Press Reader: Texarkana Gazette: MacArthur Genius Award winner Reginald Robinson performs ragtime [Texarkana, April 1, Centennial of Joplin's Death]

Reginald R. Robinson

Scott Joplin (c.1867-1917) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a Bibliography and comprehensive Works List by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com.

 

 

Press Reader

 

Texarkana Gazette

March 31, 2017

 

Sergio A. Mims: Imani Winds Woodwinds Quintet - Logan Center at the University of Chicago Sunday, April 30, 3 PM, Free

Imani Winds

Sergio A. Mims forwards this release: 

Sunday, April 30, 3pm
 / Free
New Music Ensemble: Imani Winds
Performance Hall

To complete a multi-quarter project of working closely with Department of Music graduate students in Composition, the internationally celebrated Imani Winds – the new Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Chicago – presents the world premiere performances of six works created by composers Rodrigo Bussad, Pierce Gradone, Jack Hughes, Joungbum Lee, Timothy Page, and Igor Santos. Hear how each young composer both explores and exploits the sound world of the woodwind quintet in this cutting-edge program.

John Malveaux: Mark Swed wrote in Los Angeles Times that Soprano So Young Park "sang spectacularly" as Olympia in Tales of Hoffman with Los Angeles Opera

So Young Park

Marie Cook Glover

Ralph Cato

Grant Gershon

  

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com  

writes:

Soprano So Young Park sang the role of Olympia in Tales of Hoffman with LA Opera on March 30, 2017. Mark Swed, music critic LA Times quote, "As Olympia, the mechanical doll that Hoffmann is tricked into believing is his love, So Young Park got by and sang spectacularly". So Young Park is a rising star and the audience responded with full recognition of her talent at the close of Act One. 

Ms Park was gracious to receive me backstage. She is also SPECTACULAR in personality. See So Young Park (pic 1). Also chatted with Marie Cook Glover-President of Southeast Symphony-oldest African American founded orchestra in the United States (pic 2); Ralph Gato-Educator/Baritone (Pic 3), and Maestro Grant Gershon-Los Angeles Master Chorale (pic 4)

Eric Conway: Morgan State University’s production of The Wiz has begun! Today we opened our doors up to a near sold-out house for our 10AM morning performance

Dr. Eric Conway writes:

Hello All,

Morgan State University’s production of The Wiz  has begun!  Today we opened our doors up to a near sold-out house for our 10AM morning performance. We always have one show at a morning time during the week for students to enjoy our productions.

I must say that this show is more spectacular than I imagined!  This production was the Department of Fine and Performing Arts' contribution to the Sesquicentennial celebration at Morgan.  Our production is extra special in that there are several subtle (and not-so-subtle) references to Morgan State culture built into it:  

• images of Morgan’s building appear in background, with a subliminal message of your alma mater being a "home," of sorts.  
• Dorothy's outfit!  You need to check out the coveted shoes (hint:  they are not red)!
• the tornado scene flashes images of Morgan faculty who have already gone on to Glory.  
• Scarecrow receives his brain power from stuffing his costume with a box of cereal with President David Wilson’s face on the box!  

As you might imagine:  this show is FUN for everyone; but it is also poignant for those of us who love Morgan! 

You'll want to see this show!  The huge set is brilliant and perfectly supports the activity on stage.  Like a Broadway musical, all the voices are mic’d well so that you hear every word of every song...the orchestra sounds like a Broadway pit orchestra...the costumes are outstanding!   I am proud to say, without a doubt, this is  absolutely the best Fine and Performing Arts production ever!  

Gilliam Concert Hall is a beautiful setting for this centerpiece of MSU's Sesquicentennial celebration!    All seats are $30 general admission (with discounts for seniors, students and children).  Arrive early to pick your seats because The Wiz is an open seating event — which means the earlier to arrive, the better seat you will have! 

To whet your appetite for the magic and spectacle of this show, I have attached two links to excerpts from today’s matinee.  Please take in two signature songs from the production.  I have also attached several photos from the show to give you a glance at the quality of the production.   

The show times are:  Friday, March 31st, 2017 - Opening Night with a small reception and cameo appearance by André De Shields the original Wiz on Broadway; Saturday, April 1, 2017, 2:00 PM Matinee and 7:30 PM show; Sunday, April 2, 2017, 3PM show.  

Come on! Ease on Down....  See you at the show!

