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“The CSO belongs to the World”  Riccardo Muti

Maestro Muti is now the tenth world famous music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  His history of work is truly incredible covering several continents and some of the top music venues in the world.  The words of praise concerning his coming to Chicago and to work with the  Chicago Symphony Orchestra
have come from  near and far, even with technology, as the world renown cellist Yo Yo Ma sent his regards and affection to the Maestro.

Deborah F. Rutter, President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association introduces Maestro Muti.
© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. photo

Maestro Muti spoke about not having visions, those were things that Saint Francis of Assisi, and other Holy folks had, but a moment later he had a vision and told the audience about his plans for the orchestra.  He noted a tour to areas of Europe that had not been visited by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in some time, and even towns that have never been visited.  He told us of giving concerts in prisons in Italy.  He recalled how he was taken by the youthful faces confined to one prison outside of Milano.  He did not know what crimes they had committed, but saw the humanity in their faces.  Maestro Muti also noted that he could not help but feel that perhaps some aspects of society had helped contribute to their being in prison.  He also has plans of visiting and performing some works in a local jail at sometime in the future.  Maestro believes that  music speaks to the heart and the heart does not see the differences in races, religions, or cultures.  Young troubled kids can benefit from a concert.  Riccardo Muti said: “Music can educate their souls and help make them better.” 

Maestro Muti will reach out to a varied selection of society and try to have music meet them on their journeys and travails.  He
added; “The western civilization may be in danger”  Anger, violence, children committing crimes, some of which they may not be totally guilty of, but rather being led down these paths by society.  I look forward with eager anticipation at seeing this gentleman in full stride with baton and visions for the orchestra.


He loves Otello, and Operas in general, and wants to see more operatic music played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and all orchestras for that matter.  He will reach out a hand to some of the youth by incorporating some electronic music within the classical environment from time to time, feeling that many of the young will find the modern technology exciting.



© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. photo


We asked the last question of the event.  We asked Maestro Muti if he had a group of his recordings, CDs, that he was most proud of and might give us an insight as to examples of his musical philosophy expressed in recordings.  He thought for a moment and then added that he did not like any of his CDs.

There was some laughter with that remark and then he went on to tell us of some CDs that he did enjoy very much.  (These are all available in stores and the internet and some on iTunes)





Nino Rota (December 3, 1911 – April 10, 1979), was also noted a friend and a character from Italy that brought some great music to the film.  Perhaps we will hear some of Nino Rota's work in the coming year in Chicago.

Welcome to Chicago Maestro Muti.

A free “Concert for Chicago” at Millennium Park launches Riccardo Muti’s tenure as CSO music director

Riccardo Muti begins first season with a monthlong celebration
that demonstrates his artistic vision and showcases the breadth
and scope of his plans for the CSO through free concerts, open rehearsals, community events and subscription programs that highlight the artistic excellence of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and Chorus

First CSO subscription concerts led by Muti pair Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique with its companion piece, Lélio, featuring Gérard Depardieu as narrator

Muti’s inaugural residency celebrates México 2010, with performances of Carlos Chávez’s Sinfonía india and the world premiere of Bernard Rands’ Danza Petrificada as well as an open rehearsal with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in the Pilsen neighborhood led by Muti

CSO’s Symphony Ball features Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Muti and the CSO, her first performance with the Orchestra in nearly 20 years

Muti leads concert performances of Verdi’s Otello in Chicago and at Carnegie Hall

The CSO performs four commissioned works by Osvaldo Golijov, Bernard Rands, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The CSO and Muti celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Luigi Cherubini with rare performances of his Requiem in C Minor

Anna Clyne’s and Mason Bates’ The B-Sides are performed by
the CSO and led by Muti in celebration of Bates’ and Clyne’s first season as CSO Mead Composers-in-Residence

Exciting residencies by Yo-Yo Ma and Evgeny Kissin span both the CSO subscription and Symphony Center Presents series

Symphony Center Presents celebrates Muti’s inaugural season with appearances by today’s leading orchestras and soloists from around the world, an all-star chamber series and wide-ranging performances by preeminent jazz and world music artists

Full spectrum of 2010/11 season programming reflects Riccardo Muti’s scope of involvement and impact on all aspects of the CSO, Symphony Center Presents and The Institute for Learning, Access and Training

CHICAGO (February 25, 2010) — Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music Director Designate Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association President Deborah F. Rutter announced programming for the 2010/11 season, which marks Muti’s inaugural season as the tenth music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Riccardo Muti’s vision for the CSO—to deepen the Orchestra’s engagement with the Chicago community, to nurture the legacy of the CSO while supporting a new generation of musicians, and to collaborate with visionary artists—signals a new era for the institution. With more than 200 events across the Chicago Symphony Orchestra subscription series, Symphony Center Presents series and programs of The Institute for Learning, Access and Training, Muti’s inaugural season as music director includes ten weeks of subscription programming through residencies in the fall (September 19-October 17), winter (February 3-19), and spring (April 7-12 and May 5-14), as well as on tour to New York’s Carnegie Hall (April 15-17).

