Concert celebrates legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Five young musicians will perform on a program with the 180-voice Brotherhood Chorale at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20. They are all recipients of the Music Institute of Chicago’s William Warfield Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Chamber music fest warms up winter at NU

If it’s January, it must be time for the Winter Chamber Music Festival at Northwestern University. This is the 17th year chamber music fans will gather in the 989-seat Pick-Staiger Concert Hall alongside Lake Michigan, heedless of the wind and weather, to enjoy performances by local, national and even internationally acclaimed chamber musicians.

Norwegian group never stops singing

It’s not often that a singing society stands the test of time for nearly 150 years. But the all-male Normennenes Singing Society of Chicago — a chorus where most of the singers have roots in Norway — has done just that.

Big rewards from small concerts

Good things come in small packages, they say, and recently, two delightful programs took place in sites off the beaten path. Parisian Salon Concerts The Parisian Salon concerts in the Northbrook Public Library have been produced the first Friday of the month by Didier and …

New look, new sound for Matisyahu

The past year has been a time of significant developments for the recording artist Matisyahu.

Born Matthew Paul Miller, he first made a name for himself by combining his Hasidic faith (a branch of Orthodox Judaism) with a potent blend of stripped-down reggae, beatboxing and …

Early music concert celebrates local master

David Schrader is the master of keyboards.

That’s right, he’s an expert on several of them, including the organ, the harpsichord, the Forte Piano and, of course, the modern piano.

Schrader’s specialty is Early and Baroque music, and he’s been soloist on organ and harpsichord …

On the run with the Music Theatre Company

Whether it’s people, places or predicaments, everyone is running away from something in “Fugitive Songs,”

Five multi-talented performers — Alan Schmuckler, Andrew Mueller, Sophie Grimm, Patrick Martin and Diana Lawrence — will sing and play instruments in the Music Theatre Company’s staging of the Chris …

Concert features rarely heard Russian music

Classical pianist Yleana Bautista will make a rare North American appearance Nov. 3 at Evanston’s Music Institute of Chicago.

Born in Cuba, Bautista studied at the Kiev Conservatory in the Ukraine and is now a citizen of Mexico. Her professional journey has included recitals and …

Orchestras tuning up for busy season

Summer is winding down, but things are just warming up for area orchestras. Here is a look at the upcoming classical music season.

Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, Alan Heatherington music director, opens its season Sunday, Sept. 23 with Khachaturian’s “Masquerade” Suite; the Brahms Double Concerto …

Versatile oboist conducts Chicago Philharmonic

Alex Klein as conductor? Area audiences know him as the Chicago Symphony’s principal oboe for nine years. Klein left the CSO when he became afflicted with musician’s focal dystonia, a neurological condition that caused involuntary muscular contractions of his fingers. which affected his ability to play his instrument. But Klein will be on the podium Sunday, Sept. 30, conducting the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra,

Musicians take on church and state at SPACE

In presidential election years, political activism takes on many forms.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, an activist organization dedicated to that cause, has put together a concert series called Voices United for the Separation of Church and State.

The group has …

Ravinia extends classical concert season

Building on the success of the summer’s many classical concerts in Bennett Gordon Hall for $10 each, the Ravinia Festival is presenting eight programs in the 450-seat theater this season for that very attractive price.

Titled “BGH $10 classics,” the series runs October through April …

Keb’ Mo’ busts through blues boundaries

Keb’ Mo’ says he feels validation after hearing his fans shout requests for songs—and not just his older songs, but also the ones on his 2011 album, “The Reflection.”

“All the songs were received very warmly — much more warmly than some of the reviews,” …

Symphony opener celebrates Dvorak

From the podium and in private conversation, Alan Heatherington, artistic director of the Lake Forest Symphony, has hailed the Czech master Antonin Dvorak as one of the great composers of the later Romantic period.

Knights with stars at Ravinia

Ravinia closes its summer seaon with a star-studded, three-day program. The Knights, an orchestra with a fresh approach to the standard repertoire and beyond, will take up residence in the pavilion and bring as guest soloists cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and soprano Dawn Upshaw.