Eric  

https://youtu.be/hJaSba7FshI

https://youtu.be/ju71xxNMdG8

**********************************

Eric Conway, D.M.A.

Fine and Performing Arts Department, Chair
Morgan State University
1700 East Cold Spring Lane
Carl Murphy Fine Arts Center, Room 329C
Baltimore, MD 21251

Regina Harris Baiocchi: The deadline for haiku and essay submissions has been extended to Wednesday, 5 April 2017, 12:00 midnight.

Regina Harris Baiocchi

(Payton Studios)

Regina Harris Baiocchi writes:

Dear Poets, Teachers & Parents:

The deadline for haiku and essay submissions has been extended to Wednesday, 5 April 2017, 12:00 midnight. You may enter poems online at HaikuFest.com  Cash awards and prizes will be given to poets ages 8-14.

Essays from students ages 8-18 may be emailed to this account or sent to our P. O. Box. One essay will be awarded $100; the author will introduce our guest poet, Li-Young Lee.

Please visit our website for details. If you have questions, call 312-253-7453. Look forward to hearing from you.

Peace,

Regina Baiocchi

www.HaikuFest.com

312-253-7453 (v-mail)

Comment by email:

Dear Bill: Thanks for always being in the case. We couldn't do what we do without your help. Spreading the word means the world to me and all the students Haiku Festival serves. Peace, Regina [Regina Harris Baiocchi]

🎶🎶🎶

 

Daily Record: Saturday, April 1 "Dowling will perform Joplin’s complete works over the course of two recitals (at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) at Carnegie Hall"

Richard Dowling

(Peter Schaaf)

Daily Record

Morris County, New Jersey

BILL NUTT, CORRESPONDENT 

March 30, 2017

“The American Mozart.”

That is how pianist Richard Dowling describes Scott Joplin, the self-styled “King of Ragtime” who died exactly 100 years ago on April 1.

Rooted in African-American rhythms and classical composition, Joplin’s music established ragtime as an authentic American music form and a direct precursor to jazz.

“So many of Joplin’s pieces have such memorable tunes,” said Dowling. “And he wrote a lot of melodies. He wrote so many rags, and each rag has three or four sections. How is that possible?”

Dowling is in a position to speak knowledgeably about Joplin. The pianist has immersed himself in the composer’s oeuvre, and this weekend Dowling will have the opportunity to celebrate the “King.”

Tomorrow, Dowling will perform Joplin’s complete works over the course of two recitals (at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. The “Joplinathon,” as Dowling dubbed it, will include more than 50 rags, marches, and waltzes.

On Monday, April 3, Dowling will join forces with fellow pianist Jeff Barnhart in a program called “Two Sides of Scott Joplin,” which will be presented at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum.

Dowling indicated that he is happy to share Joplin’s music with audiences, and he has no doubt that they will come away from the concerts sharing his love of that music.

“Joplin said that ragtime had ‘an intoxicating effect,’ ” Dowling said. “The syncopation (a change in the music’s rhythm) gets to you. If you can keep your feet still during ragtime, there’s something wrong.”

Dowling was exposed to Joplin’s music through the 1973 film “The Sting.” That soundtrack featured about a half-dozen Joplin compositions, notably “The Entertainer.”

“I saw the movie and fell in love with the music,” Dowling said. “I went down to the music store and bought Joplin’s collected works.”

An aspect of Joplin’s music that particularly impressed Dowling was its basis in classical music.

“Joplin was classically trained by Julius Weiss, a German-Jewish music teacher,” Dowling said. “He understood music theory, and he understood the craft. That was the mark of a fine composer. You don’t find that elsewhere.”

As an example, Dowling cited the middle section of Joplin’s “Antoinette,” which he compared to the music of Franz Schubert.

Dowling also enjoys performing such pieces as “The Nonpareil,” “The Great Crush Collision” (in which the piano mimics the sound of two trains colliding), “Binks’ Waltz,” and “Euphonic Sounds” (which Joplin himself considered one of his best).

For the Carnegie Hall concert, Dowling will include a nod to “Treemonisha,” Joplin’s opera, by including a transcription of the song “A Real Slow Drag.”