“Making great music with the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is just the beginning,” commented Music Director Designate Riccardo Muti. “The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and I will become ambassadors to the community and the world. We have a responsibility, as musical ambassadors, to serve our communities and we must not take this responsibility lightly. Chicago has a true treasure in the CSO, one that should be shared with as many people as possible.”

“Riccardo Muti’s wide-reaching vision for this institution touches all that we do here at Symphony Center, from the extraordinary music making by the musicians of our world-class orchestra to the presentations by today’s leading artists and ensembles on our Symphony Center Presents series to the innovative programs of our Institute for Learning, Access and Training,” said Deborah F. Rutter, president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. “Next season, Riccardo Muti, in collaboration with the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma and our new Mead Composers-in-Residence, Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, will not only shine a new light on the artistic excellence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but also will place a special importance on the human element of cultural exchange and further define what an orchestra’s role should be in its community.”

It was also announced that Bank of America becomes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first global sponsor, beginning in July 2010 for three years through the 2012/13 season.

“The start of Riccardo Muti’s tenure as our music director marks an exciting time in the history of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the city,” said William A. Osborn, chairman of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association board of trustees. “We are immensely proud to welcome him to our family, and we look forward to deepening the scope of our ongoing commitment to serving the broader Chicago community. We express our extreme gratitude to Bank of America, our first global sponsor, for providing the support that will help make so many of the elements of Muti’s vision for our Association and our city a reality.”
“The Bank of America partnership with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brings two fine institutions together to serve Chicago at an exciting new level of collaboration,” said Brian T. Moynihan, chief executive officer for Bank of America. “As a company doing business in more than 150 countries around the world, we are delighted to be part of the Chicago Symphony and Maestro Muti’s plans to promote cultural understanding by presenting music from throughout the world.”

Riccardo Muti’s first season as music director is celebrated across all CSO Association programming: Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series, Symphony Center Presents series and programs of The Institute for Learning, Access and Training. He presents high-profile performances of Berlioz’s Lélio, narrated by renowned actor Gérard Depardieu; a concert version of Verdi’s Otello; and performances of Cherubini’s rarely heard Requiem in C Minor.

Muti showcases the artistic excellence and unparalleled versatility of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through performances of works by Haydn, Mozart, Wagner, Shostakovich, Schumann and Varèse, while demonstrating his commitment to contemporary music with the world premiere of Bernard Rands’ Danza Petrificada and performances of works by new CSO Mead Composers-in-Residence Mason Bates (The B-Sides) and Anna Clyne.

Partnering with visionary artists is central to Muti’s vision for the CSO, represented in the 2010/11 season by collaborations and presentations across both the CSO subscription and Symphony Center Presents series. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Vadim Repin and pianists Leif Ove Andsnes and Mitsuko Uchida appear as soloists in CSO subscription concerts led by Muti. New works by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Osvaldo Golijov (Mead Composers-in-Residence through the 2009/10 season) are also scheduled. Building on the CSO’s history of working with leading conductors, Muti has invited an incredible roster of guest conductors to perform in multi-week residencies, including Bernard Haitink and Pierre Boulez, who return to lead the CSO in a combined total of four weeks of programming.

In honor of Muti’s first season as music director, Symphony Center Presents has assembled an extraordinary array of artists for an extraordinary season across all its series—chamber music, orchestra, piano, jazz and MusicNOW. Performances by such world-renowned musicians as Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Emanuel Ax, Yuri Bashmet, Chick Corea, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini and Thomas Quasthoff celebrate Muti’s inaugural year. Additionally, cellist Yo-Yo Ma (the CSO’s new Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant) and pianist Evgeny Kissin are featured in individual residencies across both the Symphony Center Presents and Chicago Symphony Orchestra series.

