Harris Theater Announces Fall 2011 Events

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance launches its eighth season this Fall 2011 with an exciting and eclectic collection of culturally diverse programs featuring some of the world's greatest musicians, dance companies, and artistic visionaries, as well as an exciting selection of performances by the city's most acclaimed music and dance institutions.

Building upon the popular and critical success of its recently concluded seventh season, the Harris Theater's Fall 2011 programming is filled with debut performances by individuals and organizations seldom seen in Chicago, including the Harris Theater debuts of the internationally-acclaimed Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio, led by Fabio Luisi, the orchestra's Principal Conductor, who is also Principal Guest Conductor of New York's famed Metropolitan Opera. Broadway's original Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday, also makes her Harris Theater debut in a rare solo appearance, accompanied by the Soul Children of Chicago. Returning to the Harris by popular demand are the internationally heralded Sphinx Virtuosi joined by the Catalyst Quartet, and the iconic Merce Cunningham Dance Company, who will make their final Chicago appearances as part of the company's Legacy Tour, only weeks before they disband forever. Chicago's most acclaimed institutions will also be featured including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and Music of the Baroque.

The Harris Theater is pleased to announce that UBS is serving as the 2011-2012 Season Sponsor. The Harris Theater's 2011-2012 Season will also be made possible with support from United Airlines, the Harris Theater's Official Airline of the 2011-2012 Season and the Official and Exclusive Sponsor of Paris Opéra Ballet U.S. Tour. Support for Harris Theater programming is provided by the Irving Harris Foundation Presenting Fund, established in 2006 to bring to Chicago artists or ensembles of the highest caliber which would normally not be seen here in order to complement the works of the Theater's resident companies and build audiences for the Theater. All performances are on The Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage. The Harris Theater is partially supported by a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Harris Theater Presents subscriptions are on sale now. Select single tickets to the Harris Theater Presents performances go on sale September 7, 2011; tickets to all Harris Theater resident company performances will be on sale by August 31, 2011. Tickets are available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.harristheaterchicago.org.

Program information for the Harris Theater's 2011 fall season is as follows:

Classical Music

Fulcrum Point New Music Project
9/11: Ten Years & Beyond, A Concert for Peace
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Tickets: $10 general admission / $5 for seniors, students, Chicago Policemen, Firemen and their families

Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the city's leader in new art music and inventive collaborations between classical music and popular culture, will commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11 tragedy with 9/11: Ten Years & Beyond. Part of Fulcrum Point's ongoing Concert for Peace series, the uplifting, inclusive program will feature a Fulcrum Point ensemble, led by its Founder Stephen Burns, with traditional songs and prayers from the Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths. Guest artists joining Fulcrum Point on stage will be the New Classic Singers, conducted by Lee Kesselman, along with Kathleen Supové (piano), and soloists Zeshan Bagewadi, Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi, Drupon Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, and Saalik Ziyad.

Concert highlights include works by top contemporary composers Aaron Jay Kernis ("Musica Celestis"), Arvo Pärt ("Fratres") and Chicagoan Marita Bolles ("Buddha Girl"), along with the World Premiere of orchestral versions of works by David Stock ("3 Yiddish Songs") and Karim Al-Zand ("Lamentation on the Disasters of War").

The Chicago Chamber Musicians
CCM Brass and American Brass Quintet
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $10 - $45

Described as "positively breathtaking" by the New York Times, the American Brass Quintet has been internationally recognized as an icon in the brass world. Don't miss the opportunity to hear CCM BRASS, one of the foremost interpreters of the brass quintet repertoire, collaborate with the quintet on a program that is a must-hear for any brass lover.

Paul Dukas Fanfare from La Péri
Joan Tower Copperwave
Anthony Plog Octet
Richard Strauss Festmusik der Stadt Wien
Vitaly Bujanovsky "España" from Traveling Impressions
James Stephenson Call
Michael Tilson Thomas Street Song

Sphinx Virtuosi
Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Tickets $10

Straight from their sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, the internationally heralded Sphinx Virtuosi (formerly known as the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra), returns to the Harris for a special matinee performance. Heralded by The New York Times as "first rate in every way," the 25-member Sphinx Virtuosi, who will also be joined by the Catalyst Quartet, are comprised of the top Laureates of the national Sphinx Competition for young African American and Latino string players.

