinsky and Mahler performances with Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring Yuja Wang. When you pair 27-year-old conductor Klaus Mäkelä with the absolutely stunning pianist Yuja Wang, you can count on a spectacle happening.

CSO x Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, April 25-27: Again — I’ve been a SCP Jazz series subscriber since my start with the CSO. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis already has some of the most in-demand performances of the year in their annual residency at Symphony Center, but this will be something different altogether. It’s the greatest orchestra in the world mixed with the greatest jazz orchestra in the world on our stage for three nights in a row. They’ll be performing pieces by Shostakovich and Prokofiev, along with more recent American compositions by John Adams and (who else but) Wynton Marsalis.

Esa-Pekka Salonen and the CSO in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, May 23-25: Noted as a clear favorite of orchestras and audiences around the world, Esa-Pekka Salonen will be returning to Symphony Center for the first time since his two-week residency in 2021-2022. This time, he’ll be conducting the Chicago Symphony in one of Mahler’s greatest masterworks, the Resurrection Symphony (No. 2). Spoiler alert: When the chorus enters for the first time in the final movement, you’ll feel like you’ve transcended life itself.

Hisaishi Conducts Hisaishi, June 27-29: Last season, we featured John Williams — one of the most prolific American film composers of all time. This season, on the CSO at the Movies series, we will feature Joe Hisaishi — one of the most prolific Japanese film composers of all time. Hisaishi has composed some of the most serene, emotional and memorable scores in animation. The 2003 Academy Award for best animated feature went to “Spirited Away” (which Hisaishi scored) — a movie that is an absolute must-watch (along with all of the other Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli movies). Even if you’ve never seen “Princess Mononoke” or “Howl’s Moving Castle,” you’re still going to love his latest symphony, his third.

Symphony Center’s friendly and knowledgeable Sales and Patron Experience team members are here to help. For personalized assistance with your ticket order, call 312-294-3000 or chat with them on CSO.org.