 

Soprano Julia Bullock Debuts with Boston Symphony Orchestra Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 in Leonard Bernstein Centennial Season Celebration

Julia Bullock

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Comment by email:
Thanks for sending this over, Bill! Taryn Lott

African Musical Arts: Radio Arts Foundation 4-Part Interview on Adolphus C. Hailstork, J.H. Kwabena Nketia, William Grant Still & Fred Onovwerosuoke

Adolphus C. Hailstork

 

J. H. Kwabena Nketia

William Grant Still

 

Fred Onovwerosuoke

African Musical Arts writes:

The Music of Adolphus Hailstork:

Part 1 of Radio Arts Foundation interview by Kathy Lawton Brown

https://vimeo.com/210643362

The Music of J. H. Kwabena Nketia:

Part 2 of Radio Arts Foundation Interview by Kathy Lawton Brown https://vimeo.com/210647958

The Music of William Grant Still:

Part 3 of Radio Arts Foundation Interview by Kathy Lawton Brown

https://vimeo.com/210782183

The Music of Fred Onovwerosuoke:
Part 4 of Radio Arts Foundation Interview by Kathy Lawton Brown

https://vimeo.com/210841897

Please share, thanks!

African Musical Arts

Ritz Chamber Players: Kyle Lombard, Violin and David Berry, Piano Friday, March 31, 2017, 7 PM, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens; Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, William Grant Still

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Ballade in C Minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 73
William Grant Still Suite from "Mother and Child"

Comment by email:

Thank you as ever, Bill Very best, Hilary Hilary Burrage

 

The Hollywood Reporter: Jordan Peele on What 'Get Out' Teaches Hollywood

Jordan Peele

The Hollywood Reporter provides excerpts from its interview with Jordan Peele, along with a link to the full interview:

Jordan Peele on What 'Get Out' Teaches Hollywood

by Pamela McClintock

"Black voices will tell good stories just like anybody else," says the 'Key & Peele' star and helmer of the breakout horror hit, who's being honored as CinemaCon's director of the year.

LINK TO FULL PIECE: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jordan-peele-black-voices-will-tell-good-stories-like-989123

On what Hollywood should learn from black films:

I think the lesson is that when you give black voices a platform and the opportunity to tell our story, we will tell good stories just like anybody else. The power of story and the power of a well-crafted film or television show is really all you need to speak to people. I think Hollywood is sort of catching up to that. We're at the beginning of a renaissance where people are realizing black films can not only work at the box office, but they can work because there's been a void. Get Out is fresh and novel and new because at the base level it has a black, male protagonist in a horror movie. It is no mistake that the iconic image from this movie is Daniel's face with tears streaming down his cheeks. We haven't seen that before. Usually in horror movies — as in Blair Witch — it is the white girl's crying face.

 

On why seeing Get Out in a theater is a must:

I think one of the reasons Get Out spoke to the CinemaCon judges is because that experience is the point of the movie in many ways. Let's say the audience is half black and half white. During the first half of the film, you can tell the two are having slightly different experiences watching it. By the second half, everybody is cheering for the same character, for the black character. It creates a common ground for a discussion about racism.

On why he turned down SNL:

I had to turn it down because of contractual reasons [with MADtv]. That was brutal. But it was also a great lesson for me: During the lowest times, the best things can be born. That's when I started asking myself questions that led to writing Get Out.

On why his sketch comedy career is over and incoming offers to direct:

I want to focus on writing, directing and producing.

There is a feeling of opportunity that is truly amazing. I've been in Hollywood for 14 years — 14 years of closed doors and the grind. So to feel the energy coming from inside the industry, let alone from the country, is just one of the best feelings. Luckily I have reps who can help me sift through all of the opportunities. But I really want to continue to nurture my own voice. I love writing, so I'm not in any rush. I am a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, who takes time to figure out what his next movie is.

Chicago Sinfonietta announces 30th anniversary season in 2017-18 featuring 3 World Premieres, 5 Chicago Premieres

Mei-Ann Chen

 

Adé Williams

(Gapers Block)

William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com 

Chicago Sinfonietta

Season highlights include:

Three World Premieres by Jessie Montgomery, Reena Esmail and Clarice Assad as part of first-ever Commissions by Women Composers Project;

Five Chicago Premieres including Laura Karpman’s Grammy-nominated Ask Your Mama;

First-ever evening-length program dedicated to female composers;

Plus collaborations with Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet, Mucca Pazza, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, NewMoon Chicago, Northern Illinois University Steelband and more!

