Music Without Borders
2011 Music Without Borders will take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park. It is FREE to the public. See you next year!
Interested in performing in this festival? See the How to Apply to Perform at the 2010 MOSE Music Festivals page at ExploreChicago.org.
Gospel Music Festival
The 2010 Gospel Music Festival will be held on June 5 & 6 in Millenium Park. See you next year!
Interested in performing in this festival? See the How to Apply to Perform at the 2010 MOSE Music Festivals page at ExploreChicago.org.
Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays
Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays takes place at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millenium Park near the corner of Michigan and Randolph. See you next year!
Interested in performing in this festival? See the How to Apply to Perform at the 2010 MOSE Music Festivals page at ExploreChicago.org.
The Grant Park Music Festival
The Grant Park Music Festival will launch it’s 76th summer of free classical concerts on June 16th. All concerts will take place in Millenium Park. The lineup follows:
Wednesday, June 16 6:30pm
Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, June 15 11:00am – 1:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, June 15 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Wednesday, June 16 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Elina Vähälä, Violin
Berlioz: Roman Carnival
Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Respighi: Feste Romane
The Festival’s 76th season opens with the Four Seasons, Antonio Vivaldi’s beloved masterpiece, performed by Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä, making her Chicago debut. The program also includes Berlioz’s Roman Carnival and Respighi’s musical depiction of celebrations in the city of Rome, Feste Romane.
Friday, June 18 6:30pm
Saturday, June 19 7:30pm
Beethoven: Mass in C Major
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Thursday, June 17 10:00am – 12:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Friday, June 18 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
Amber Wagner, Soprano
Kathryn Leemhuis, Mezzo Soprano
Bryan Griffin, Tenor
Paul Whelan, Bass
Haydn: Te Deum
Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione
Beethoven: Mass, Op. 86, C major
This evening of transcendent works includes Beethoven’s Mass in C major, Haydn’s Te Deum, and Hindemith’s Nobilissima Visione, inspired by Giotto’s early-14th-century frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis.
Wednesday, June 23 6:30pm
Pink Martini
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Pink Martini
The Grant Park Orchestra is joined by the renowned band Pink Martini, which the New York Times dubbed, “a suave salon orchestra with a singer in a formal dress, ready to take up a torch song, tinkle through a light-classical staple or pick up some south-of-the-border rhythms.”
Friday, June 25 6:30pm Saturday, June 26 7:30pm
The Pulitzer Project
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
Schuman: A Free Song, Secular Cantata No.2
Sowerby: The Canticle of the Sun
Copland: Appalachian Spring: Suite
A fascinating look at three early winners of this important classical music prize: including the rarely heard A Free Song by William Schuman (1943) and Aaron Copland’s quintessentially American ballet Appalachian Spring Suite (1945). The program also features Chicago composer Leo Sowerby’s The Canticle of the Sun (1946).
Wednesday, June 30 8:00pm
Muzyka Polska
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, June 29 11:00am – 1:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, June 29 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Wednesday, June 30 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra
Krzysztof Urbański, Conductor
Krzysztof Jabłoński, Piano
Kilar: Krzesany
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra
In celebration of Chopin’s 200th birthday his beloved first Piano Concerto shares the program with Krzesany by Kilar (known for his Oscar-winning score for The Pianist) and Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra, a work inspired by rich Polish folklore.
Sunday, July 4 1:30pm
Independence Day in Millennium Park
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Christopher Bell, Conductor
Lane Alexander And Ensemble
Key: Star Spangled Banner
Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Dvořàk: Largo from Symphony No. 9 in E minor, From the New World
Gould: American Salute
Wendel: Sea to Shining Sea
Porter: Can Can
Strauss: Champagne Polka
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Sousa: Stars and Stripes forever
Celebrate our country’s birthday and musical heritage in a program featuring selections by American composers as well as three Europeans — Dvořák, Johann Strauss, Jr. and Tchaikovsky — whose visits left indelible marks on their music.
Tuesday, July 6 6:30pm Thursday, July 8 6:30pm
Chorus A Cappella: French Sensuality
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Grant Park Chorus
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
The Grant Park Chorus has developed a fine reputation for its committed performance of a cappella repertoire. This year the chorus turns its attention to the sensuous world of French music with works by Poulenc, Debussy, and Messiaen.
Wednesday, July 7 6:30pm
Memoria del Fuego
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Miguel Harth Bedoya, Conductor
Henry Godinez, Director
Luis Valdez And Artists Of The Goodman Theater
Adapted from Memory of Fire by Eduardo Galeano. Produced in association with Goodman Theatre. Uruguayan author Galeano’s masterpiece is adapted for stage by Goodman Theatre Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez and set to a variety of Latin music. Readings in English and Spanish. This concert launches Goodman Theatre’s 2010 Latino Theatre Festival.