The acclaimed Sphinx Virtuosi will perform a diverse program to include works by Schubert, Bartok, Golijov, Handel-Halvorsen, and more. The program will also feature solo performances by the Catalyst Quartet and Sphinx competition winners' violinist Randall Goosby and cellist Gabriel Cabezas, a Chicago native and alumnus of the Music Institute of Chicago. Violinist Allie Switala, a current Music Institute of Chicago student and Academy Fellowship participant, will also be featured as a soloist on the performance. Sharing the Sphinx Organization's commitment to increasing access to music education, the Music Institute of Chicago's Academy Fellowship initiative is a tuition-free and comprehensive music education for select students based on merit, allowing the young musicians to reach the highest levels of achievement.

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra made its Chicago debut at the Harris in 2008 as part of the Theater's Fifth Anniversary Season, and returned to the Theater for a highly-acclaimed performance in October 2010.

 

Program:

Plaza Fuga Criolla

Bartok Divertimento for Strings, III

Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia for Violin and Cello

Golijov Last Round

Vivaldi Summer from The Four Seasons

Perkinson Blue/s Form/s, Jettin' Blue/s

Ginastera V

Schubert Death and the Maiden, Finale

Music of the Baroque
Glover Conducts Mozart...and Beethoven!
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 - $75

World-renowned pianist Imogen Cooper plays Mozart's dramatic Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor and Beethoven's joyous, rarely heard Choral Fantasy. Jane Glover conducts the Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra in gala opening concerts that also include Beethoven's first symphony.

MusicNOW
Monday, October 17, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Tickets: $10 - $20

Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, Mead Composers-in-Residence
Cliff Colnot, conductor

Cliff Colnot, conductor, and musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra present a program that features John Corigliano's brand-new Stomp, written for the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition, and the acrobatic Tumblers by Alejandro Viñao. A beautifully lyrical septet by Chicagoan Kirsten Broberg and a haunting quintet by Donnacha Dennehy both feature vocal soloists.

Corigliano Stomp
Broberg That Time
Viñao Tumblers
Matthusen run on sentence of the pavement
Dennehy To Herbert Brun

Roosevelt University's CCPA Symphony Orchestra
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 7:30 pm
FREE Event

James Paul, guest conductor
Featuring Student Solo Competition Winner
Takahiro Kim, tuba

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

Vaughan Williams Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra

Barber Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance

Chicago Sinfonietta
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $26 - $50

Enjoy a stirring selection of Latin American orchestral works in this Day of the Dead holiday celebration. From profound contemplation to joyous exuberance, the concert will touch on all facets of the human experience when honoring the departed. Maestro Hector Guzman leads the orchestra and special guests Denis Azabagic, guitar and Eugenia Moliner, flute, with music from Márquez, Montoya, Rodrigo, and others.

José Pablo Moncoya Tierra de Temporal
Joaquín Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez
Arturo Márquez Danzón No. 3
Silvestre Revueltas Janitzio
Blas Galindo Sones de Mariachi

Vienna Symphony Orchestra* with the Eroica Trio*
Monday, November 7, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 - $45

Eroica Trio
Erika Nickrenz, piano
Susie Park, violin
Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello
Fabio Luisi*, conductor

*Harris Theater debut

Heralded for "the freshest, most daring, drop-dead gorgeous playing you're likely to encounter any time soon" (Fanfare Magazine), the Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio, will kick off the 2011-2012 Hear the Music series with an electrifying performance of Beethoven's beloved "Triple Concerto," Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56. "Few can rival the sonic beauty of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra," (Chicago Tribune) who will join Eroica Trio in making their Harris Theater debut. The VSO will also perform one of the most popular works in the repertoire today-Brahms' magnificent Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73-led by Fabio Luisi, the orchestra's Principal Conductor, who is also Principal Guest Conductor of New York's famed Metropolitan Opera. Don't miss this blockbuster program!

Beethoven "Triple Concerto"
Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56
Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73

Music of the Baroque
Kraemer Conducts Bach
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 - $75

Baroque specialist Nicholas Kraemer leads a richly varied program of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, including the second and third orchestral suites, and the ravishing double violin concerto. British soprano Julia Doyle makes her Chicago début in the joyful "Wedding" cantata, BWV 202.

MusicNOW

Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Tickets: $10 - $20

Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, Mead Composers-in-Residence

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Wolfe Dig Deep
Cheung Enjamb, Infuse, Implode
Kernis da l'Arte Della Danssar
Hyla The Dream of Innocent III
Clyne Within Her Arms

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago brings their distinctive choreography to the MusicNOW series for the first time. Alongside Anna Clyne's ethereal Within Her Arms and-hot off the press!-a major new chamber work by Aaron Kernis, the program also features energetic works by Julia Wolfe of the Bang on a Can All-Stars and Anthony Cheung as well as Chicagoan Lee Hyla's The Dream of Innocent III.

Jazz, Pop and World Music

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble
Musica Panamericano
Friday, October 7, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $18 - $48

Grammy-nominated Trinidadian trumpeter/percussionist Etienne Charles Brings his captivating music to Chicago, arranged for the CJE. This exciting exploration of music from the Caribbean and the Americas will fuse original music with classic Caribbean sounds (calypso, reggae, Latin), plus compositions by CJE Founder William Russo.

Serbian National Ensemble Kolo Concert
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Tickets: $35 - $65

Traditional Serbian and southern European songs and dances performed by the world famous Serbian National ensemble.

Puerto Rican Arts Alliance 13th Annual Cuatro Festival
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Tickets: $25 - $75

The Puerto Rican Arts Alliance is proud to announce the 13th Annual Cuatro Festival celebration. This year's theme, The Soul of the Cuatro/El Alma del Cuatro, conveys the essence of a culture that captures and expresses the enchantment of an island full of celebrations through the sound of its Cuatro instrument. Featured in this performance are some of the finest Cuatro players from the Midwest and Puerto Rico.

Holiday Concerts

Jennifer Holliday
with the Soul Children of Chicago
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $35 - $55

Celebrate the holidays with Broadway's original "Dreamgirl!" Possessing one of the biggest and most extraordinary of all Soul voices, the Tony and Grammy Award-winner will bring audiences to their feet with her dynamite gospel ballad and show-stopping rendition of the defiant anthem "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - the hallmark of the musical Dreamgirls. Joined by the Soul Children of Chicago, you won't want to miss this special one-night-only performance!

Chicago Children's Choir
Songs of the Season with special guest Nicole Cabell
Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Tickets: $15 - $65

Celebrate the season with Chicago Children's Choir! Under the direction of Josephine Lee, the Emmy Award-winning Concert Choir is joined by acclaimed soprano Nicole Cabell for an unforgettable afternoon of holiday classics and much more.

The Apollo Chorus of Chicago
Handel's Messiah
Sunday, December 18, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Tickets: $35 - $55

Under the direction of Stephen Alltop, the Apollo Chorus of Chicago celebrates its 140th Season by performing this beloved holiday masterpiece in downtown Chicago, a tradition since 1879. The 125-member ensemble will be joined by critically-acclaimed soloists and a stellar baroque orchestra of world-class musicians.

Dance

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre & Inaside Chicago Dance
Constant Motion
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Tickets: $15 - $40

Two unique styles coming together for an explosive evening of original dance! Plus an exciting collaboration from Artistic Directors Wilfredo Rivera and Richard A. Smith, featuring both companies.

Program:

Mink, Jazz and Swing: Dancing to the Music of Ms. Peggy Lee
Harrison McEldowney, choregrapher & Tony Savino, choreographer
At Face Value
Autumn Eckman, choreographer
World premiere by choreographer Richard A. Smith
World premiere by Jen Wycykal, Inaside's Youth Trainee Program
Voces Inocentes (Innocent Voices)
Eddy Ocampo, choreographer
Joe Cerqua, composer
Home To Me
Wilfredo Rivera, choreographer
Joe Cerqua, vocalist
Lo que el Corazon desea... (What the Heart Desires...)
Wilfredo Rivera, choreographer; Bobbi Wilsyn, vocalist; Joe Cerqua, composer
Love in a Foreign Language
Michelle Manzanales, choreographer; Bobbi Wilsyn, vocalist; Dan Hesler, composer
Hablemos El Mismo Idioma (Lets Speak the Same Language)
Wilfredo Rivera, choreographer; Papo Santiago, vocalist

Luna Negra Dance Theater
¡mujeres!
Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Performance Tickets: $25 - $65
Noche de Luna Gala (includes performance ticket): $300

Luna Negra Dance Theater celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month in style with a program that highlights three globally influential Latinas - iconic painter Frida Kahlo, Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide and Juana la Loca, the first queen of pre-modern Spain. The program features world premieres by artistic director Gustavo Ramírez Sansano and Asun Noales, and the return of Paloma Querida by Michelle Manzanales.

Natya Dance Theatre
The Flowering Tree-world premiere
Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Performance tickets: $24 - $50
Special VIP tickets with reception: $125
Please call the Harris Theater box office for these special seats

Experience love as transformation - Chicago's leading Indian dance theater company brings alive this timeless folktale about respect for nature. Set to an original score that includes world music, The Flowering Tree weaves the story of a young girl, Kumudha, and her sisters, who are ostracized by their community for being poor. Kumudha is given a mantra from the heavens that alleviates her sufferings and allows her to turn into a beautiful flowering tree. Reciting the mantra with respect and sanctity, Kumudha can become herself again, but the world around her takes advantage of her powerful gift. As she transforms, so do we.

Natya Dance Theatre is rooted in Bharata Natyam, one of the great dance theater forms of India. Natya takes us through a journey in The Flowering Tree using dynamic body movement, rhythmic footwork, hand gestures and facial expressions to convey meaning and emotion that create rasa, the aesthetic experience that spiritually transforms audiences worldwide. Appropriate for ages 5 and up.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Friday, October 14, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Tickets: $25 & up

A think-tank and incubator for the best contemporary dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, will present audiences with an exciting spread of new repertoire and past favorites with the Fall Series at Harris Theater in Millennium Park. This eclectic engagement will showcase the most anticipated dance event of the season as dance legend Twyla Tharp sets a new work on the Hubbard Street dancers. Known for her playful style and joyous movement, Tharp's choreography will delight and inspire during this historic dance moment in Chicago. Hubbard Street's Fall Series will also feature the return of the mysterious and illusive Arcangelo by Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato, and the revival of the crowd-pleasing Walking Mad by Swedish mastermind Johan Inger, set to Maurice Ravel's rhythmic ‘Boléro.'

Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago
Passion and Fire
Friday, October 21, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Tickets: $15 - $60

Experience the high-energy, high-impact performance and the enthralling art that define Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Guaranteed to please you, the program features TWO world premieres and the return of Sabroso, a sizzling Latin rhythmic and ballroom work.

"This sizzling concoction, is a fast-paced, invigorating and, yes, tasty nod to ballroom dance, savory in its duets and even more impressive in its eye-catching ensemble designs. The mood is pure joy, the energy unstoppable..." - Chicago Tribune

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
Water Stains On The Wall
Friday, October 28, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Tickets: $35 - $65

Trained in chi kung, meditation, internal martial arts, Chinese opera, modern dance and ballet, the company performs Lin Hwai-min's newest work, Water Stains on the Wall, evoking the popular Chinese metaphor representing the highest state in the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy.

River North Dance Chicago
River North Fall Engagement
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Tickets: $25 - $65

Called "hotter than hot..." by the Chicago Sun-Times, RNDC presents a Company Premiere of SUPER STRAIGHT is coming down, a fiercely physical work by renowned choreographer Daniel Ezralow. Artistic Director Frank Chaves also reprises two acclaimed and popular works including his celebrated tribute tribute to MiLes Davis, Simply Miles Simply Us; and Al Sur Del Sur, the stunning suite of Argentine Tangos by Latin stars Sabrina and Ruben Veliz.

