Read the full Tribune review by Hannah Edgar here or here

NBC’s LeeAnn Trotter and Maestra Mei-Ann Chen sat down after rehearsal today to chat about our mission, 35th anniversary, and opening weekend…Check it out!

We were fortunate to be in the recent Joyce Foundation Grantee Spotlight. Read all about our President and CEO’s vision for the Sinfonietta and more, in this great article! READ MORE 

From Subito Music September 2022

“Roberto Sierra’s Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra is an electrifying work.” As the Chicago Sinfonietta’s performances of Sierra’s concerto approach, soloist Julian Velasco shares his enthusiasm about his upcoming concerts. Originally commissioned by the Detroit Symphony for internationally renowned saxophonist James Carter, Sierra’s 23-minute score blends classical and jazz elements, and highlights the virtuoso possibilities of both the soprano and tenor saxophones. The Detroit Symphony premiered the concerto in 2002 led by its then-music director Neeme Järvi, and reprised it the following season. The Chicago Sinfonietta’s concerts will take place on September 17 and 19, conducted by music director Mei-Ann Chen.

Velasco continues. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to share Roberto Sierra’s Concerto for Saxophones with such an incredible orchestra! When I was asked to perform with the Chicago Sinfonietta, Sierra’s work was something I was very excited to pitch. This concerto asks a lot of the soloist as it requires them to pull upon classical and jazz musical traditions, often switching on a dime throughout the work. As a musician who was raised within these two realms, I find that Roberto blends the different aspects of the instruments’ sonic possibilities in a way that feels incredibly authentic, unique, and captivating. This piece is incredibly unique in that it was written for the great Detroit Jazz saxophone legend James Carter and Sierra gives a good amount of freedom to the performer to even improvise throughout the work!

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By Hosea Sanders and Marsha Jordan ABC Chicago
Friday, September 9, 2022 5:43PM

CHICAGO (WLS) — We’re gearing up for the “Chicago Live!” festival just over two weeks from
now.
Chicago Sinfonietta is one of the city’s artistic treasures you can see perform free at the event at
Navy Pier!
ABC7’s Hosea Sanders was at the lakefront to check out some of the talented artists, like key
members of the Chicago Sinfonietta.
The sound is joyous and mesmerizing, and so is their mission.
Chicago Sinfonietta have over three decades of artistic excellence, with a repertoire spanning
classic to modern with majestic vibrancy. It’s inclusive in every way.
The Sinfonietta is a little gem, it’s a wonderful orchestra, it’s diverse in almost every way. The
membership is very diverse, the audience is very diverse.
Music shouldn’t feel elitist, it should feel really welcoming,” said tubist Charlie Schuchat.

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See the video

By Kathy Cichon
Naperville Sun
Sep 07, 2022 at 4:13 pm

Saxophonist and Cedille Records Emerging Artists Competition winner Julian Velasco will
perform as guest musician on Roberto Sierra’s “Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra” during
the Chicago Sinfonietta’s season opening concert, “Next,” performed on Sept. 17 at Wentz
Concert Hall in Naperville. (Chicago Sinfonietta)
A bit of the old and a bit of the new combined with big percussion sounds and a wide range
emotion is a good way to describe the Chicago Sinfonietta’s season-opening concert.
“I think that’s how people (are feeling at the moment),” Maestro Mei-Ann Chen said. “It is a
wide range of emotions we all feel in our life. The new reality if you will, the new normal.”
Audience members can experience the pieces when the Chicago Sinfonietta performs the concert
“Next” at 8 p.m. Sept. 17 at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville and at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at
Symphony Center in Chicago.
Big percussion sections are needed in the two pieces that comprise the first half of the program.
George Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture” is followed by Roberto Sierra’s “Concerto for
Saxophones and Orchestra,” a piece featuring Cedille Records Emerging Artists Competition
winner Julian Velasco as guest musician.
After hearing Velasco perform, Sinfonietta President and CEO Blake-Anthony Johnson asked
Music Director Chen to program a piece with saxophonist Velasco.
“Saxophone concertos are of course, less standard, even I had to Google Julian’s list to pick the
one that seems to fit in our season,” she said
With the jazz theme on the Sinfonietta’s wish list for future programming, “I picked the very
interesting jazz concerto that hadn’t been done that many times by the wonderful composer we
have played a couple of times,” she said.
Chen said Sierra is “able to combine the sounds of Latin America with other idioms and in this
case, jazz” in the work, which has four movements. While the last movement, “Fast (with
swing),” leaves no doubt about the jazz connection, she said all of the movements are fun. The
second movement, titled “Tender,” is also a highlight.
“It’s just absolutely gorgeous music that needs to be shared,” Chen said.
Read the full article 

Chicago Sinfonietta Offers
Community Through Music

September 13, 2022
Groundbreaking. Dynamic. Daring. A tenured orchestra and
acclaimed cultural leader that champions diversity, equity, and
inclusion by creating community through curated symphonic
experiences, Chicago Sinfonietta (CS) is a source of community
through music, as well as ensuring and inspiring a continued
investment in diversity and inclusivity in the genre of classical music
to promote fairness and equity. With core values built around being
culturally responsive and advocates of inclusivity in all aspects of the
35 year-old organization’s work, Chicago Sinfonietta’s unrelenting
commitment to being at the forefront of innovation drives its high
standard of symphonic experiences. CS takes pride in leading by
example with immersive audience engagement activities, impactful
career development, education, and extensive community outreach
programs.