Friday, July 9 6:30pm Saturday, July 10 7:30pm
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Thursday, July 8 10:00am – 12:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Friday, July 9 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra
Xian Zhang, Conductor
Chen: Ge Xu (Antiphony)
Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges: Symphonic Suite
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang makes her Chicago debut in a program featuring the great Finnish composer’s heroic symphony, the Orchestral Suite from Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges, and Antiphony, a recent work by Chinese composer Chen-Yi.
Wednesday, July 14 6:30pm
Petrushka
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, July 13 11:00am – 1:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, July 13 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Wednesday, July 14 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra
Hans Graf, Conductor
Alban Gerhardt, Cello
Tchaikovsky: The Tempest: Fantasy—Overture, op.18
Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, op. 33
Stravinsky: Petrushka
This program of infectious melodies and vivid harmonies of two Russian masters includes Tchaikovsky’s work inspired by Shakespeare’s magical last play, The Tempest, and his Variations on a Rococo Theme, plus Stravinsky’s ballet about a puppet come to life at a country fair, Petrushka
Friday, July 16 6:30pm Saturday, July 17 7:30pm
The Magic Toy Shop
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Thursday, July 15 10:00am – 12:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Friday, July 16 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra
Julian Kuerti, Conductor
Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque
Brahms: Haydn Variations
Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, op. 34
This family oriented concert include Respighi’s La Boutique Fantasque, with its depiction of the joyful dances of dolls in a toy shop come to life, as well as Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a perfect introduction to the orchestral instruments.
Wednesday, July 21 8:30pm
Planet Earth Live
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, July 20 11:00am – 1:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Tuesday, July 20 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Wednesday, July 21 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra
George Fenton, Conductor
BBC Earth presents its ground-breaking nature documentary as it makes its world-premiere tour, featuring a score by five-time Academy Award-winning composer George Fenton, who also conducts. This astonishing film will, in the words of David Attenborough, “take you to the last wildernesses and show you the planet and its wildlife as you have never seen them before.”
Friday, July 23 6:30pm Saturday, July 24 7:30pm
A Child of Our Time
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Open Rehearsal: Thursday, July 22 10:00am – 12:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Friday, July 23 11:00am – 1:30pm
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Christopher Bell, Conductor
Jonita Lattimore, Soprano
Anita Krause, Mezzo Soprano
Garrett Sorenson, Tenor
John Relyea, Bass
Tippett: A Child of Our Time
The English composer and pacifist Sir Michael Tippett’s bold and massive choral work, written during the Second World War, explores an act of Jewish resistance. Among the piece’s influences are African American spirituals and the music of Bach.
Wednesday, July 28 6:30pm Friday, July 30 6:30pm
The Fairy’s Kiss
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, Conductor
Markus Groh, Piano
Stravinsky: The Fairy’s Kiss
Liszt: Piano Concert No. 2, A major
Tchaikovsky: Cappriccio Italien
Franz Liszt’s Piano Concert No. 2, which embodies both his creative genius and flamboyant showmanship, shares the program with Stravinsky’s luminous ballet The Fairy’s Kiss ( based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen), and Tchaikovsky’s joyful Capriccio Italien
Wednesday, August 4 6:30pm
Violinist Christian Tetzlaff Returns
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, Violin
This delightfully varied program begins with the rousing Lollapalooza by This delightfully varied program begins with the rousing Lollapalooza by John Adams and continues with Dvorák’s folk-inspired Violin Concerto, and ends with Shostakovich’s enigmatic Symphony No. 9, composed at the end of the Second World War.
Friday, August 6 6:30pm Saturday, August 7 7:30pm
Mozart and Rossini Finales with Ryan Opera Center
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Artists Of The Ryan Opera Center
Rossini: La Cenerentola, Finale Act 1
Mozart: Don Giovanni, Finale
Rossini: L’Italiana in Algieri, Finale Act 1
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro, Finale Act 2
The Festival collaborates with the Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Concert and its collection of rising vocal stars for an evening of opera scenes including Rossini’s La Cenerentola and L’Italiana in Algieri plus Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro.
Wednesday, August 11 6:30pm
Toumani Diabaté: Kora Music from West Africa
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Toumani Diabaté, Kora
The world-renowned kora (a West African harp) player from Mali and his ensemble join the Grant Park Orchestra to perform an adaption of his recent album, The Mande Variations and other works.
