Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Alltop.
Stephen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a student at the Eastman School of Music, I studied choral and orchestral conducting, and the organ and harpsichord. My dream was to conduct both choruses and orchestras and to perform professionally on the keyboard. Chicago has been a marvelous place for those aspirations to be realized. I ultimately received a doctorate in Orchestra Conducting at Northwestern University and joined the faculty there in 1992. In addition to teaching full-time at Northwestern, I became Music Director and Conductor of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra in 1995 and Music Director of the Apollo Chorus of Chicago in 1997. I recently also became Music Director of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra in 2013.
Great composers of the past and the present have poured their utmost genius into works for chorus and orchestra, and I feel most fulfilled when conducting that marvelous musical combination. I love the challenge of putting large pieces together, all the advance planning and rehearsal, and most of all the opportunities to bring so many masterpieces to life. It is also a great joy to share what I learn in my work with the bright and talented students at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University.
In the last decade, I’ve begun to do a great deal of public speaking about music and composers and to collaborate with Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management in presentations about leadership. This aspect of my work has challenged me to delve deeper into so many topics related to music and to make me a better musician.
Has it been a smooth road?
The time I remember as most challenging was in my mid-twenties when I had so much desire and energy to succeed, and had invested so much time in study, but was waiting for the professional opportunities to come along. Fortunately, my first conducting positions came before I had finished my doctoral work, and then the challenges became how to manage multiple positions with equal care and commitment. While there still are not enough hours in each day, I have tried to become good at addressing many needs in a short amount of time.
Early in one’s career, you wish you had more to do. Then if you’re successful, the challenge becomes how do you manage it all and still find time for essential things like exercise and reflection. I work on that issue every day.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Apollo Chorus of Chicago is one of the most active choral ensembles in the United States. The ensemble frequently performs music by composers of our time and has hosted composers such as Eric Whitacre, Eleanor Daley, Stephen Paulus, Jeremy Beck, Stacy Garrop, and Jeff Beal at its concerts. Performing in Chicago’s most prominent musical venues, the Chorus offers compelling performances of the greatest choral masterpieces. The Apollo Chorus has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and with many distinguished performers and orchestras such as Josh Groban, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Other recent collaborations have been with Chicago Opera Theater and the Netflix series Sense8.
Contact Info:
- Website: stephenalltop.com
- Phone: 847-491-2299
- Email: swalltop2@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra – Darryl Hoemann, Celebration of Celtic Music with Trinity Irish dancers – Michael Lyons, Brahms Requiem Photo-Diddy Blyth, Siamsa (Celebration of Celtic Music) 2018 – Michael Lyons
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