 

 

CHICAGO – Chicago Sinfonietta, the nation’s most diverse orchestra dedicated to pushing artistic boundaries, announces an epic 30^th anniversary season in 2017-2018 showcasing a full spectrum of voices and identities expressed through the universal language of music honoring Chicago Sinfonietta’s past, present and future. Under the leadership of Music Director Mei-Ann Chen, the orchestra’s season includes five subscription concerts that move beyond the pure classical cannon and encompass music styles from around the world and across the eras including Hispanic, gospel, Caribbean, jazz, tango, Middle Eastern and opera with works from Mozart, Prokofiev, Still, Bernstein, Higdon and more accompanied by film, dance, spoken word and world renowned guest artists.

 

Highlights of the 2017-2018 season include, for the first time, a season-long Commissions by Women Composers Project presenting new works by female artists including three World Premieres by Jessie Montgomery, Reena Esmail and Clarice Assad as well as a Chicago Premiere by Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon; a special 30^th anniversary MLK Tribute concert featuring the Chicago Premiere of three-time Grammy-nominated multi-media work Ask Your Mama featuring poetry by Langston Hughes by Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman; an entire evening-length program presenting works by leading female composers and a free 30^th Anniversary Battle of the Bands concert at Millennium Park featuring punk marching band Mucca Pazza. Featured artists throughout the season also include jazz great Nnenna Freelon, soprano Janai Brugger, guest conductor Hector Guzman, Music Director of Plano Symphony Orchestra and performances from Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet, Chicago’s Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Mexican folkloric group Cuerdas Clasicas, spectacle art specialists NewMoon Chicago, the Northern Illinois University Steelband, the Apostolic Church God Sanctuary Choir and more.

 

Created as a response to the lack of women composers featured on classical programs across the country, Chicago Sinfonietta presents the Commissions by Women Composers Project to close that gender equality gap and promote diversity and inclusion in the field of classical music. The season long project will commission, perform, and record works by four diverse women composers as well as perform and record Florence Price’s “Dances in the Canebrakes”. The album will be recorded and distributed with Cedille records and will be available in the Fall of 2018.

"As we embrace an important milestone in the history of the Chicago Sinfonietta - 30 years! - this coming 2017-18 season, I am honored and privileged to be a part of this magnificent organization and to continue this much-treasured partnership with this incredible ensemble," stated Music Director Mei-Ann Chen. "This season we celebrate the versatility, talent, and bold history of Chicago Sinfonietta, and the vision of its late founder, Paul Freeman, as we look forward to the future. Dynamism, diversity, creativity and collaboration of the highest caliber - they are all on display this season.”

The Sinfonietta performs its five subscription concerts in the western suburbs as well as in Chicago. The Sinfonietta’s suburban home is the Wentz Concert Hall of North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Avenue in Naperville while downtown Chicago concerts take place in Orchestra Hall of Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Avenue. This year’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert will be presented in Pfeiffer Hall of North Central College instead of Wentz Concert Hall. Chicago Sinfonietta’s 30^th Anniversary Concert will take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, 201 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL. Before each show and at intermission, Chicago Sinfonietta audience members will have the opportunity to participate in interactive activities in conjunction with each concert’s theme.

 

Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2017-2018 Season

 

Chicago Sinfonietta 30th Anniversary Concert: A Birthday Battle of the Bands!

August 23, 2017 – 7:00pm – Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park 

 

Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor; Adé Williams, violinist; Liz Carroll, violinist; James Sanders, violinist; Mucca Pazza, marching band.

Mendelssohn	Symphony No. 4, Italian
Brubeck	Interplay for Three Violins
Sarasate	Zigeunerweisen
Still	Humor
Deitrich	War of Amusements
Prokofiev	Romeo and Juliet Suite
Various	Ending of all Endings

Chicago Sinfonietta kicks off its anniversary season with a birthday celebration at Millennium Park honoring artists and works from the orchestra’s 30-year history. Led by Mei-Ann Chen, this eclectic program begins with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, Italian, the first work the Sinfonietta ever performed as an orchestra in 1987 followed by Christopher Brubeck’s Interplay for Three Violins performed by famed Celtic violinist Liz Carroll, Chicago Sinfonietta violinist James Sanders and award winning young violinist Adé Williams. The first half continues with Pablo de Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen also featuring Adé Williams and concludes with William Grant Still’s Humor. The orchestra switches gears for the second half as punk marching band Mucca Pazza joins for Andy Deitrich’s War of Amusements followed by an epic battle of the bands between the orchestra and Mucca Pazza to the tune of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite. The celebration concludes with not one but four grand finales in a compilation featuring classical music’s most epic endings: Jacques Offenbach’s Can Can, Edvard Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture and Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome.