Friday, August 13 6:30pm Saturday, August 14 7:30pm
Dvorák: Requiem
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Layla Claire, Soprano
Alexandra Petersamer, Mezzo Soprano
Brendan Tuohy, Tenor
Kyle Ketelsen, Bass
The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus provide a rare opportunity to hear Dvořák’s richly expressive, passionate choral masterpiece, which was among his most popular choral works during his lifetime.
Wednesday, August 18 6:30pm
Brahms and Bizet
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Horacio Gutiérrez, Piano
Saint-Saëns: Marche Militaire Francaise
Bizet: Symphony No. 1 in C major
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
An evening exploring the legacy of national traditions includes Saint-Saëns’ Marche Militaire Francaise, Bizet’s vivacious Symphony No.1 and Brahm’s Piano Concerto No. 1 interpreted by renowned Cuban-born pianist Horacio Gutierrez.
Friday, August 20 6:30pm Saturday, August 21 7:30pm
Mahler: Symphony No. 2
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Karina Gauvin, Soprano
Allyson McHardy, Mezzo Soprano
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection
This masterpiece is among music’s most monumental experiences. This season-ending program is also a special celebration of Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar’s 10th Anniversary with the Grant Park Music Festival.
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Dusk Variations: A Chamber Series
Dusk Variations returns to Millennium Park for its second season with four free concerts on Monday nights in August. Dusk Variations mixes electronica, folk, rock and the avant-garde with classical sounds challenging listeners’ perceptions and exploring ways that popular and alternative music influences classical musicians and composers. Dusk Variations is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Millennium Park, with support from WBEZ Radio and vocalo.org.
Portland Cello Project Monday, August 2, 6:30 pm
Formed in late 2007, this indie-cello orchestra has had a meteoric rise in Portland’s vibrant music scene. “Portland Cello Project is a rotating cast of classically trained cellists known for mixing Salt ‘n’ Pepa with Bach and providing the lush backdrop for some of indie rock’s most compelling voices,” said Spin Magazine. The group has a strong community focused approach and aims to increase accessibility to international audiences. Whether playing a symphony hall or a local punk club, the Portland Cello Project continues to cross the popular-classical divide by collaborating with a veritable who’s who of local musicians across different genres. In Millennium Park, we’ll see six cellos on the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, under the musical stewardship of Douglas Jenkins.
http://portlandcelloproject.com
Victoire Monday, August 9, 6:30 pm
This chamber-rock quintet, founded by composer/pianist Missy Mazzoli in 2008, presents a stirring blend of winds, strings, keyboards and lo-fi electronics. Missy Mazzoli is noted as one of “the most consistently inventive and surprising composers now working in New York” (New York Times). Victoire was recently dubbed “an all-star, all-female quintet” by Time Out New York and was described by Pitchfork as “… so good… a pleasingly accessible entree into the world of modern pseudo-classical music.” The group is exclusively dedicated to performing Mazzoli’s work and offers a mix of dreamy post-rock with quirky minimalism and rich romantic sounds. Since forming in 2008, the group has shared the stage with artists such as Tortoise, Bing and Ruth, Twi the Humble Feather, and Redhooker. Victoire will release their first full-length album in late September 2010 on New Amsterdam Records.
http://www.myspace.com/victoiremusic
Lost In The Trees Monday, August 16, 6:30 pm
This inventive music collective from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, helmed by composer and songwriter Ari Picker, has grown from a solo effort to a full symphonic band. Picker’s group merges the dramatic symphonic elements of classical music with the accessibility of American folk and modern pop, creating a sound that is simultaneously intimate and sonically ambitious. Lost In The Trees was recently featured at this year’s SXSW music festival and will re-release the album All Alone In An Empty House on August 10, 2010 through Anti-Records.
Clare and the Reasons Monday, August 23, 6:30 pm
Brooklyn-based/chamber group Clare and the Reasons is fronted by collaborators Clare Manchon and Olivier Manchon; this band creates swirling orchestral pop and is complete with a string section. The group presents elegant arrangements infused with beautiful harmonies, full of catchy melodies and childlike vocals. “Clare and the Reasons play sweetly intricate chamber-pop that somehow mingles folk-pop, Philip Glass, cabaret oompay and the Beach Boys — for starters — behind the songwriter Clare Muldaur Manchon’s poised high voice, with an endearing quaver,” said The New York Times. Clare and the Reasons will return from their appearance in Japan just in time to hit the stage at Millennium Park on August 23.
Edible Audible Picnic
The poly-rhythmic music series returns to Millennium Park at noon this summer, featuring DJs and live bands as diverse and entrancing as the electronic genre in which they play. Presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Millennium Park, this free series expands to include 16 concerts on Mondays and select Saturdays at noon, beginning June 7 through September 4, 2010.
06/07 Solvent http://solventcity.com/
06/14 The Cool Kids www.coolxkids.com/
07/03 Green Velvet aka Cajmere http://www.myspace.com/greenvelvet
07/05 Nice Nice www.nicenice.net/
07/12 El Guincho http://www.myspace.com/elguincho
07/19 High Places www.hellohighplaces.blogspot.com/
07/24 Chicago Hip Hop–All Headz on Deck www.chihiphop.org
07/26 A Grape Dope
08/02 VHS or BETA Dee Jays www.vhsorbeta.com/VOB/Home.html
08/09 Javelin www.myspace.com/hotjamzofjavelin
08/16 Juan Maclean DJ Set http://www.thejuanmaclean.com/
08/23 All City Affairs www.allcityaffairs.com/
08/30 Future Rock www.futurerock.net
09/04 Orchard Lounge http://www.myspace.com/orchardlounge
Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz
2010 Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz will take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park. It is FREE to the public. Starting time is at 6:30PM unless noted**
07.29.2010 Tortoise 2.0
Tortoise kicks off the series with a world premiere, concert-length commission featuring Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker along with Ed Wilkerson, Greg Ward, Nicole Mitchell, Jim Baker and Fred Lonberg-Holm. Unique in the world of contemporary music, the group is known for its boundless intellectual curiosity, unmistakable compositional voice and contradictory sound worlds.
08.05.2010 Mary Lou Williams at 100 featuring Bethany Pickens and Amina Claudine Myers
Bethany Pickens leads an all star band in a retrospective to honor jazz innovator, composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams, who arranged for Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Earl Hines, and mentored Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk, among others. Amina Claudine Myers’ special commission salutes Williams, in honor of the jazz pioneer’s hundredth birthday. Participating as Music Director, Richard Wang, noted historian and Music Professor Emeritus at UOIC and project consultant Cecilia Smith from New York make certain that the celebration will engage the whole spectrum of Williams’ power.
08.12.2010 Toumani Diabate and the Chicago Transilience Ensemble
Internationally acclaimed Malian kora master Toumani Diabate, continues his collaboration with Chicago’s jazz community in a concert of original and newly commissioned material. Toumani Diabate joins the Chicago Transilience Ensemble led by Jeb Bishop and Josh Berman with Hamid Drake, Josh Abrams, Jeff Parker, Jason Adasiewicz, Nicole Mitchell and Nate Lepine for an evening of cross-cultural fertilization, improvisation and expanded musical frontiers.
08.19.2010 Django: A Celebration featuring Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan with Special Guests
Belgian-born Gypsy jazz guitarist, Jean “Django” Reinhardt revolutionized the way people think about the guitar and helped pioneer a hybrid form of jazz, known for its hot grooves. To mark his centennial birthday, Alfonso Ponticelli along with guests Ensemble Zaiti from France and Stephane Wrembel and Arturo Martinez from New York join Swing Gitan to tell Django’s musical story and remind us why his style and sound reverberate throughout the jazz world today. Also featuring Tony Ballog, Beau Sample, Jason Miller, Howard Levy, Gerald Dowd, Pat Mallinger, Steve Gibons, Nicolae Feraru, Juliano Milo and Larry Bowen.
08.26.2010 Latin Inferno: James Sanders Conjunto with Special Guests Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Papo Santiago and Fred Anderson
Steeped in the Afro-Cuban musical tradition, violinist James Sanders can be seen and heard across Chicago from symphonies to Latin clubs and everywhere in between. This night, his Latin Jazz band, Conjunto, featuring Steve Eisen, Jose Porcayo, Luis Rosario, Roel Trevino, Donald Neale, Jean-Christophe Leroy and Brett Benteler welcomes members of Cerqua Rivera Dance Company, vocalist Papo Santiago and special guest saxophonist Fred Anderson for an evening of fiery music making.
For more information about this performance, visit: http://www.chicagolatinjazz.com/http://www.chicagolatinjazz.com.
09.02.2010 Big Band Birthday Bash: Ahmad Jamal’s 80th with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra**
Time 7:30pm – 10:00pm
What better place to feature a pioneer of musical rhythm and space than in Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion? A seminal pianist with strong Chicago ties; Ahmad Jamal’s impact on jazz spans a good portion of his eighty years. Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra renews its engagement with Jamal and his trio for a big band birthday bash in the Park.
