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Chicago Sinfonietta's Monthly Newsletter - March 2023

Arts and Entertainment

March 20, 2023

From: Chicago Sinfonietta

Join us and celebrate the UNAPOLOGETIC wonder of women this weekend! Celebrated artist Rachel Barton Pine joins Chicago Sinfonietta as guest soloist in the Chicago premiere of Florence Price's Violin Concerto No. 2. Tania Leon's Pulitzer Prize-winning Stride also receives its Chicago premiere. Rimsky-Korsakov's popular and colorful Scheherazade, based on the tale The Arabian Nights, with its female protagonist, closes the evening in spectacular fashion.

PROGRAM
Tania LEÓN Stride 
Florence PRICE Violin Concerto No. 2 featuring violinist Rachel Barton Pine 
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade 

March 18 Wentz Concert Hall SOLD OUT
March 20 Symphony Center | TICKETS

PS: If you are joining us on March 20th, come a little early to join printmakers from Chicago Printmakers Collaborative for a special participatory activity in the Grainger Ballroom! Doors open at 6:45PM!

CS IN THE NEWS

DAILY HERALD "Pine combines an innate gift for emotional communication with her audience with a scholarly fascination for historical research."  READ MORE

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "Chicago Sinfonietta’s March program salutes women with performances of Tania Leon’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning “Stride,” a work inspired by women’s rights pioneer Susan B. Anthony" READ MORE

POSTIVELY NAPERVILLE "On the heels of its rousing MLK Tribute concert in January, Chicago Sinfonietta returns to Wentz Concert Hall with UNAPOLOGETIC, a daring, inspirational, and courageous celebration of women." READ MORE

FREEMAN FELLOW NEWS
Inaugural Freeman Fellow in Composition Michelle Isaac’s Hope! was performed by the LYNX Project March 5th at Chicago’s Epiphany Center for the Arts.
 
Michelle Di Russo, Freeman Fellow in Conducting, served as cover conductor for two performances with National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC and also for Phoenix’s  Arizona MusicFest earlier this month.

Taichi Fukumura, former Freeman Fellow in Conducting and Assistant Conductor, will participate in the Hong Kong International Conducting Competition March 22.

SINFONIETTA STAFF AROUND TOWN
Broadway World recently stated what we already know about our very own Music Director Mei-Ann Chen, when she recently guested with the Charlotte Symphony:

"We've been hearing about numerous identified and unidentified flying objects in recent weeks, emanating from numerous sectors of the globe, crossing over our nation's territorial waters and seeking all sorts of military and meteorological intelligence. Less mysteriously, there have been precise predictions in recent months of astral objects whistling through our solar system, one of them brushing closer to dear Earth than the moon. But until now, not a word about the meteor that struck the Knight Theater in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. Her name is Mei-Ann Chen.... Chen's impact on - and appeal to - the Symphony's musicians and subscribers was nothing short of electric. ... Although we had heard the CSO play the BRUCH VIOLIN CONCERTO as recently as 2016, Chen ignited the ensemble with fresh fire...." -  Broadway World


Blake-Anthony Johnson, President and CEO was interviewed on WBBW's Courier Pigeon podcast LISTEN HERE

Blake-Anthony Johnson was one of ten recent honorees at the February Black Professional Network meeting, earning a Black Men in Excellence Award.

STAFF NEWS

WELCOME KEYANA KING
Join us in welcoming our newest team member: Administrative Assistant Keyana King. Born and raised in Chicago, Keyana began working in non-profit administration as the executive administrative assistant for Westside Health Authority in the west side of Chicago. In Keyana’s free time she enjoys hanging out with family, listening to jazz music, and creating social media content. Keyana is excited to learn and grow in the orchestral world

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS MOVES
We are pleased to share that Justin Peters has been promoted to Director of Operations. Justin joined CS last fall as Production Operations Manager and has been an incredible asset to our team. 

Justin will be taking the helm from Gary Zabinski who is moving onto new projects after more than six years as Director of Artistic Operations. We will miss you, Gary and thank you deeply for all your  contributions

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

MUSIC MADE CLASSIC is an after-school program series of Chicago Sinfonietta performances and classical music lectures throughout the school year in partnership with the Chicago Public Library.  
 
NEXT EVENT:  

April 20, 2023 5:00pm-6:00pm Janice MacDonald (flute) 

Chicago Public Library Back of the Yards Branch – Community Room, 2111 W 47th St, Chicago 

MELODIC LOUNGE Great relationships grow over time, and over coffee. Chicago Sinfonietta was born from this very ideal, when Maestro Paul Freeman hosted his first concerts over coffee in his friends' living rooms. Thirty years later, Melodic Lounge holds true to that notion: that a cup of coffee can foster friendships, artistry and an appreciation of our common ground. In partnership with Kusanya Café. 
 
NEXT EVENT:  

April 7, 2023 11:30am-12:30pm  Emily Mantell & Andy Snow (cellos) 

Kusanya Café 825 W 69th St, Chicago 

As a non-profit, Chicago Sinfonietta relies on people like you. Your gift allows us to continue presenting innovative concerts, while also offering music education, mentorship, youth programs, and more throughout Chicagoland.

Vote with your values and give to the Sinfonietta today.