Founded in 1987 by the late Maestro Paul Freeman to address
diversity in orchestras, Chicago Sinfonietta has been led by
international conductor and Music Director Maestra Mei-Ann Chen
since 2011. In her first season, the Sinfonietta was named by ASCAP as
the recipient of the 2011- 12 Award for Adventurous Programming, and
in 2013 was dubbed, “the city’s hippest orchestra” by Chicago
Tribune, before going on to be honored in 2016 with a prestigious
MacArthur award. Embracing daring programming has always been
part of its history. In turn, audience response has been
unprecedented. The legacy, passed to Maestro Chen and all of us at
the Sinfonietta, goes far beyond what you will see on stage.
During its rich history, Chicago Sinfonietta has influenced broad
cultural change and emerged as an innovator within the classical
music industry by presenting provocative programs and by
engaging diverse audiences through community partnerships. As we
approach 35 years of being on the cutting edge of classical
music, we see Maestro Freeman’s vision is just as relevant and
crucial today.

Spotlight Guest
Blake-Anthony Johnson, President & CEO
Chicago Sinfonietta Offers Community Through Music | Since 1987 (nctv17.org)

The Wallace Foundation today announced the Chicago Sinfonietta as one of only 18
arts organizations founded by, with, and for communities of Color (and the sole
orchestra) to be part of the Foundation’s “first phase of a new five-year arts
initiative… to foster equitable improvements in the arts”.

Said President and Chief Executive Officer Blake-Anthony Johnson, “This
transformative gift is an investment in Chicago Sinfonietta, a national treasure, an
investment in the City of Chicago, and an investment not only in the national
symphonic music landscape but in the future of the field globally. This recognition
and support of our vision allows Chicago Sinfonietta to continue to learn, lead and
continue to expand our commitment to communities as America’s 21st century
orchestra.”

Selected from over 250 applicants, the other grantees of the national initiative are:
1Hood Media (Pittsburgh, Pa.); Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, Mich.);
BlackStar (Philadelphia, Pa.); EastSide Arts Alliance, Black Cultural Zone, and Artist
As First Responder (Oakland, Calif.); Esperanza Peace and Justice Center (San
Antonio, Texas); Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts +
Culture (Charlotte, N.C.); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (San Juan,
Puerto Rico); PHILADANCO!The Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadelphia, Pa.);
Pillsbury House + Theatre (Minneapolis, Minn.); Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling
Theater (Manhattan and Bronx, N.Y.); Queer Women of Color Media Arts
Project (San Francisco, Calif.); Ragamala Dance Company (Minneapolis, Minn.);
Rebuild Foundation (Chicago, Ill.); Self Help Graphics & Art (Los Angeles, Calif.);
Theater Mu (Saint Paul, Minn.) The Laundromat Project (Brooklyn, N.Y.); and The
Union for Contemporary Art (Omaha, Neb.).

It’s finally here! Announcing our 2022-23 Season! This one is real special because it’s also our 35th Anniversary.

That’s right! For 35 years we’ve been trailblazers in classical music, and this upcoming season is our best yet!

Through our annual repertoire, Music Director Mei-Ann Chen carries on the legacy of our Founder, Maestro Paul Freeman, by celebrating the work of composers of color, women artists, new compositions, new music, and underperformed pieces.

This upcoming season will thrill you with special guests such as Julian Velasco, Rachel Barton Pine, and Inbal Segev, and exciting compositions  that range from contemporary (Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers, Nkeiru Okoye’s Voices Shouting Out, and a new commission by our Artist-in-Residence Kathryn Bostic) to classic favorites (Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Beethoven’s 7th).

Plus, we are offering more than ever outside the concert hall. Sinfonietta in Your Neighborhood gives you double the opportunity to enjoy CS, in unique venues all around Chicagoland. From Ravinia to St. Peter’s Church, and beyond, CS is simply everywhere!

It’s our commitment to you that we will continue to be pioneers in this space, leading by example, and inspiring others to help create a more beautiful world.

Thank you for being part of this journey and here’s to the next 35! 

Get your tickets and renew subscriptions here!