CONCERT DATES: Our 2012-2013 Season!

Here's a first look at the 2012-2013 season of the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Series packages and single tickets go on sale soon.

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT: A SERENADE to MUSIC
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 7, 2012, 7:30 pm—St James Cathedral (Wabash at Huron)

Rachmaninoff—Cherubic Hymn
Vaughan Williams—Serenade to Music
Beethoven—Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

HOLIDAY POPS CONCERT: Sunday, DECEMBER 16, 2012, 7 pm—Our Lady of Loudres Church (4640 N. Ashland Ave) 

program tba—tickets at the door.

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT: ACROSS the POND
Wednesday, MARCH 6, 2013, 7:30 pm—St James Cathedral (Wabash at Huron)
Music from France and America 

Amy Bernon—On Justice, Truth and Peace
Copland—Old American Songs
plus spirituals, folksongs and more

Dukas—Fanfare from La Peri
Ravel—Pavane (Pour une Infante Defunte)
Saint-Saens—Violin Concerto in B minor

          Sara Su Jones, violin

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT: SPRING SONG
Sunday, APRIL 14, 2013, 3 pm—St James Cathedral (Wabash at Huron)
Vocal and Instrumental Chamber Music by members of the Chicago Bar Association Symphony & Chorus

program TBA

FREE PERFORMANCE: LAW DAY OBSERVANCE (CBA Symphony Orchestra)
Thursday, MAY 2, 2013, 12 noon: Daley Center Lobby

Von Suppe—Boccaccio Overture
Bizet—Selections from Carmen
Offenbach—Can-Can from Orpheus in the Underworld

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT: MUSIC for a SACRED SPACE
Wednesday, MAY 15, 2013, 7:30 pm—St James Cathedral (Wabash at Huron)

Mozart—Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter)*
Haydn—Te Deum
Bruckner—Te Deum
welcoming winners of The American Prize in Vocal Performance—Chicago Oratorio Award

and coming in November 2013:

Brahms—Variations on a Theme of Haydn
Bartok—Viola Concerto

          Alex Weaver, viola

OPERA/OPERETTA Concert Program Announced

CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA and CHORUS
David Katz, founding music director and conductor
Rebecca Patterson, chorus director
Janet Eckhardt, chorus accompanist

26th Season
Orchestra/Choral Concert: A NIGHT of OPERA & OPERETTA FAVORITES

Tickets online: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/e/197828

featuring winners of  

The American Prize—Chicago Opera Award

    Christine Steyer, soprano

    William Bennett, tenor

    Andrew Bawden,  bass-baritone

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 7:30 pm

Saint James Episcopal Cathedral—Chicago

*** 

ACT I

Overture (Boccaccio)          Franz Von Suppe

A rollicking, tuneful overture, sure to become a favorite.

Yours in My Heart Alone  (Land of Smiles)            Franz Lehar

Prince Sou-Chong attempts to reassure his new wife Countess Lisa that she is his only heart's delight.
William Bennett, tenor   

Madamina! Il catalogo è questo (Don Giovanni)        W. A. Mozart

Don Giovanni has asked his servant Leporello to get rid of the pesky Donna Elvira, which he is happy to do by sharing the list he has authored of her husband’s sordid and extensive conquests.
Andrew Bawden, bass-baritone

Vilja (The Merry Widow)                       Franz Lehar
The wealthy widow from Pontevedro, Hanna Glawari, entertains her foreign guests with a traditional song about a Vilja or magical woodcreature who enchants the hunters that encounter her.
    Christine Steyer, soprano

Introduction to Act I (Carmen)                    Georges Bizet

Some of the most famous music in all opera.

