Established in 2007, the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra has rapidly grown from a small group in the suburbs to one of the region’s premier youth orchestras, attracting students from all over Chicagoland. The MPO hosts up to four concerts per season on the campus of Elmhurst University and venues across the Chicagoland suburbs. Committed to diversity and accessibility of music education, the MPO is home to one of the lowest tuition costs among competing regional youth orchestras. As a result of the program’s attention to quality music-making and collaboration, alumni of the program have become global leaders in music education and performance. The orchestra has performed at numerous prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Zankel Hall in New York City, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago, Peoria Civic Center as part of the 2022 Illinois All-State Conference (IMEC), the TODAY Show in New York City, Detroit’s “Summer in the Park,” and overseas in Austria in the cities of Vienna, Salzburg, and Hallstatt. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the orchestra was scheduled to embark on their second international tour through Prague, Budapest, and Bratislava, and host its first concert in Downtown Chicago at the Chicago Cultural Center. The group regathered in its 2021-2022 Season “Reimagined, Reignited” and presented its first community pop concert sponsored by Northern Trust Bank, which was featured in the Chicago Tribune. In April 2026, the MPO partnered with the Negaunee Music Institute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to produce "In Our Hands", a ground-breaking joint initiative aimed at harnessing music education to build climate literacy and to explore the intersection of activism and music performance. Through rehearsals and workshops with musicians from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and advocates from the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative of the University of Chicago, students researched and programmed engaging repertoire related to a climate topic of their choice, culminating in a performance at Symphony Center in Chicago. In 2025, the MPO was selected as Youth Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, recognized for its bold, unique, and up-and-coming programming. From the 2026/27 Season, the Midwest Fine Arts Society, along with its three ensembles, will become the youth orchestra in residence at the Elmhurst University Department of Music, under a new strategic partnership.
2019 American Prize in Orchestral Performance
2019 American Prize in Conducting
2021 Conductor of the Year, Illinois Council of Orchestras
2025 Youth Orchestra of the Year, Illinois Council of Orchestras
The Midwest Fine Arts Society is the youth orchestra program in residence at the Elmhurst University Department of Music.
The Midwest Fine Arts Society is partially supported by Northern Trust Bank.
The Midwest Fine Arts Society acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
The MPO's mission is to offer world class music education in the most unique way by providing one of Chicagoland's lowest tuitions and being open to all students, regardless of age, ensuring that every person dreaming of being in an orchestra can be part of our life-changing experience.
Make a difference today by donating to the MPO at midphil.org/donate.