Building on its great tradition of training young musicians, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Riccardo Muti continues its commitment to sustaining the art form by presenting a new generation of up-and-coming artists, including Mead Composers-in-Residence Mason Bates and Anna Clyne. Making debuts with the CSO in 2010/11 are singers Aleksandrs Antonenko, Nicola Alaimo, Measha Brueggergosman and Barbara Di Castri; violinist Renaud Capuçon; organist Paul Jacobs; and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

In addition, the First International Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Georg Solti Conducting Competition and Apprenticeship, a program that offers a conductor at the start of his or her career the opportunity to come to Chicago to study and train with Riccardo Muti and other distinguished guest conductors, will take shape in the 2010/11 season. The selection of an apprentice will be made through a competitive process, and applications are currently being accepted. After a preliminary and objective review of applicants, finalists will be invited for a round of auditions leading the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; the finals will be chaired by Riccardo Muti in February 2011. For more information or to submit an application, please visit cso.org.

Support for the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Competition and Apprenticeship is provided in part by The Claire Rosen and Samuel Edes Foundation.  Deepening the CSO Association’s commitment to serving the Chicago community is the cornerstone of Muti’s vision for the institution. This commitment is exemplified during 2010/11 by the Association’s participation in celebrations surrounding México 2010, a citywide recognition of the 200th anniversary of the Mexican War of Independence and the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Throughout Muti’s inaugural year, programs and events across multiple series take place at Symphony Center and around Chicago. Muti leads the CSO in performances of Chávez’s Sinfonía india and in the world premiere of Bernard Rands’ Danza Petrificada, which is inspired by poetry by Mexican poet Octavio Paz. Muti also leads the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in an open rehearsal of Sinfonía india in the Pilsen neighborhood.

Other highlights of México 2010 include Symphony Center Presents concerts by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, as well as a special tribute to the legendary Mexican ranchera vocalist Chavela Vargas featuring African-Spanish vocalist Buika and Mexican singer Lila Downs at Symphony Center; a MusicNOW program at the Harris Theater—the first curated by the CSO’s new Mead Composers-in-Residence Mason Bates and Anna Clyne—that connects thematically to the México 2010 celebration; and a free concert featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Carlos Miguel Prieto also takes place in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. These activities are supported in part by a generous grant from the McCormick Foundation.

Acting on a strong belief that music can transform lives, enact social change and transcend cultural divides, Riccardo Muti and Yo-Yo Ma (the CSO’s new Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant), through the CSO’s Institute for Learning, Access and Training, are exploring programming that touches an often-overlooked segment of society—incarcerated and at-risk youth. The Institute has begun a partnership with Storycatchers Theatre, a youth development arts organization that prepares young people to make positive life choices through the process of writing, producing and performing original musical theater inspired by personal stories, to create programs for youth in Chicago-area detention centers. Further information on these programs will be announced in May 2010.

The opening of Riccardo Muti’s first season as music director is celebrated with a monthlong residency, from September 19 through October 17, that includes: a free “Concert for Chicago” in Millennium Park; CSO subscription concerts featuring works by Berlioz, Chávez, Haydn, Mozart, Wagner, Beethoven, Hindemith and Cherubini and a world premiere by Bernard Rands; programs in honor of México 2010; open rehearsals that feature the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; and a festive Symphony Ball, the first hosted by the newly created Women’s Board to welcome Muti to Chicago.

To mark the start of Muti’s tenure as music director, he leads the CSO in a special “Concert for Chicago” in Millennium Park. The program includes Verdi’s Overture to La forza del destino and Respighi’s Pines of Rome. The free event will be held on Sunday, September 19, at 5 p.m. This concert is supported in part by a generous grant from the McCormick Foundation.

Muti’s inaugural CSO subscription concerts, which officially open the CSO’s downtown season, feature two seminal works by Berlioz that are intended to be performed together but rarely are: Symphonie fantastique and Lélio, or The Return to Life. Conceived as a sequel to his Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz composed Lélio as a semi-theatrical work that combines music and narration to express the idea of returning to life after a profound traumatic experience. These performances feature world-renowned actor Gérard Depardieu as narrator and take place in September in Chicago and at New York’s Carnegie Hall in April.

On September 30 and October 1 and 5, Muti leads the CSO in works by Mozart and Haydn. Featured on the program are Mozart’s Symphonies Nos. 25 and 34 and Haydn’s Symphonies Nos. 39 and 89. On October 8 and 9, Muti leads the CSO in a concert that includes Chávez’s Sinfonía india—featured as part of the citywide México 2010 celebration—Wagner’s Centennial Inauguration March and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Eroica). Cherubini’s rarely performed Requiem in C Minor, Hindemith’s Concert Music for String Orchestra and Brass and the world premiere of Bernard Rands’ Danza Petrificada round out Muti’s inaugural residency, October 14-17.

Emphasizing his vision to connect more deeply with the Chicago community, Riccardo Muti also leads the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in a special open rehearsal in the Pilsen neighborhood as part of the México 2010 celebrations on October 9.

