Melissa Etheridge to Perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 6/16

The League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) will celebrate its 25th annual Corporate Night on Monday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. with special guest Melissa Etheridge performing with members of the CSO, led by conductor Sean O'Loughlin. Over the course of more than two decades as a performer and songwriter, Melissa Etheridge has earned her post as one of rock 'n' roll's most respected artists with numerous hits, such as "I'm the Only One," "Come to My Window" and "I Want to Come Over."

Etheridge begins her "This Is ME Solo" tour next week, which runs from April 15-28 throughout the Eastern U.S., and also performs several dates with symphony orchestras for the first time, including the Boston Pops and the San Francisco Symphony, in addition to the CSO. She recently performed at the White House as part of a Women of Soul event which brought together music legends and contemporary artists whose songs express the struggles and achievements of women. Additionally, Melissa released a new anthem, Uprising of Love, which was the inspiration for a new coalition by the same name, Uprising of Love, and 100% of the proceeds from the song go toward the organization, which supports the safety and dignity of LGBT Russians. Melissa is also in the studio writing and recording music for her new album, slated for a fall/winter 2014 release.

The CSOA's Corporate Night pays special tribute to Chicago's business community each year with a one-night-only performance that pairs musicians from the CSO with today's most popular artists. Proceeds from this important fundraising event benefit the CSO's general operations and nationally recognized community engagement and music education programs.

This year, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event, representatives from the five corporations that have participated as partners every year since the event's inception in 1989 are serving as event co-chairs. They include:

Chuck Douglas, Chairman, Management Committee, Sidley Austin;
Pete McDonald, retired Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, United Airlines;
John W. Rogers, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ariel Investments;
Scott Santi, President and Chief Executive Officer, ITW; and
Rick Waddell, Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, Northern Trust.

Concert-only tickets are available to the public ($35 to $99); concertgoers can also purchase tickets for an exclusive preconcert dinner and concert package, which are $200. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 11, and are available in person at Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan Ave., by calling the CSO Box Office at 312-294-3000 or online at cso.org.

Corporations, other organizations and individuals can participate as sponsors or purchase tables for the evening, which includes an exclusive pre-concert dinner and prime seats for the special concert with Melissa Etheridge. Sponsorships start at $25,000 and table packages range from $3,000 to $16,000. Notable corporate supporters to the event to date are Bank of America, ITW, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, United Airlines, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Northern Trust, Exelon, Sidley Austin LLP, Amsted Industries Incorporated, Aon, Baxter International Inc., BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, BMO Harris Bank, Deloitte, EY, Jenner & Block LLP, KPMG LLP, PNC Bank, The Warranty Group, and Winston & Strawn LLP. For more information on the benefits of sponsorship, please call the CSO's corporate development department at 312-294-3153.

Symphony Center Presents
Corporate Night

Monday, June 16, 2014, 7:30 pm
Melissa Etheridge
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sean O'Laughlin, conductor

Concert-only tickets: $35 to $99
Preconcert dinner and concert package tickets: $200

About Melissa Etheridge:
Melissa Etheridge stormed onto the American rock scene in 1988 with the release of her critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which led to an appearance on the 1989 Grammy Awards show. For several years, her popularity grew around such memorable originals as "Bring Me Some Water," "No Souvenirs" and "Ain't It Heavy," for which she won a Grammy® in 1992. Etheridge hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, Yes I Am (1993). The collection featured the massive hits, "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window," a searing song of longing that brought Etheridge her second Grammy® Award for Best Female Rock Performance. In 1995, Etheridge issued her highest charting album, Your Little Secret, which was distinguished by the hit single, "I Want to Come Over." Her astounding success that year led to Etheridge receiving the Songwriter of the Year honor at the ASCAP Pop Awards in 1996. Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Etheridge has remained one of America's favorite female singer-songwriters for more than two decades. In February 2007, Melissa Etheridge celebrated a career milestone with a victory in the "Best Song" category at the Academy® Awards for "I Need to Wake Up," written for the Al Gore documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth. As a performer and songwriter, Etheridge has shown herself to be an artist who has never allowed "inconvenient truths" to keep her down. Earlier in her recording career, Etheridge acknowledged her sexual orientation when it was considered less than prudent to do so. In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer, a health battle that, with her typical tenacity, she won. Despite losing her hair from chemotherapy, Etheridge appeared on the 2005 Grammy® telecast to sing "Piece of My Heart" in tribute to Janis Joplin. By doing so she gave hope to many women afflicted with the disease. Most recently, she released a new song entitled "Uprising of Love" and is also currently finishing a new album, which is slated for a fall/winter release.
www.melissaetheridge.com | www.twitter.com/metheridge

About the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (cso.org)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Its music director since 2010 is Riccardo Muti, one of the preeminent conductors of our day. Pierre Boulez is the CSO's Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus; Yo-Yo Ma is the CSO's Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant. Mason Bates and Anna Clyne are the CSO's Mead Composers-in-Residence.

The musicians of the CSO annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago and, in the summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. The CSO frequently tours internationally and occasionally performs in other parts of the U.S. Since its founding in 1891, the Orchestra has made 57 international tours, visiting 28 countries on five continents. At home and on tour, tickets are always in high demand and frequently sold out.

People around the globe enjoy the extraordinary sounds of the Orchestra through broadcasts and webcasts of the weekly CSO Radio program and through CSO Resound, the CSO's own record label. Recordings by the CSO have won 62 Grammy Awards®.

The parent organization for the CSO is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA). It also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus, directed by Duain Wolfe, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a pre-professional ensemble conducted by Cliff Colnot. Through a series called Symphony Center Presents, the CSOA brings internationally known guest artists and ensembles from a variety of musical genres-classical, jazz, pop, world, and contemporary-to Chicago.

The CSOA's Institute for Learning, Access, and Training offers a variety of youth, community, and education programs that engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages, incomes and backgrounds. Through the programs of the Institute as well as many other activities, including a free annual CSO concert, the CSOA promotes the concept of Citizen Musicianship: using the power of music to contribute to our culture, our communities and the lives of others.

A nonprofit organization, the CSOA is governed by a voluntary board of trustees and supported by tens of thousands of other volunteers, patrons and corporate, foundation and individual donors. Deborah F. Rutter, a highly regarded arts executive, is president of the CSOA.

About the League of Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The League of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, with over 300 members, has a 79-year history of supporting the CSO through fundraising and social events, such as Corporate Night, as well as special activities for adults and children, such as the Youth Auditions program and the CSO Docent program. To learn more, please call312-294-3170.