35 for 35
“It’s good to know where you come from. It makes you what you are today. It’s DNA, it’s in your blood.” – Alexander McQueen
In honor of our 35th Anniversary Season, we here at Chicago Sinfonietta want to highlight some of those who have helped us get here. Chicago Sinfonietta has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the most exciting organizations and individuals around. Check out our 35 picks, below!
Chicago Institutions
CS has partnered with Ravinia's REACH, TEACH, PLAY and El Sistema programs, and performed a variety of concerts at the festival for many years.
The Joffrey Ballet and CS go way back - Chicago Sinfonietta was Joffrey Ballet's orchestra in residence for nine years, a truly beautiful match!
CS been adding musical magic to the offerings of CPL since 2018. A recent highlight: performing Mariah Carey's music at a book club discussing Mimi's new biography!
Chicago History Museum and CS recently collaborated to produce a joint presentation of For the Left Hand, about pianist and teacher, Norman Malone. The event featured a screening, performance, and fireside chat.
CS has a long relationship with Navy Pier - We've hosted our Southside Friends Magical Holiday Breakfast in their Crystal Garden for many years, and since 2021, we have been glad to join their Chicago Live! music festival.
Chicago Sinfonietta and the National Museum of Mexican Art have a long history, having joined forces for performances and events like Kindred Spirits, a free community event celebrating Día de los Muertos.
South Asia Institute cultivates the art and culture of South Asia through exhibitions, programs and educational initiatives. Our 22/23 season will feature a unique partnership with the SAI, stay tuned for more!
CS has had major concerts in partnership with Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Millennium Park, such as one featuring Maestro Freeman in 2008 and one culminating our 30-year anniversary in 2017.
Educational Institutions
Our education programs in public schools started in the early 2000s. Today, the programs cover over a dozen schools, including Hayt Elementary on the city's north side.
Chicago Sinfonietta has been proud to present concerts at Wentz Hall at North Central College in Naperville for over 10 years, since the hall's opening!
Since 2016, Chicago Sinfonietta has been proud to partner with Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra in side-by-side rehearsals, mentorship opportunities, and more!
Since 2016, Chicago Sinfonietta has been proud to partner with students at the Merit School of Music in side-by-side rehearsals, mentorship opportunities, and more!
Did you know? Rosary College at Dominican University was where the first-ever premiered Chicago Sinfonietta concert premiered - 35 years ago in 1987!
Since its inception in 2018, Chicago Sinfonietta has been a proud steering member of the Chicago Musical Pathways intiative, which develop gifted and motivated orchestral students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Chicago Sinfonietta is proud to be the orchestra in residence for the 2022 Midwest Clinic. This national conference features a performance by the orchestra and a clinic led by Maestra Mei-Ann Chen on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the modern professional symphony orchestra.
Since the 2021-2022 season, Chicago Sinfonietta has partnered with the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, where residents engage in wellness practices as well as a book club.
Individual Collaborators
Composer Reena Esmail was featured on our 2018 "Project W" album, year-long initiative to highlight contemporary, diverse, women composers.
Yo-Yo Ma collaborated with CS for a Paul Freeman tribute concert in 2011. He also was a mentor to our current President and CEO (and cellist), Blake-Anthony Johnson.
A longtime collaborator, violinist Melissa White, most recently performed the Butterfly Lovers' Concerto in a custom dress which unfolded like a chrysalis in 2022.
A featured soloist in our 35 Anniversary season, Rachel Barton Pine has been a longtime collaborator with the Sinfonietta, and is known for her Music by Black Composers project!
The 2016 Chicago Youth Poet Laureate, E'mon Lauren, was a featured artist at the tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 2016-2017 season.
Chicago Sinfoneitta's inaugural Artist-in-Residence is an award-winning composer and performer. In our 35th season, she will premiere a brand new work.
Local Arts Stars
In 2019, Chicago Sinfonietta premiered a partnership with dancers of Mandala Arts, a South Asian performing arts organization. Stay tuned for future featured events with them this season!
We are so glad to have our Freeman Fellow musicians perform annually with Music of the Baroque as part of their chamber orchestra.
Our partnership with Apostolic Church of God, a seminal church on the South Side of Chicago, has spanned over a decade! Come see them again at THUNDER in January!
2022 marks the 10-year anniversary of Chicago Sinfonietta's seminal recording of Delights & Dances featuring the Harlem Quartet, a group that strives to advance diversity in classical music - a perfect match for our own mission!
Cedille is a not-for-profit record label dedicated to classical music and the artists who create it. CS has presented 18 records on the Chicago-based Cedille label, and it is home to many of Maestro Paul Freeman's recordings.
Kuumba Lynx supports youth using urban art and performance to cultivate strong communities built on a foundation of love. CS's 13/14 season featured members of Kuumba Lynx dancing to the never-been-done Orchestral Dance Mix.
Urban Gateways engages youth in arts experiences to inspire creativity and social change. For nearly a decade, CS has partnered with UG to provide free opportunities for teens to engage with symphonic performances.
Combining marching band traditions and street theater spectacle with rock and roll sensibilities, Mucca Pazza has been an intergral part of Chicago's underground music scene since 2004. A frequent CS collaborator, they've performance with Sinfonietta multiple times with works such as the Overture of 1812 and more recently in a 'battle of the the bands'.
Chicago Sinfoneitta has performed free Melodic Lounges at Kusanya Cafe, a neighborhood anchor in Englewood, since 2018. Stop by on select Thursdays at 11:30am.
Grant Park Symphony and Chicago Sinfonietta have presented a joint Project Inclusion program, supporting orchestral instrumentalists from various racial, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Extra Love
Our Founder and Music Director, Maestro Paul Freeman (1936 – 2015) was one of the first major African American orchestral conductors. He was a champion of African-American classical composers, and toured extensively. He was also the music director of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and held numerous guest conducting slots with top orchestras in the United States and Europe.
Whether you knew him or not, all of us have been brought together and are forever united as members of the Chicago Sinfonietta family because of Paul’s profound legacy. Thank you, Maestro.
Chicago Sinfonietta is so grateful to our ancillary groups - the Southside Friends, the West Suburban Friends, and the Associate Board for their support and enthusiam. They run amazing events, fearlessly champion our values, and support our concerts. We are so lucky to have them.
That's right, we want to thank YOU! To our concert goers, our facebook likers, our online streamers. To our ticket buyers, subscribers, and supporters. We wouldn't be Chicago Sinfonietta without you, and so grateful to have you with us. We are 35 years young, and just getting started.