Rush Hour Concerts

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Under the helm of the International Music Foundation, Rush Hour Concerts present the 18th season of the beloved summer concert series with free classical music in the serene and historic St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron Street, June 6 – August 29, 2017. Launched in 2000 to create free public access to high-quality chamber music, Rush Hour Concerts offers live concerts every Tuesday evening after work.

Rush Hour Concerts

All concerts begin at 5:45 pm. Doors open at 5:00 pm for an interactive pre-concert reception and curated conversation, followed by the 30-minute concert at 5:45 pm. All performances are free and open to the public; tickets and reservations are not required.

Curated by Rush Hour Concerts’ Artistic Director Anthony Devroye, this year’s series presents chamber music from the Baroque era to the 21st Century featuring masterworks from Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart to Copland, Barber, Shostakovich and more. This year’s highlights also include a first-ever “quartet festival” within the series presenting five of Chicago’s leading ensembles; a unique Audience Choice concert which allows the audience to decide that evening’s repertoire from a menu of options by show of hands; new music and poetry in partnership with the Poetry Foundation featuring award-winning poet Richie Hofmann; the annual Deborah Sobol Memorial Concert honoring Rush Hour Concerts’ late founder; festival debuts by lauded baritone Robert Sims, WFMT FM’s 2017 artist-in-residence Kontras Quartet, Third Coast Baroque and award-winning organist Stephen Buzard plus performances from the 2017 Grammy-nominated Spektral Quartet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Brant Taylor, Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center, pianist Kuang-Hao Huang and leading Chicago ensembles such as Civitas Ensemble, Euclid Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, Axiom Brass and Avalon String Quartet.

“The string quartet anchors our programming this summer: its history, complexity, and centrality to the chamber music repertoire make it an ideal vehicle for new listeners to discover the world of chamber music,” said Devroye. “We’ll also mix in the repertoire for diverse ensembles from six different centuries and ten different countries, showcasing Chicago’s finest performers.  Deepen your experience with our pre-concert conversations, or lighten it with refreshing complimentary iced tea!”

Rush Hour Concerts

Rush Hour Concerts – 2017 Summer Calendar

JUNE 6            

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Quartet Festival I: “How Do You Do?”

Haydn: String Quartet Op. 33, No. 5

Dan Visconti: Black Bend

Kontras Quartet (Rush Hour Concert Series Debut)
JUNE 13          

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Audience Choice

The audience will choose the repertoire

Brant Taylor (cello) and Kuang-Hao Huang (piano)

JUNE 20          

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Quartet Festival II

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3

Avalon String Quartet
JUNE 27          

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Baroque with a Beat

Works by Fernández, Monteverdi, Strozzi, Visée, and Ortiz

Third Coast Baroque (Rush Hour Concert Series Debut)
JULY 5            

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American Song

Art songs and spirituals

Robert Sims (baritone) (Rush Hour Concert Series Debut), accompanied by Andrew Blendermann

This performance will take place on Wednesday in recognition of the July 4holiday

JULY 11          

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Quartet Festival III

Gerard McBurney: Hildegard Quartet

Spektral Quartet
JULY 18          

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Deborah Sobal Memorial Concert

Mozart: Piano Quartet in G Minor

Jasmine Lin (violin); Anthony Devroye (viola) Marina Hoover (cello); Kuang-Hao Huang (piano)
JULY 25          

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New Music, New Poetry

Works by Messiaen, Murail, and Mochizuki

Ensemble Dal Niente, Richie Hofmann (poet)
AUGUST 1      

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Quartet Festival IV

Grieg: Quartet in G Minor

Euclid Quartet
AUGUST 8      

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Lyric Shorts

Bizet: selections from The Pearl Fishers

Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago
AUGUST 15     

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Quartet Festival V: Quartet PLUS

Brahms: Quintet movements

Civitas Ensemble
AUGUST 22     

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Match Made in Heaven

Music for Organ and Brass

Axiom Brass, Stephen Buzzard (organ) (Rush Hour Concert Series Debut)
AUGUST 29     

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Season Finale

Beethoven (arr. Mahler): String Quartet Op. 95

John MacFarlane (conductor) and the Rush Hour Concerts Chamber Orchestra

About Rush Hour Concerts:

Since its inception in 2000, Rush Hour Concerts has reinvented the classical music experience through a dedication to artistic quality, a concert format suitable to contemporary lifestyles and a policy of admission-free events. Rush Hour Concerts has created groundbreaking programs and access initiatives that have revolutionized music-making in Chicago and forged trendsetting partnerships with the city’s arts and cultural community.

Rush Hour Concerts is committed to broadening arts access and launched its Community Engagement Residencies to bring expert musical instruction to under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago through a long-term strategy of artistic and community collaboration. Now in its 18th year, Rush Hour Concerts remains grounded in its mission to reach across all communities with new ways for audiences to experience world-class music in Chicago.

To learn more about Rush Hour Concerts visit www.rushhour.org.

About International Music Foundation:

The International Music Foundation (IMF) is dedicated to presenting free high-quality classical music performances and music education experiences in the Chicago metropolitan area for people of all ages and degrees of musical awareness so they can experience how music enriches life. IMF offers the following programs and educational experiences: Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Do-It-Yourself Messiah, Live Music Now!, Make Music Chicago, Rush Hour Concerts Summer Series and professional ensemble educational residencies. For more information, visit www.imfchicago.org.

Press Release provided by Silverman Group Chicago

About Sandra Trevino

Sandra Trevino is a Chicago journalist and the founder of Enchufate, a website dedicated to all things Latin alternative. You can listen to her radio broadcasts every Friday morning on 91.1FM and the 2nd/4th Monday of the month via Lumpen Radio on 105.5FM. When she’s not writing or on the radio, you can find her playing music at different venues across the city as part of DJ duo The Ponderers.