Christmas in Chicago 2009: Concerts
December 4, 2009
By Miriam Y. Cintron
The Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., will host several musical performances throughout the festive holiday season. On Classical Mondays and Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Wednesdays through Dec. 30, classical performers of chamber and operatic music will hold special concerts at the center’s Preston Bradley Hall at 12:15 p.m.
On Tuesday, the Jazz, Blues & Beyond concert series will feature jazz, blues, and gospel music performances from the David Boykin Expanse and the Elaine Dame Quartet at 12:15 p.m. through Tuesday, Dec. 15.
On Fridays at 12:15 p.m., the Music Without Borders concert series will include performances of world music by SoLaranja, an ensemble inspired by the Modernist movement in 1920s Brazil, on Dec. 4, and Chill Factor 5, a band that mixes several musical genres such as electronica and global funk, on Dec. 18.
The eighth annual Dance-Along Nutcracker will intertwine elements of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet with juggling, acrobatics, and other fantastic feats. The performances will take place at noon and 3 p.m. Sun., Dec. 6. Workshops in which audience members of any age can dance along with professional dancers and circus performers will be held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The Jazz Institute of Chicago presents Jazz Links Jam Sessions at 5 and 7 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9, in Randolph Café. The jam session features young jazz musicians from throughout the city who are given the opportunity to play alongside professionals in the Jazz Links house band.
At 6:30 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 10, flutist Lyon Leifer and his special guests will perform original Indian classical music.
Cabaret singers Beckie Menzie, Joan Curto, Laura Freeman, Tom Michael, Daryl Nitz, Marianne Murphy Orland, and Robert Whorton will perform holiday classics at 2 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12, at the center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater.
More Christmas in Chicago 2009
On Sun., Dec. 13, the Chicago Cultural Center will be transformed into a wonderland of opera where visitors will be able to explore various rooms featuring operatic scenes.
The Axiom Brass Quintet will perform as part of the Live Music Now! Young People’s Concert series. The interactive concert is livened up with games such as “Find the Beat,” “Where is the Melody,” and “Who is playing” as well as on-thespot music lessons. The concert will take place at 10:30 a.m. and noon Thurs., Dec. 17, in Preston Bradley Hall. For more information, call the International Music Foundation at (312) 670-6888.
The All-City Jazz Ensemble will perform a range of music from standards by Basie and Ellington to modern arrangements of Afro-Cuban and world music. The ensemble will perform Sat., Dec. 19, at 12:15 p.m. in the Randolph Café.
The Protégé Philharmonic will perform music by Brahms, Bizet, and Tchaikovsky on Sun., Dec. 20. On Sun., Dec. 27, the sixth annual Chicago Taiko Legacy festival will be held to celebrate Japanese drumming.
The Chicago Public Library Harold Washington Center, 400 S. State St., will feature the Sounds of Our City Holiday Concert Series with high school choirs at noon on Fri., Dec. 4; Mon. through Fri., Dec. 11; and Mon. through Fri., Dec. 18. On Monday, Dec. 14, the Whitney Young Magnet High School Choir will perform, and on Tuesday, Dec. 15, the Jones College Prep Concert Choir will be featured. Call (312) 747-4050.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 220 S. Michigan Ave., will celebrate the 15th anniversary of Welcome Yule! featuring dancers, a children’s choir, and colorful holiday characters such as Santa himself. Performances are Fri., Dec. 18, 7 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 19, 1 and 4:30 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 20, 3 p.m.; Mon., Dec. 21, 3 p.m.; Tues., Dec. 22, 3 p.m.; and Wed., Dec. 23, 1 and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $98. Call (312) 294-3000.
Children’s choirs from throughout the city will perform holiday classics during the City Hall Holiday Concert Series from noon to 1 p.m. weekdays through Friday, Dec. 18, in the City Hall lobby, 121 N. LaSalle St. The Taylor Elementary School Children’s Choir will perform on Mon., Dec. 7; the Mary E. McDowell School of International Studies Choir on Tues., Dec. 8; the Mark T. Skinner Classical & Fine Arts School choir on Wed., Dec. 9; the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School Choirs on Thurs., Dec. 10; the Edgar Allan Poe Classical School Choir on Fri., Dec. 11; the Queen of Angels School choir on Mon., Dec. 14; The Misericordia Heart Zingers on Tues., Dec. 15; the Ensemble of Robert Healy Elementary School on Wed., Dec. 16; the St. Richard School choir on Thurs., Dec. 17; and the Providence St. Mel Choir on Fri., Dec. 18.
Chicago a cappella will perform Holidays a Cappella: Holiday Favorites on Fri., Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. at Merit School of Music, 38 S. Peoria St. Call (773) 755-1628 or visit www.chicagoacappella.org.
The Second Saturday at Two concert series will present the Loyola Academy Chamber Singers performing Christmas music at the St. James Chapel of the Quigley Pastoral Center on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.
Second Saturday at Two is a free concert series presented by Friends of the Windows, a non-sectarian volunteer group. The chapel entrance is located at 835 N. Rush St. Call (773) 338-0346.
Roosevelt University will present a Christmas Festival for Winds and Voices featuring a combined chorus from its Chicago College of Performing Arts and members of its Wind Ensemble on Tues., Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. Call (312) 341-2232 or visit ccpa.roosevelt.edu.