Polovtsian Dances (Prince Igor)                    Alexander Borodin
  The Polovtsian slaves entertain Prince Igor and Khan Konchak with songs and dances of praise.
  CBA Symphony & Chorus

INTERMISSION

ACT II

Una furtiva lagrima (The Elixir of Love)            Gaetano Donizetti
Believing that the magic love potion could actually work, Nemorino pours his heart out, thinking of when he will hold Adina in his arms.
    Mr. Bennett

Intermezzo (Carmen)                        Georges Bizet
    Judith Grubner, flute; John Vishneski, III, clarinet; David Perlman, harp

Un bel di (Madama Butterfly)                    Giacomo Puccini
It has been three years since Madame Butterfly's American sailor husband left her without a word.  As she looks over the Nagasaki harbor for his ship, she sings of her certainty in the day that he will return.
    Ms. Steyer

Humming Chorus (Madama Butterfly)                Giacomo Puccini
Seeing Pinkerton's ship, Butterfly waits for him throughout the entire night.

    CBA Symphony & Chorus

March (Carmen)                    George Bizet   

   
Non piu Andrai (Le Nozze di Figaro)                W. A. Mozart

When Count Almaviva consigns the amorous Cherubino to military duty, Figaro is there to tease the young lad with the joys and sorrows of a soldier’s life.
    Mr. Bawden

 

Stamp Your Foot (The Tender Land)                Aaron Copland    

In the rural Midwest in the 1930s, a joyous country dance is held to celebrate Laurie's impending high school graduation.

    The Ensemble 

FINALE 

Promise of Living (The Tender Land)                Aaron Copland
A paean to the joy of life, of work, of the land, and of love.
    The Ensemble

***

“An unprecedented double encore” 

— with apologies to W.S. Gilbert

Can-Can (Orpheus in the Underworld)                Jacques Offenbach

Va, Pensiero (Nabucco)                        Giuseppe Verdi

"Fly, thought, on wings of gold; go settle upon the slopes of our native land."

A NIGHT of OPERA FAVORITES, May 16!

Our season finale, a concert of favorite music from opera and operetta, featuring chorus, orchestra and winners of The American Prize—Chicago Opera Award, is Wednesday, May 16th:

 Tickets online: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/e/197828

Chamber Concert: April 29 at 3 pm

Tickets for both online: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/80112

CHICAGO OPERA AWARD winners announced

The American Prize is pleased to announce the winners of the CHICAGO OPERA AWARD for 2012.

From a field of very strong contenders, Maestro David Katz has selected three vocalists to solo with the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at their spring opera/operetta favorites concert on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at 7:30 pm at St James Epsicopal Cathedral, north of the Loop. For tickets, follow this link.

The winners are:
CHRISTINE STEYER, soprano, who will sing arias by Puccini and Lehar.
WILLIAM BENNETT, tenor, who will sing solos by Donizetti and Romberg.
ANDREW BAWDEN, bartione, who will perform arias from Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro.

All three soloists will join chorus and orchestra in selections from Copland's opera, The Tender Land.

Winners of the CHICAGO OPERA AWARD were chosen separately from all other judging for The American Prize in Voice—Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards. The selection of Chicago Opera Award winners has no bearing on final results in the other competitions. Finalists in the opera and art song divisions of The American Prize contests will be announced later. Please "friend" the competition's Facebook page to learn exactly when those announcements will be made.

***

CHRISTINE STEYER

Steyer was the 2011 winner of The American Prize in Art Song, the Mercer Award and was a Bronze Medal winner at American Traditions Competition.  She has performed with opera houses including Lyric Opera of Chicago and has received critical acclaim for Violetta, Butterfly and the Marschallin.  Recently, Christine gave recitals with Philip Morehead.  She can be heard on Caroline Myss' Voices of the Sacred.  Ms. Steyer has performed for 15,000 schoolchildren with Bellissima Opera Outreach, an organization she founded. Christinesteyer.com

WILLIAM BENNETT
For his 2011 debut with Light Opera Works in the demanding title role of the Student Prince, the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones praised “the gorgeously voiced young tenor William Bennett.” William Bennett has also performed solo operatic roles with Chicago Symphony Kraft Series, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Opera in the Neighborhoods program, Chicago Opera Theater Young Artist Program, Ash Lawn Opera, Sugar Creek Symphony & Song, Cedar Rapids Opera, Elgin Opera and DuPage Opera Theater.

