David McGill, professor of bassoon in the Bienen School of Music and former principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), will be awarded the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service from the CSO at a concert on Thursday, March 5, at 8 p.m.

CSO music director Riccardo Muti will present the award to Professor McGill during intermission of the CSO concert, which will feature the music of Ligeti, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. Both Muti and McGill will give brief remarks.

David McGill served as principal bassoonist of the CSO for 17 years before resigning in August 2014 to accept a full-time teaching position at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Before joining the CSO, he previously served as principal bassoonist for the Cleveland Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, and the Tulsa Philharmonic. 

The Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service, named after the founder and first music director of the CSO, is presented to retiring members of the CSO. David McGill is the only retiree from 2014 who is receiving the medallion publicly.

“I am deeply honored that Maestro Muti and the Orchestra Committee have graciously bestowed this honor upon me. I appreciate it all the more because it is given by my dear CSO friends,” Professor McGill said.

In a 2014 CSO press release, Riccardo Muti commented that the orchestra would lose an exceptional artist with David McGill’s departure.

“David's deep musical experiences will enable him to make an important contribution to the teaching of young musicians, continuing the great tradition that he himself received,” Muti said in the release.

For more information about the March 5 CSO concert “Muti Conducts Beethoven” or to order tickets, visit www.cso.org.