Music Institute of Chicago to Celebrate 'Music In Our Schools Month' at Nichols Concert Hall, 3/15

The Music Institute of Chicago joins the national celebration of Music In Our Schools Month with a morning of music for all ages Saturday, March 15 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.

This morning of music for families begins at 11 a.m. with an open house in the Nichols Concert Hall lobby. Kids can enjoy playing a variety of instruments at the Music Institute Instrument Petting Zoo, parents can talk with faculty and staff, and everyone can take advantage of special discounts on lessons and classes.

At noon, Blair Thomas & Co. presents A Piano with 3 Tales, a puppet theatre production featuring the acclaimed A Kite's Tale and two world premieres. This classical piano recital within a puppet show features Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Frederic Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor and Stephen Montague's Mirabella a Tarantella-for toy piano!-all performed by pianist Mary Rose Norell. Blair Thomas' handmade puppets of all kinds, from bunraku dolls to larger-than-life human-sized costumes, perform stories that encourage families to exercise their imaginations and discover the magical power of wordless music.

Blair Thomas & Co. is a national and international touring puppet theatre company founded in 2002 by puppeteer and director/designer Blair Thomas. The company has made more than a dozen original puppet theatre pieces, including Cabaret of Desires, short works by Federico Garcia Lorca; The Ox-herder's Tale, the Buddhist parable of 10 paintings of enlightenment; A Kite's Tale, a collection of silent narratives set to piano pieces; and Pierrot Lunaire, Arnold Schoenberg's song cycle with the chamber music ensemble eighth blackbird. Blair Thomas & Co. has received two international UNIMA awards for excellence in the art of puppetry. Thomas, who cofounded Redmoon Theater, teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Music Institute of Chicago believes that music has the power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, its mission is to provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music. Founded in 1931, the Music Institute has grown to become one of the three largest and most respected community music schools in the nation. Offering musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, the Music Institute's teachers and arts therapists reach thousands of students and clients of all ages and levels of experience. The Music Institute opened a new location this fall at Fourth Presbyterian Church's Gratz Center in downtown Chicago. Other Music Institute locations include Evanston, Winnetka, Lincolnshire, Lake Forest, and Downers Grove. In addition, the Music Institute is proud of its longstanding partnership with the Chicago Public Schools through its Arts Link program. The Music Institute offers lessons and classes, creative arts therapy, and concerts through its Community School, Academy, Institute for Therapy? through the Arts, and Nichols Concert Hall.

The Music Institute of Chicago's family music morning takes place Saturday, March 15-11 a.m. for the Instrument Petting Zoo, noon for Blair Thomas & Co.'s A Piano with 3 Tales-at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. Tickets are $5 per person, available at brownpapertickets.com/event/558227 or 847.905.1500 ext. 108. For more information visit musicinst.org.