Merce Cunningham Dance Company
The Legacy Tour -final Chicago performances before the company disbands
Co-presented with The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago
Friday, November 18, 2011 at 8:00 pm - Program A
Squaregame (1976)
Quartet (1982)
Antic Meet (1958)
Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 8:00 pm - Program B
Roaratorio (1983)
Tickets: $25 - $65
In partnership with The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance is proud to co-present this return and final Chicago engagement of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company on their Legacy Tour, only six weeks before the company disbands on December 31, 2011. Showcasing several seminal works by Cunningham, these performances are sure to be a testament to the choreographer's enduring genius and a celebration of his artistic achievement. Program A includes Squaregame, which was the first commission for MCDC Music Director Takehisa Kosugi and features décor by Mark Lancaster; Quartet, which despites its title, is a work for five dancers set to David Tudor's live electronic composition Sextet for Seven, with décor by Mark Lancaster; and Antic Meet, structured like a series of vaudeville scenes set to a John Cage score with décor by Robert Rauschenberg. Program B features Roaratorio, an evening-length large-scale work set to Cage's complex 1979 composition, Roaratoriao, an Irish Circus on Finnegans Wake, consisting of music, text and sounds from places featured in Joyce's novel.
The Legacy Tour is a celebration of Cunningham's lifetime of artistic achievement and a testament to the choreographer's enduring genius. Launched in February 2010, the two-year, 40 city world-wide tour offers audiences a final opportunity to see Cunningham's choreography performed by the company he personally trained. The Tour will showcase 18 seminal works from throughout Cunningham's career-including the revival of seven dances from past Company repertory-and will highlight the collaborations with artistic innovators such John Cage, Jasper Johns, Radiohead, and Robert Rauschenberg that characterized Cunningham's creative life. The Tour will culminate with a New Year's Eve performance in New York City-MCDC's home since it was founded in 1953-on December 31, 2011, with tickets priced at $10. As outlined in the Legacy Plan, the Company will disband following this final performance.

Chicago Human Rhythm Project
Global Rhythms 7
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Tickets: $15 - $55

Chicago Human Rhythm concludes its 21st year with Global Rhythms 7, two nights of spectacular percussive dance representing the best of our global community. Step Afrika!, the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping, returns to Chicago for a third year to thrill audiences with their explosive interpretations of this American art form. They will be joined by the irrepressible Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater, the premier Spanish dance company in the United States and the spectacularly colorful Mexican Folkloric Dance Company, demonstrating the long and rich history of Mexico.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Tickets: $40 - $65

The premiere of Chicago Women of Song highlights Deeply Rooted's 15th Anniversary Season Finale and evokes the diverse musical heritage behind the company's soul stirring, technically dazzling performances. Other new works, repertory classics and celebrity guests highlight this benefit event.

Family Events

Hubbard Street 2
Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Tickets $15

Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure is back by popular demand! Last performed to a sold out audience in 2010, Hubbard Street 2 will revive this critically acclaimed family program inspired by a classic children's book; Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon tells the story of a young boy named Harold, who, equipped with his purple crayon and an infinite imagination, choreographs his own adventures.

Children (ages 4+) and their families can help create Harold's next adventure through their own exploration of movement in this hour-long interactive dance experience. Premiered in November 2010, this celebrated piece was choreographed by Hubbard Street Artistic Associate Terence Marling and Hubbard Street dancer Robyn Mineko Williams, directed by HS2 Director Taryn Kashock Russell, and features music by Chicago Indie rocker Andrew Bird.

Other Events

POWER 92.3 & J-BEES PRESENTS: SURROUND SOUND OF FASHION 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Tickets: TBD

Get ready for one of the hottest fashions shows and concerts in the city! You will be entertained by national recording artists and witness fashions that speak in volumes! This event will be hosted by Comedian Lil Rel (seen on Last Comic Standing and Martin's 1st Amendment). Experience fashion, music, comedy and dance collide for ONE NIGHT only! Visit www.surroundsoundoffashion.com for more information.