About Our Musicians
Meet the String Section
William Allmart, Concertmaster
William Allmart has been studying the violin since the age of nine. Bill earned a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Amherst College, and during those years he was also fortunate to be a student of Phillip Naegele, formerly a violinist with the Cleveland Orchestra and one of the founders of the Marlboro Festival.
Following several years playing in professional ensembles in Chile, Bill was accepted into the violin program at Indiana University but problems with his left hand forced him to switch to the business school instead, where he earned an MBA in Marketing and Finance. Careers in international banking, fundraising and international development followed.
Bill joined the DuPage Symphony in 2004 and currently serves as its Concertmaster.
Carrie Provost, Violin II Section Leader
Carrie Provost, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra’s Violin II Section Leader and Conductor for the Youth Symphony of DuPage Concert Orchestra, has. From a young age, Carrie’s life was steeped in music. Her family life flowed with creativity, artistry, and a deep love for the arts. Her father was an exceptionally creative printmaker and painter, and her mother would play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on the record player as three-year-old Carrie listened in awe: “I felt the music all the way down into my cells. I knew this was me right away.”
Music spoke so strongly to Carrie that when her four older siblings took piano lessons, she clambered up onto the bench and began learning along with them at age five years. Her mother, keen to encourage musical expression, found Carrie her own piano teacher.
One fateful day in 4th grade, everything would change for Carrie. A man came to school, showcasing the most beautiful instrument, a violin. That day catalyzed Carrie’s deep love for the violin. She hasn’t looked back since. Read more about Carrie here.
Famous Violonists
Meet the Woodwind Section
Donald Lurye has played clarinets of various shapes and sizes in the DuPage Symphony since 2008. He believes he holds the DSO record for number of clarinets he managed in a concert at any one time (i.e., five). Ever wonder why he and his section mates can’t be satisfied with playing just one instrument like the rest of the orchestra members? Watch this informative video to find out!
Donald recently retired as CEO of the Elmhurst Clinic. He is a board-certified physician in family medicine and is a past president of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians. He and his wife Lillian live in Glen Ellyn and have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Famous Clarinetists
Larry Combs, Martin Fröst, Benny Goodman, Robert Marcellus, Anthony McGill, Ricardo Morales, Sabine Meyer, Richard Stoltzman, David Schirfin, Harold Wright
Popular Clarinet Concertos
Aaron Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Los Angeles Philharmonic, featuring Benny Goodman, clarinet
I. Slowly and expressively, II. Rather fast – Coda
John Corigliano: Clarinet Concerto
New York Philharmonic, featuring Stanley Druker, clarinet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, featuring Sabine Meyer, clarinet
Carl Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57
Changwon Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Han Kim, clarinet
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 (J. 114)
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, featuring Jörg Widmann
I. Allegro II. Adagio ma non troppo III. Rondo. Allegretto
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E flat Major, Op. 74 (J. 118)
City of London Sinfonia, featuring Michael Collins, clarinet
Meet the Brass Section
Famous Horn Players
Popular Horn Concertos
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat, K. 495
Peter Damm, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
I. Allegro moderato, II. Romance (Andante), III. Rondo (Allegro vivace)
Richard Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, TrV 283
Hermann Baumann, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Reinhold Glière: Horn Concerto
Baborak, Kitajenko, Berliner Philharmoniker
Robert Schumann: Concert Piece for four horns in F major
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor, Berliner Philharmoniker
Radek Baborak, horn, Stefan Dohr, horn, Stefan de Leval Jezierski, horn, Sarah Willis, horn
Benjamin Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings op. 31
Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini
Robert Tear (Tenor), Dale Clevenger (Horn)
Brahms Horn Trio Op.40
Marie Bérard, Violin, Peter Longworth, Piano, Neil Deland, French Horn
Dukas: Villanelle for Horn and Orchestra ·
Hermann Baumann, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata in F major for Horn
DSO Featured Video
Check out the below video of the DSO’s May 13, 2023 concert “Symphonic Song” featuring soprano Sarah Brailey to see how our musicians work together to create beautiful music!
DuPage Symphony Orchestra: An Orchestra of Volunteers!
Pursuit of Excellence
As a highly accomplished, all-volunteer, community orchestra, the DSO exists to inspire people of all ages to develop an appreciation of symphonic music; to provide accessible, real-life orchestral experiences for area children and students; and to create an outlet for talented musicians to share their passion for music throughout DuPage County.
Serving Illinois Artists
One of the founding objectives of the DSO is to provide an outlet for volunteer musicians to share their love of music with the community. More than 100 musicians rehearse weekly from September to mid-July and are able to collaborate on musical programs while maintaining employment in their chosen professions.
Our Preludes and Interludes Student Musician Series provides an opportunity for chamber ensembles, made up of high school musicians in DuPage County, to perform in the lobby at DSO concerts throughout the season. And, the DSO encourages serious study and musical excellence among young musicians through its annual Young Artists Auditions. Finally, the Young Composers Club based in Naperville provides an opportunity for elementary school students to compose music for small instrumental ensembles. Select members of the DSO worked with these students to workshop, rehearse, and perform a set of newly created pieces for different combinations of woodwind and string instruments at a local chamber concert. The young composers introduced each of the pieces on the program, and both players and audience members had a chance to comment on the music and ask questions.