Blog – Page 39 – Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts

Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO), named 2020 Professional Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, recently announced the public phase of its $5.1 million Campaign for the Future. The Campaign is supported in large part by The Davee Foundation, which donated $3 million to IPO in March 2018, creating IPO’s first-ever endowment. Building on this transformational investment, IPO’s Executive Director Christina Salerno and Board of Directors sought to use the endowment as a launching pad to increase the overall financial stability of IPO while cementing artistic director Stilian Kirov’s vision for the orchestra’s artistic relevance and importance in Chicago’s Southland region.

Theater

A Red Orchid Theatre Makes Key Leadership Appointments

November 27, 2020 David Henley A Red Orchid Theatre

A Red Orchid Theatre (AROT) has announced the appointments of ensemble member Travis Knight as associate artistic director and ensemble member Sadieh Rifai as artistic development coordinator.

Ballet Music Theater

The MAC to Stream Holiday Programming with Christmas On Demand this Season

November 27, 2020 David Henley A Christmas Carol, Christmas Performances, Moscow Ballet, The McAninch Arts Center, The Nutcracker

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) is giving Santa a little competition this year by bringing Christmas on Demand into homes with

The People In Your Neighborhood by artist Dont Fret

Art Autumn 2020 Chicago Arts and Culture

Meeting the Moment: A Pandemic Puts Public Art in Focus

November 3, 2020 Leslie Price Chicago Riverwalk, Oscar Joyo, Paint the City, Theaster Gates

The world feels like an especially hard place at the moment — a place that needs art and expression now more than ever. So what do artists do when galleries and museums are closed thanks to a global pandemic? They get creative and bring the art to the people.

Autumn 2020 Theater

A Question of Diversity

November 3, 2020 Leslie Price A Red Orchid Theatre, Black Ensemble Theater, Court Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Old Town School of Folk Music

Though most stages are dark and classrooms empty as performing arts organizations head into the fall, artists and administrators are busier than ever. In this era when audiences can’t gather, and collaborative art is a struggle to create safely, Chicago artists are using their time to do difficult and important work around equity, diversity and inclusion, using this summer’s protests as a springboard for meaningful change.

Art Autumn 2020

Surreality: Preview of “The Long Dream” at MCA

November 3, 2020 Isaac Jacobs COVID-19, Dawoud Bey, Jim Nutt, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Nice Cave, William Pope.L

Equal parts farce and harsh reality, the year 2020 has been something of a surreal moment for most of us. Few, if any, can boast of lives untouched by the events that have thrown our nation, nee world, into flux these past eight or night months. On our hands, we’ve got a worldwide pandemic which has amassed millions of victims worldwide and killed more than 200,000 (and still counting) in the U.S. alone; public unrest has mounted quickly over what is seen as unjust, state-absolved killings of unarmed African-Americans at the hands of police; shutdowns from coast to coast that have upended any sense of normalcy for most households; pulsing upticks in white-nationalism have taken place in the public square; and on top of all of that, we’ve got a contentious presidential election on our hands.

Dance

Hubbard Street Dance to Premiere Jonathan Fredrickson Film “The Sky Was Different”

November 3, 2020 Vickie Moore Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) continues its 2020-21 43rd season with a virtual premiere presentation of new work from former Hubbard Street dancer and acclaimed choreographer Jonathan Fredrickson, debuting on Thursday, December 3 at hubbardstreetdance.com. The film will be streamed again Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, and has been made free to the public.

Autumn 2020 Ballet Dance

Chronicling Chicago Dance

November 1, 2020 Vickie Moore Chicago Dance History Project, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Joffrey Ballet

As the effects of the global pandemic have laid economic devastation to so many aspects of American social, economic and culture life, every individual, business, and institution has had to reimagine and reinterpret norms in order to survive. Like other industries that depend upon public attendance and participation, eight months of social distancing, mask mandates, and public gathering limitations have devastated Chicago’s arts venues. Bedrock cultural institutions like the Joffrey Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago have all had to shutter their stages as the pandemic has made enclosed, indoor audience participation all but impossible.

Music Summer 2020

LUMINARY: Q&A with Singer/Songwriter Camila Meza

October 23, 2020 Fred Cummings Camila Meza

Chilean jazz musician Camila Meza is well-known for her fresh improvizations and her intuitive blending of voice and instrument in a seamless outpouring of music. Ever since the musical upstart left Chile for New York in 2009 to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, she has grown more and more influential as an artist of rank. Almost immediately, she became a regular at jazz clubs in the Big Apple, and as such etched out a reputation of superlative mastery of both voice and guitar, something rare in the jazz world. And as a composer and arranger, she’s developed a voice that embraces both jazz and Latin American traditions, something that is clearly expressed in her recordings for Chilean record label Vertice Records. Having performed in South American, Europe and the US, Meza is already becoming a veteran on the global circuit. She’s performed at the Blue Note of Poznan in Poland and the Swindnica Jazz Festival.

Lyric Unlimited Announces Virtual Learning Programming for 2020

October 23, 2020 Vickie Moore Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lyric Unlimited

After recent announcements about Lyric’s upcoming programming for 2020, amidst ongoing public-health regulations, the Lyric Unlimited – Learning & Creative Engagement wing of Lyric Opera of Chicago has also announced its plan to continue in-school and out-of-school virtual education programs for the 2020-21 school year, as well as engaging virtual community programs. These programs include Lyric’s Opera Residencies; EmpowerYouth!, in partnership with the Chicago Urban League; and public programs inspired by the Chicago premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue.