The Elgin Symphony Orchestra launches its 76th season this weekend with a solid financial base and a growing audience — far from the near-bankruptcy they faced just four years earlier.

CEO Marc Thayer said the ESO ended its fiscal year in June with a $100,000 surplus, despite operating expenses going up more than 4% in the last two years. For the first time in a decade, they ended the year in the black, he said.

Ticket sales are up 80% since 2021, ticket sale revenue up 27% since 2023, and ticket sales for this year already higher than last year, according to Thayer.

“Sunday afternoon’s concert is sold out, and there are a few remaining seats for Saturday night,” Thayer said Wednesday of their shows at The Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin.

Thayer became CEO in 2021, taking the helm whe

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