Concert 1: Trademark ™

Saturday, September 16, 2017 – 8:00pm - Wentz Concert Hall

Monday, September 18, 2017 – 7:30pm - Symphony Center

Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor; Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre; Northern Illinois University Steelband

Montgomery	Coincedent Dances
Mozart	Rondo all Turca
Seeman	Fayed to Blue
Kitchener	Pan in A-minor
Assad	Sin Fronteras
Respighi	Pines of Rome

Chicago Sinfonietta opens its anniversary season with an unexpected and adventurous concert experience, a trademark of the orchestra’s programming for three decades, featuring two World Premieres as part of Sinfonietta’s Commissions by Women Composers Project. The concert begins with the World Premiere of emerging composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery’s Coincedent Dances and continues with one of Mozart’s best known piano works Rondo all Turca featuring the 10-piece Northern Illinois University Steelband who then joins Sinfonietta’s principal harpist Faye Seeman on her original solo composition Fayed to Blue before switching to the Caribbean sound of Lord Kitchener’s upbeat Pan in A-minor. The second half opens with the World Premiere of Grammy Award-nominated composer Clarice Assad’s Sin Fronteras featuring Chicago’s Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre and concludes with Respighi’s monumental symphonic poem Pines of Rome.

Concert II: Regresar / Return: A Día de los Muertos Celebration

Saturday, November 4, 2017 – 8:00pm - Wentz Concert Hall

Monday, November 6, 2017 – 7:30pm - Symphony Center

Hector Guzman, Guest Conductor; Roosevelt University Conservatory Choirs and Alumni Chorus; Cuerdas Clasicas; NewMoon Chicago

Revueltas	Sensemaya
Piazzolla	Libertango
Mozart	Requiem Introit/Kyrie Dies Irae Rex Tremendae Confustatti/La Crimosa Lux Eterna-Cumsanctis
Zyman	Fantasia Mexicana for 2 flutes and orchestra
Cortés	Marila Un Cielo Para Ti Jalisco de Mis Amores
Chavez	Sinfonia India

Chicago Sinfonietta celebrates the past with its annual Día de los Muertos concert inspired by the Mexican holiday “Day of the Dead” featuring recreations of the audience’s favorite moments from past seasons. Led by guest conductor Hector Guzman, Music Director of Plano Symphony Orchestra, the concert begins with Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’ most famous masterpiece Sensemayá based on Nicolás Guillén’s poem of the same name followed by Argentine composer and creator of the tango nuevo movement Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango. The first half concludes with an entrancing theatrical performance of excerpts from Mozart’s Requiem featuring NewMoon Chicago who will bring the music to life through spectacular visual accompaniments along with Roosevelt University Conservatory Choirs and Alumni Chorus. The second half opens with Samuel Zyman’s thrilling Fantasia Mexicana packed with Mexican folklorist expressions followed by three works by Gori Cortés: Marila, Un Cielo Para Ti and Jalisco de Mis Amores featuring the 12-piece Mexican folkloric group Cuerdas Clasicas. The concert concludes with Carlos Chávez's most popular composition, Sinfonia India based on three melodies originating from native-American tribes of northern Mexico.

 

Concert III: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert: Ask Your Mama

Sunday, January 14, 2018 - 3:00pm - Pfeiffer Hall

Monday, January 15, 2018 - 7:30pm - Symphony Center

Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor; Janai Brugger, soprano; Nnenna Freelon, jazz vocalist, and artists TBA.

Karpman

Ask Your Mama**

For its 30^th anniversary MLK Tribute concert, the Sinfonietta will present the Chicago Premiere of Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman’s Ask Your Mama, a three-time Grammy nominated multi-media jazz and symphonic setting of Langston Hughes’ epic 1961 poem, “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz”. Ask Your Mama journeys through time, place, and verbal expression to trace the currents of cultural diasporas and is presented as a single composition featuring a vivid mix of opera, hot jazz, German lieder, cha-cha, patriotic songs, post- bop, Middle Eastern music and Afro-Caribbean drumming. Hughes’ words will be also be amplified by spoken word, archival audio, video and special guest performances by renowned opera soprano Janai Brugger and six-time Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon. Ask Your Mama made its World Premiere in 2009 as part of Carnegie Hall’s Honor! Festival showcasing the cultural legacy of African-American musicians.

