The Music Institute
of Chicago Chorale, conducted by Daniel Wallenberg, concludes its 25th
Anniversary Season with “25 Great Years,” presented by the Music Institute of
Chicago Sunday, June 10 at 3 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue,
Evanston. In addition, the Chorale invites music lovers to join them in song at
two Summer Sing-alongs June 27 and July 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Music
Institute’s Evanston East Campus, also 1490 Chicago Avenue.
“25 Great Years”:
Highlighting audience favorites from the Chorale’s
history, the program features madrigals by Monteverdi, Morley, and Gines de
Morata; part songs by Haydn, Rossini, Schumann, Lauridsen, and Whitacre;
selections from The Liebeslieder Waltzes by Brahms; Verano Porteño by
Piazzolla; folk songs from Bulgaria, Canada, South Africa, and England; and
show tunes by Ellington and Loesser.
Special guests at the concert are the Kotlyar-Shifrin
Piano Duo—Irina Kotlyar and Gregory Shifrin. The duo has won several
international competitions and has performed with orchestras around the world,
including in Israel, Europe, and the U.S.
Daniel Wallenberg, conductor of the Chorale since 1987,
noted, “Although our Chorale is Evanston-based, participants come from as far
south as Chicago and far north as Zion and everything in between. Several
members have been in the Chorale for more than 15 years, and a few have been
members since its inception in 1986.”
Summer Sing-alongs:
The Chorale welcomes those who love choral singing to join
them at two Summer Sing-alongs. On Wednesday, June 27, the group will sing
Mozart’s Regina Coeli and Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, conducted by Frank Winkler.
On Wednesday, July 25, the sing-along participants will perform Mozart’s
Requiem, conducted by Daniel Wallenberg. Each sing-along has an optional free
rehearsal the day before—June 26 and July 24, respectively—at 7:30 p.m. at the
Music Institute’s Evanston East Campus, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Room 9.
Music Institute of Chicago Chorale:
The Music Institute of Chicago Chorale is a community
chorus that provides an opportunity for adult singers with prior experience to
study and perform the best in sacred and secular choral music. Now celebrating
its 25th anniversary, the Chorale has one continuing goal: to perform the
finest sacred and secular choral music with the highest of standards in a
community setting. Under the leadership of Conductor Daniel Wallenberg, the
Chorale has developed a wide range of repertoire, including motets, madrigals,
part-songs, folk songs, and larger choral-orchestral works by Bach, Beethoven,
Haydn, Mozart, Durufle, and many others. Throughout the years, the Chorale has
collaborated with local choirs and symphony orchestras and has produced two
fully costumed Elizabethan madrigal dinners. In addition, the Chorale has
collaborated several times with the Music Institute’s voice faculty for
concerts of opera and Broadway music.
Chorale conductor Daniel Wallenberg is also on the staff
of the Chicago Children’s Choir, working with the In-School Chorus and
After-School Programs for the Rogers Park and Humboldt Park Neighborhood
Choirs, as well as its world-renowned Concert Choir with whom he toured Ukraine
and the United States. He is the director of the junior and adult choirs at the
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation and the founder and artistic director of
“Zemer Am,” the Chicago Jewish Choral Festival. A native of Bogota, Colombia,
Wallenberg founded several adult and children’s choirs while living in Israel.
Music Institute of Chicago:
The Music Institute of Chicago believes that music has the
power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, our mission is to
provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music. As one of the three
largest and most respected community music schools in the nation, the Music
Institute offers musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished
faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services. Founded
in 1931 and one of the oldest community music schools in Illinois, the Music
Institute is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts
and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, the
Music Institute’s world-class music teachers and arts therapists provide the
highest quality arts education, reaching more than 10,000 students of all
ability levels, from birth to 102 years of age, at campuses in Evanston,
Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Winnetka, and Downers Grove and
through its longstanding partnership with the Chicago Public Schools. The Music
Institute also offers lessons and programs at the Steinway of Chicago store in
Northbrook and early childhood and community engagement programs throughout the
Chicago area and the North Shore. The Music Institute offers lessons, classes,
and programs through four distinct areas: Community School, The Academy,
Creative Arts Therapy (Institute for Therapy through the Arts), and Nichols
Concert Hall.
“25 Great Years,” celebrating the 25th anniversary of the
Music Institute of Chicago Chorale, takes place Sunday, June 10 at 3 p.m. at
the Music Institute of Chicago’s Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue,
Evanston. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $7 for students and
are available at 847.905.1500 ext. 108 or at musicinst.org.
The Chorale’s Summer Sing-alongs take place Wednesday,
June 27 and Wednesday, July 25, both at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Institute’s
Evanston East Campus, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Room 9. The cost to participate is
$10 per person; call 847.905.1500 ext. 127. Optional free rehearsals take place
June 26 and July 24 at the same location.
