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Classical Tue Apr 14 2015
Pulling Strings: For classical music in Chicago, you got a guy - April 2015
All kinds of crossover this month as ancient to contemporary music blurs together and crosses boundaries, and the apparent lines between classical and pop disintegrate. Go hear it!
Fifth House Ensemble and Baladino: Nedudim
Fifth House's season blazes ahead with Nedudim, a collaborative program with Israeli folk band Baladino that explores Middle Eastern, European, and American cultures through ancient and contemporary sounds. The program includes updated arrangements of Ladino and Israeli folk melodies, as well as contemporary pieces by Americans Robert Beaser and Dan Visconti that feature Baladino soloists. In their mission and approach to music, both ensembles emphasize creativity through collaboration, and Nedudim illustrates the fluid and shared nature of music through diasporic cultures. You won't hear anything else like this concert on the calendar the rest of the year. Tickets are $20/general, $15/students. Friday, April 17, 7pm. Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio St., Chicago. Monday, April 20, 7pm. Mayne Stage, 1328 W. Morse Ave.
Fulcrum Point: THE NEWS
Fulcrum Point New Music Ensemble gives the Midwest Premiere of Jacob TV's THE NEWS, a pop-opera — a scorching critique of modern media culture. Utilizing projected news footage and an array of musical styles and mind-blowing techniques, THE NEWS explores politics, pop culture, economics, and religion in a satirical and thoroughly entertaining 90-minute work. The killer lineup includes soprano Nora Fischer and rhythmic vocalist Loire alongside Fulcrum Point's Stephen Burns and a core of the city's best jazz and experimental musicians. One night only. Tickets are $26. Tuesday, April 21, 8pm. Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, Chicago.
THE NEWS trailer 2013 from JacobTV on Vimeo.
eighth blackbird: Still in Motion
Did you know that Europeans once had a musical tradition of recounting homicide through song? In its debut at the Old Town School of Folk, top-notch new music ensemble eighth blackbird will present a program on this very theme, centered around Bryce Dessner's (The National) "Murder Ballades." With virtuosity and theatricality, 8bb explores grisly tales, fiddle tunes, and folk songs in this one-night-only performance. The program includes multi-composer suite, "Songs of Love and Loss," with works by Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Bon Iver, and Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry. Tickets are $25/general, $20/OTS members. Friday, April 24, 8pm. Old Town School of Folk Music, Mauer Concert Hall, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
About the author: Elliot Mandel photographs classical concerts and you should hire him for your next show. He also writes reviews and plays cello.