 

Concert IV: Hear Me Roar

Sunday, March 11, 2018 - 3:00pm - Wentz Concert Hall

Monday, March 12, 2018 – 7:30pm - Symphony Center

Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor; Anima Singers, children’s choir

Price	Dances in the Canebrakes
Higdon	Dance Card
Kouyoumdjian	Become Who I Am
Esmail	Avaaz
Pejačević	Symphony in Fm
Clyne	Masquerade

For its penultimate concert of the season, Chicago Sinfonietta places the work of leading female composers center stage with an evening-length program featuring artists from all over the word with compositions spanning nearly a century. The concert opens with the indigenous African rhythms of Price Dances in the Canebrakes by Florence Beatrice Price, the first African-American woman to have a composition played by a major orchestra, followed by the Chicago Premiere of Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s Dance Card. The first half concludes with the Chicago Premiere of Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian’s Become Who I Am, an exploration of gender roles and inequality featuring internationally recognized youth choir Anima Singers. The second half opens with the World Premiere of Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s Avaaz followed by the Chicago Premiere of Dora Pejačević’s Symphony in Fm. The program ends with Grammy Award-winning composer Anna Clyne’s Masquerade, inspired by original mid-18th century promenade concerts.

Concert V: Rise

Saturday, May 12, 2018 - 8:00pm - Wentz Concert Hall

Monday, May 14, 2018 - 7:30pm - Symphony Center

Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor; Harlem Quartet; Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir

Lee	Come Unto Me
Fleischer	West Side Story
Still	Sunday Symphony
Various	Gospel/Spiritual

Chicago Sinfonietta closes its season by exploring how music expresses love, conflict, survival and spirituality - the unseen forces that inspire us to invent, overcome and transcend. The concert begins with the Chicago Premiere of James Lee’s Come Unto Me followed by passion and conflict in an original arrangement of West Side Story for quartet and orchestra by Randall Fleischer featuring the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet, which the Sinfonietta originally premiered and recorded with Harlem Quartet in 2012. The second half begins with William Grant Still’s Sunday Symphony which will take audiences on a journey of awaking, regeneration and romance before closing the program with a complication of spiritual and gospel works featuring the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir, who have performed with the Sinfonietta for nearly 25 years.

 

Ticket Information

Season subscription discount packages are now available and entitle the buyer to a full range of exclusive membership benefits, including: ticket exchange or replacement privileges; discounts on additional single ticket purchases; a “Bring a Friend for Free” pass to the concert of one’s choice; priority seating; and access to exclusive subscriber offers from local partners. 2017-2018 Season subscriptions are on sale now with flexible options to fit everyone including Pick-3 and Pick-4 packages, multiple price points and even $50 full season subscriptions for students.

 

Single tickets go on sale July 1, 2017 with prices ranging from $20-$99 for concerts at Symphony Center and $49-$62 for concerts at North Central College with special $10 pricing available for students at both concerts. Tickets can be purchased by calling Chicago Sinfonietta at 312-284-1554 or online at www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

 

The 30th Anniversary Concert: A Birthday Battle of the Bands! concert at Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park is completely free and open to the public.

 

About the Sinfonietta

Now in its 30^th season, Chicago Sinfonietta has pushed artistic boundaries to provide an alternative way of hearing, seeing and thinking about a symphony orchestra and is dedicated to promoting diversity, inclusion, racial and cultural equity in the arts. Each concert experience blends inventive new works with classical masterworks, each from a diverse array of voices, to entertain, transform and inspire. In 2016, Chicago Sinfonietta was the proud recipient of the 2016 Spirit of Innovation Award presented by the Chicago Innovation Awards as well as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions (MACEI). The MacArthur award recognizes exceptional organizations that are key contributors in their fields. Learn more at www.chicagosinfonietta.org

Chicago Sinfonietta is grateful to its sponsors and supporters including: Aon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Exelon, Illinois Tool Works, Molex, PWC, Southwest Airlines, Fairmont, Hotel Indigo, Macy’s, NBC5 Chicago, Chicago Magazine, Naperville Magazine, SECA Fund, Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Pritzker Foundation, DCASE, Illinois Arts Council, Naperville Special Events Cultural Amenities Commission, Paul M. Angell Foundation.