Riccardo Muti’s winter residency in February spotlights three musicians he has invited specifically to take part in his inaugural season: pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Leif Ove Andsnes and violinist Vadim Repin. Muti collaborates with Uchida in performances of Schumann’s Piano Concerto and conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. The following week, Muti leads the CSO and violinist Vadim Repin in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto; the concert also includes CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Anna Clyne’s and Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. Closing his winter residency, Muti leads the CSO in performances of Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss Suite, Varèse’s Arcana and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist.

In the spring, Muti caps his inaugural season appearances with three weeks of high-profile blockbuster events in April and May. Drawing on his vast operatic experience, Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in concert performances of Verdi’s Otello in April. The cast includes Aleksandrs Antonenko as Otello, Krassimira Stoyanova as Desdemona, Nicola Alaimo as Iago, Barbara Di Castri as Emilia, Juan Francisco Gatell as Cassio, Antonello Ceron as Roderigo, Paolo Battaglia as Montano and Eric Owens as Lodovico, as well as the Chicago Children’s Choir.

Muti, the CSO and Chorus then travel to New York’s Carnegie Hall, where he makes his first appearances in the famed venue with the CSO in three diverse and dramatic programs that showcase the extraordinary versatility of the Orchestra and Chorus: Verdi’s Otello; a reprise of his inaugural subscription concerts—an all-Berlioz program with Symphonie fantastique and Lélio narrated by Gérard Depardieu; and a program featuring  by Mead Composer-in-Residence Anna Clyne, Varèse’s Arcana and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

Muti brings the concerts of his inaugural season to a close with two distinctive programs. Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain, Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration and a suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet are featured on the May 5-10 concerts. Muti and Yo-Yo Ma, whom Muti appointed Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, celebrate their new artistic partnership with performances of Schumann’s Cello Concerto on May 12-14. Also on the program are Mead Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates’ The B-Sides, Five Pieces for Orchestra and Electronica, and Strauss’ Aus Italien.

Additional highlights of the 2010/11 CSO subscription series include: Bernard Haitink conducting two weeks of subscription programming, including Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 with Emanuel Ax as soloist; Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez leading the CSO in two subscription weeks with programs that include works by Debussy, Ligeti, Berg, Bartók and Janáček; the performance of a new work by Osvaldo Golijov, co-commissioned by the CSO as part of the Henry Fogel Commission Consortium, conducted by James Conlon; U.S. premiere performances of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Texan Tenebrae, a CSO co-commission with the Canary Islands Music Festival, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, led by Sir Andrew Davis; Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting his Violin Concerto, a CSO co-commission with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Leila Josefowicz as soloist; Stephen Hough performing all four works for piano and orchestra by Tchaikovsky under the direction of Xian Zhang and Sir Mark Elder; the renowned CSO Brass in their first CSO subscription concerts presenting works by Bach, Gabrieli, Bruckner and Revueltas; Evgeny Kissin playing Grieg’s Piano Concerto under Charles Dutoit as part of his three-concert, multi-series residency; and the CSO’s annual partnership with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago with a program of works by Vivaldi, Corelli, Marcello and Gluck under the direction of Nicholas McGegan. Additionally, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the baton of Helmuth Rilling, are featured in a special one-night-only presentation of Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

The CSO’s 2010/11 season features wide-ranging programs led by an illustrious roster of internationally acclaimed guest conductors. In addition to Bernard Haitink and Pierre Boulez, Muti has also extended special invitations to his local conducting colleagues Sir Andrew Davis (Lyric Opera of Chicago music director) and the James Conlon (Ravinia Festival music director) to lead the CSO next season. Additional guest conductors include: Charles Dutoit, Sir Mark Elder, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Nicholas McGegan, Kurt Masur, Ludovic Morlot, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Antonio Pappano, Helmuth Rilling, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gil Shaham, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mitsuko Uchida, Xian Zhang and Jaap van Zweden.

CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines. The critically acclaimed multimedia series Beyond the Score continues to thrive and features three exquisite productions with six performances in the 2010/11 season: Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 led by Antonio Pappano, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 led by Sir Mark Elder and Elgar’s Enigma Variations led by Charles Dutoit. Each exploration reveals the story behind these great works of music with audiovisual illustrations and live dramatized commentary provided by the CSO’s Gerard McBurney. Beyond the Score is supported by generous grants from a Chicago foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The ever-popular Friday Night at the Movies series brings film scores to life as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs music from blockbuster movies while memorable footage and feature films are shown on the big screen. The 2010/11 season features: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho with its famous Bernard Herrmann score conducted by Richard Kaufman; Charlie Chaplin’s hilarious classic The Gold Rush conducted by Timothy Brock; and A Tribute to Roger Ebert featuring the CSO under the direction of Richard Kaufman performing music from some of the favorite films of Chicago’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert.