--Jill Chukerman, JAC Communications
Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra to Tour Japan this May/June with Violinist Ryu Goto
ROSSINI - L'Italiana in Algeri Overture
BEETHOVEN - Concerto for Violin in D, Op. 61
MENDELSSOHN - Symphony No 4, Op. 90 Italian
Wednesday, May 30 - Sakura Hall, Kitakami
Thursday, May 31 - Centennial Hall, Tohoku University
Friday, June 1 - Suntory Hall, Toyko
Saturday, June 2 - Fujisawa Shimin Kaikan Hall, Fujisawa -
Mozart's Concerto for Violin No. 5 with
Eriko Iso
Sun, June 3 - Osaka Symphony Hall, Osaka
Official Tour Sponsor: MetLife Foundation
UPCOMING ORPHEUS CONCERTS:
Orpheus opens the Naumberg Orchestral Concerts in Central
Park on June 19
This spring, Orpheus is thrilled to embark on their 12th
tour of Japan. Since their first trip to the country 24 years ago, Orpheus has
enjoyed a fruitful and invigorating relationship with Japan's passionate music
lovers. As artistic director Ronnie Bauch notes, "Since 1988, Orpheus has
presented more performances in Japan than in any country outside the United
States. Our Japanese audiences and supporters have played a major role in
almost every facet of the Orpheus career and legacy. It's fitting that we
celebrate the beginning of our 40th Anniversary with this important tour and we
look forward to renewing and deepening friendships."
"MetLife Foundation recognizes Orpheus' achievements
over the years and its commitment to serving diverse audiences," said
Dennis White, president and CEO, MetLife Foundation. "During this 40th anniversary season, we
are proud to support the Orchestra's Japan Tour, along with extensive touring
throughout the United States."
While on tour, Orpheus will perform programs of Rossini,
Beethoven, and Mendelssohn in six venues in a week and will be joined by
frequent collaborator Ryu Goto. In
addition, Orpheus will participate in the ongoing revitalization efforts of
communities in the Tohoku region.
Through multiple community programs built into this tour, Orpheus will
seek to engage Japanese audiences in an intimate dialogue with musicians about
the unique Orpheus Process (TM) of music-making and to continue ongoing
cultural exchange efforts. During their
stay in Japan, the musicians will meet with students at the Shukoh Middle
School (Tagajo campus) and engage in some music-making activities with them
before visiting the areas near Sendai that were affected by the devastating
earthquakes and tsunami. Orpheus members
will also interact with children being assisted by The Recovery Assistance
Center of Miyagi prior to their attending the performance at Centennial Hall in
Tohoku University. There are also plans
being finalized for members of Orpheus to take part in a community forum with
Japanese composers in Tokyo.
Orpheus' 2012 tour to Japan is made possible by Official
Tour Sponsor MetLife Foundation, Gold Level Sponsor KPMG AZSA & Co., and
Tour Supporters the Bank of Tokyo-Misubishi UFJ, and Asian Cultural Council.
23-year-old Ryu Goto made his debut at Sapporo, Japan's
Pacific Music Festival, where he played Paganini's Violin Concerto No.1 in
1995. Today, he is an internationally renowned performer having been featured
with the National Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, Symphonica Toscanini,
and Wiener Symphoniker. His self-titled debut CD, released in 2005, quickly
became the best-selling classical album in Japan that year. In addition, Goto
was featured in his own Fuji TV Show Ryu Goto's Odyssey, a chronicle of his
career and personal life from 1996 to 2006.
Orpheus began its relationship with Ryu Goto in 2008 with
a sold-out tour of Japan that concluded with a dazzling concert in Tokyo’s
Suntory Hall. The concert was such a success that Orpheus invited him to make
his Carnegie Hall debut with them in 2010. After the performance the New York
Times said of Goto's rendition of Bruch's Violin Concerto in G minor: "The
ensemble’s full-blooded and unsentimental approach complemented Mr. Goto’s
expressive playing, with his sweet tone particularly lovely in the Adagio. Mr.
Goto further demonstrated his impressive technique and musicality in the
encore, a fiery rendition of Nathan Milstein's 'Paganiniana.' He blazed through
the innumerable hurdles with finesse." Goto would later play at Orpheus'
2011 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Ryu's youthful energy is a perfect match
for Orpheus' unorthodox approach, and Orpheus is proud to continue their
fruitful collaboration.
A self-governing organization, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
was founded in 1972 by a group of fellow musicians who aspired to perform
diverse orchestral repertoire using chamber music ensemble techniques. Today,
Orpheus continues to uphold this philosophy, performing without a conductor and
rotating musical leadership roles for each work. Striving to empower its
musicians by integrating them into virtually every facet of the organization,
Orpheus is changing the way the world thinks about musicians, conductors, and
orchestras. The organization WorldBlu has named them one of the most democratic
workplaces in America for five straight years. The musical results of this
method are extraordinary: The Chicago Tribune gushes, "Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra shattered the mold, becoming in the process one of the more memorable
events in this festival's 13- year history." And the New York Times raves,
"Orpheus, whose string players perform with the physical verve of members
of a string quartet, produced a convincingly fullblooded sound." The Los
Angeles Times agrees: "A virtuosic whole...they’re fast. They’re together.
They’re aggressive. They can be electrifying."
--Amanda Ameer, First Chair Promotions
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