ANDREW BAWDEN

Originally from Springfield, Illinois, and now living in Virginia, Andrew Bawden, a doctoral student studying with Professor Kevin McMillan, is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Urbana Center for Alexander Technique, and the Eastman School of Music. In 2007, he was the first place winner and audience favorite winner of the Rochester Classical Idol Competition. Recent credits include roles with Opera Vivente, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Hubbard Hall Opera Theater and Tri-Cities Opera.
 

Celebrate our BBBBB Sponsors

The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus proudly celebrate the wonderful sponsors who make this year's Barrister's Big Band Benefit Ball possible. Thousands of thanks to:

ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, Inc.
REED SMITH LLP
LISA SNOW and FRANCO TURRINELLI 
     and DAVIS & HOSFIELD CONSULTING LLC
TODD WEINER
BAKER & MCKENZIE LLP

Join us at the Standard Club on Saturday, April 21, 2012 starting at 6 pm for an evening of swinging sound, dancing, delicious food, dance lessons and silent and live auctions, all in support of the musical activities of the Chicago Bar Association!

CLICK FOR TICKETS!

More about the Ball and upcoming concerts below!

SCHUBERT & more adds vocal chamber music

Sun, April 29, 2012—3 pm 

CHAMBER CONCERT: Schubert & More & MORE!

Alexandra Newman

Following the Barristers Big Band Benefit Ball on April 21st, the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus next presents a springtime chamber concert called Schubert & More. Featuring small ensembles of musicians selected from our unique organizations, the program includes works by Nielsen, Vieuxtemps, Vaughan Williams, Roussel, and, of course, Schubert. Just added to the concert is vocal chamber music by Rimski-Korsakov, Donizetti, Simon, Morley and di Lasso. (The additions are listed first, below.) The concert will take place on the last Sunday afternoon in April, at 3 pm, in the magnificent sanctuary of our performance home, Saint James Episcopal Cathedral, Wabash at Huron.

Here is a link where you can purchase tickets.

And here is the full program as of March 24, 2012:  

Chamber Concert: SCHUBERT and MORE

Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Saint James Episcopal Cathedral—Chicago


Angel and Demon    Rimsky-Korsakov   
    Kathleen Loos & Frank Cargle, vocalists
        Janet Eckhardt, accompanist

Deep River    arr. Hogan   
   Frank Cargle, baritone
        Janet Eckhardt, accompanist

Una Furtiva Lagrima    Donizetti   
    Mike Sitrick, tenor
        Janet Eckhardt, accompanist

Lily’s Eyes    Simon   
    Mike Sitrick & Frank Cargle, vocalists
        Janet Eckhardt, accompanist

Sing We and Chant It    Morley   
Good Day Dear Heart    di Lasso
     Acapella Madrigals: Paula Jacobi, Andrea Wood, Dorothy Voight, 
     Skip Harsh, Tom Hazinski
  

Little Suite for Strings, Op. 1                     Carl Nielsen 
The West Oakdale Avenue Chamber Players
Violins—Tod Ballard, Rachel Chapman, Heather Neaveill-Kramer* (and viola),
Emily Chen, Travis Elfers , Gregory Zinkl (and viola)
Viola—Sean Diller*, Dan Makula*
Cello—Scott Beller, Julia Nowicki*

Fair Use Quintet

Divertissement for woodwind quintet and piano, Op. 6     Albert Roussel
Fair Use Quintet
Judith Grubner, flute—Beth Lodal, oboe—John Vishneski, clarinet, Katherine Erwin, bassoon—Michael McVickar, horn—Clark Remington, piano
 
Two English Folksongs       Ralph Vaughan Williams & Rebecca Clarke
Searching for Lambs
The Lawyer
Down by the Salley Gardens
Genevieve Essig, soprano
Alexandra Newman, violin

Souvenir d'Amerique                    Henri Vieuxtemps 
Alexandra Newman, violin
Neil Posner, piano
 

Amicus Curiae Quintet

Quintet in A major, D. 667 (The Trout)            Franz Schubert  
Amicus Curiae Quintet
Patricia Bronte, violin—Alexander Weaver, viola—Natasha White, cello
        Joseph Krzysiak, bass—Neil Posner, piano

All programs and artists subject to change. The listing above is not in program order.