Baroque and Romantic Classics, PARABLES OF ZION Premiere and More Set for Rush Hour Concerts, 6/4-8/27

Rush Hour Concerts presents its 14th annual Summer Concert Series featuring free concerts of "great music for busy lives" at River North's historic St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron Street, June 4 - August 27, 2013. In a format that reinvents classical music for life in a new century, concerts take place every Tuesday evening, beginning with a pre-concert food and beverage reception with the artists at 5:15 pm in the cathedral foyer, followed by a 30-minute concert at 5:45 pm. The reception and concert are always free and no tickets are required.

Rush Hour Concerts' Creative Director Deborah Sobol believes that free access to great art is essential to the human experience. "We have a wonderful season lined up, featuring exquisite music of Bach, Brahms, Schubert and Dvorák," said Sobol. "We are also excited to showcase some fantastic contemporary works performed by Fulcrum Point New Music Project and Third Coast Percussion."

For Rush Hour Concerts' 2013 Summer Concert Series, Sobol curated a season that weaves together music of the Baroque and Romantic eras (Bach, Brahms, Chausson, Rachmaninoff, Schubert) with more unconventional repertoire, including Dvorák's­ Slavonic Dances for piano four hands, the World Premiere of Mischa Zupko's Parables of Zion for trumpet and organ, the internationally-acclaimed trombone quartet 4, a music and poetry collaboration with the Euclid Quartet and the Poetry Foundation, and modern works of Benjamin Britten, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt and more.

For the fourth consecutive year, 98.7 WFMT will broadcast the Summer Concert Series live from St. James Cathedral each week. "Rush Hour Concerts has always presented an outstanding season of superb chamber music," said WFMT Program Director Peter Van De Graaff. "WFMT is proud to broadcast these engaging concerts live for a fourth year."

2013 Summer Concert Series:

June 4

Artists: Brant Taylor, cello

Kuang-Hao Huang, piano

Program: Sergei Rachmaninoff: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19

June 11

Artists: Fulcrum Point New Music Project

Stephen Burns, trumpet

David Schrader, organ

Program: Music of J.S. Bach and the World Premiere of Mischa Zupko's Parables of Zion

June 18

Artists: Bruce J. Barber, organ

David Schrader, keyboards

Program: All-Bach double-header: a one-hour double concert in memory of Scott V. Bruner*

June 25

Artists: Trio Voce, piano trio

Program: Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8

July 2

Artists: Jason Seed Stringtet

Yang Wei, pipa

Program: Rush Hour Fusion: original compositions by Jason Seed

Goulash Rag
Pictures of an Exhibitionist
Krakow
Where the Corners Meet
Ishtar

July 9

Artists: Euclid String Quartet

Program: Poetry and the String Quartet in collaboration with the Poetry Foundation

July 16

Artists: Joan DeVee Dixon, piano

Alice Fiedlerová, piano

Program: Antonín Dvo?ák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 for piano four hands

July 23

Artists: 4: Peter Ellefson, Randall Hawes, Timothy Higgins, Michael Mulcahy

Program: Music of Gabrieli, Beethoven and Shostakovich for trombone quartet

July 30

Artists: Singers from the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Program: Lyric Shorts: Rossini's The Barber of Seville

August 6

Artists: Maire O'Brien, soprano

Larry Combs, clarinet

Kuang-Hao Huang, piano

Mark Riggleman, piano

Program: Schubertiade, featuring Franz Schubert's "The Shepherd on the Rock," music for piano four hands, and celebrated lieder

August 13

Artists: Anthony Devroye, viola

Daniel Schlosberg, piano

Program: Celebrating the Britten Centennial, music by Benjamin Britten and Frank Bridge including Britten's Lachrymae: Reflections on a Song of Dowland, for viola and piano, Op. 48

August 20

Artists: Third Coast Percussion

Program: Steve Reich: Mallet Quartet

Arvo Pärt: Fratres

Owen Clay Condon: Fractalia

August 27

Artists: Spektral Quartet

MingHuan Xu, violin

Winston Choi, piano

Program: Ernest Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21

*Rush Hour Concerts was saddened by the passing of Scott V. Bruner on October 25, 2012. Bruner was a champion of Rush Hour since its inception in 2000. He joined the Board of Directors in 2007 and served as Treasurer and Chair of the Personnel Committee. His support and enthusiasm enabled Rush Hour Concerts to grow and share music with audiences all over Chicago.

Bruner was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Director of the City of Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings, Assistant to the Mayor, and Cook County State's Attorney, among other positions. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and he held memberships in the Chicago and Cook County Bar Associations. In addition to serving Rush Hour Concerts, Bruner was active in the Bach Week Festival and the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Rush Hour Concerts Creative Director Deborah Sobol said, "Scott's warmth, intellect, and generous spirit will be dearly missed by the Rush Hour community and all who knew him."

Since its inception in 2000, Rush Hour Concerts has reinvented the classical music experience through a dedication to presenting uncompromising artistic quality; a concert format suitable to contemporary lifestyles and accessible to all listeners; and a policy of admission-free events. Rush Hour Concerts has created groundbreaking programs and access initiatives that have revolutionized music making in Chicago and forged trendsetting partnerships with the city's arts and cultural community. In addition to the Summer Concert Series, Rush Hour Concerts unites the city through music every year during Make Music Chicago, June 21, a citywide, daylong celebration on of everyone's ability to make music.

Rush Hour Concerts is committed to broadening arts access and launched its Community Engagement Residencies to bring expert musical instruction to under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago through a long-term strategy of artistic and community collaboration. Now in its 14th year, Rush Hour Concerts has expanded into a year-round arts organization, yet remains grounded in its mission to reach across all communities with new ways for audiences to experience world-class music in Chicago.

To learn more about Rush Hour Concerts visit www.rushhour.org.