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS HIGHLIGHTS

Reflecting Muti’s desire to bring together a broad range of the world’s greatest soloists for creative and innovative programs, Symphony Center Presents has assembled an unparalleled array of artists for an extraordinary season across all of its series: chamber music, orchestra, piano, jazz and MusicNOW.

Many of the world’s most dynamic chamber musicians are featured in six performances as part of the Symphony Center Presents Chamber Music series: pianist Emanuel Ax, clarinetist Anthony McGill and cellist Yo-Yo Ma perform a unique program with Brahms’ Clarinet Trio; Pinchas Zukerman plays both the violin and viola with pianist Yefim Bronfman in a duo-recital of works by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms; Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata and Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata are performed by violist Yuri Bashmet and pianist Evgeny Kissin as part of Kissin’s three-concert, multi-series residency; baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in a performance of songs by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Medtner with pianist Ivari Ilja; and bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff brings together an all-star quartet of today’s leading vocalists for a collaborative program featuring Brahms’ complete Liebeslieder Waltzes.

The Symphony Center Presents Orchestra series hosts four visiting orchestras in 2010/11: the Mariinsky Orchestra led by Valery Gergiev presents an all-Russian program, including Shostakovich’s Symphony
No. 15

and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with pianist Denis Matsuev; The Cleveland Orchestra returns to Symphony Center in a performance led by Franz Welser-Möst of Wagner’s Overture to Tannhäuser, Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Strauss’ epic tone poem Ein Heldenleben; the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under the direction of Yuri Temirkanov perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with cellist Alisa Weilerstein as well as Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World); and the Orchestre National de France, led by Daniele Gatti, offers a program that includes Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet as soloist and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

The world’s most respected keyboard virtuosos are showcased in the 2010/11 season as part of the Symphony Center Presents Piano series. Evgeny Kissin takes up a residency that spans both the CSO and Symphony Center Presents series, including a piano recital that celebrates the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt’s birth; Paul Lewis performs the complete solo piano works of Schubert in five concerts over the course of three seasons, in addition to giving master classes; rising star Yuja Wang returns after a brilliant debut in 2006; and Brazilian pianist Arnaldo Cohen makes his eagerly anticipated Symphony Center debut. Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Leif Ove Andsnes, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini and András Schiff also appear on the series.

Symphony Center Presents boasts one of the most comprehensive and widely heralded jazz series in the country. Some of the highlights this season include pianist Chick Corea, last heard at Symphony Center more than a decade ago, who joins forces with bassist Christian McBride and drumming great Brian Blade. South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, whose career spans more than 50 years, brings his trademark mixture of jazz and native South African music to Symphony Center for an exciting debut. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with its leader, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, returns to Symphony Center for a program ranging from historic compositions to works by renowned jazz composers and members of the orchestra. And Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard come together for an evening of great music. Additional programs and guest artists will be announced in April 2010. The Symphony Center Presents Jazz series is sponsored by Harris Bank.

The 2010/11 Symphony Center Presents collection of Special Concerts, the finest in vocal performances, jazz, world music, holiday concerts, family programs and multimedia spectacles are showcased. The schedule currently holds Louis, a film homage to Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin and the birth of jazz, with live accompaniment by the Wynton Marsalis Septet and pianist Cecile Licad; a 90th birthday celebration for Ravi Shankar featuring the sitar virtuoso and his daughter Anoushka Shankar; return appearances by Symphony Center favorites the Kodo drummers and The Chieftains; the spine-chilling Halloween family concert Hallowed Haunts; three performances by the incomparable State Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland, Mazowsze; and bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys in a joint concert with Cherryholmes, the family bluegrass sensation. Additional special concerts may be added to the lineup and will be announced as details are available.

Mead Composers-in-Residence Mason Bates and Anna Clyne have been working collaboratively to create four exciting concerts for the 2010/11 MusicNOW series at Millennium Park’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Larger works for chamber ensemble stand alongside pieces informed by contemporary electronic dance music, and programs range from solo works to multimedia projects that fully utilize the Harris Theater’s sound and lighting capabilities. Bates’ Digital Loom for organ and electronics and Clyne’s Roulette for string quartet are featured, as well as new compositions by them commissioned for the series in addition to a collection of music by some of today’s finest composers. Complete programming for the 2010/11 season of MusicNOW offerings will be announced at a later date.