The 'Beat' Goes On at Harris Theater with The Chicago High School for the Arts Today

Today, March 6 at 12PM, the talented young students of The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) kick off the third Eat to the Beat performance of the 2013-2014 season at the Harris Theater. Some of Chicago's best food trucks will be on site to provide concertgoers with a wide selection of delectable, cheap eats for families and professionals living and working in the downtown area. This season's Eat to the Beat food partners have included The Fat Shallot, Husky Hog, Taquero Fusion, and More Cupcakes.

One of 35 Harris Theater resident companies and a partner of the Harris Theater's Access Tickets Program and Teen Arts Project, ChiArts presents its fourth Eat to the Beat performance in as many years, dating back to the school's inaugural Freshman class of 2009. Since then, the Harris Theater and ChiArts have worked to cultivate the next generation of artists and arts lovers through performance opportunities for ChiArts like Eat to the Beat, providing an opportunity for students to perform in one of the world's premier venues, while expanding visibility in the city and around the country.

The organization brings a varied program of music, theater, and dance as well as a lobby exhibition of visual art from students and ensembles studying at Chicago's first public high school for the arts. Since opening its doors in 2009, ChiArts has fostered the burgeoning talent of local teens with an interest in music, dance, theater, visual arts, and creative writing (new for 2014-2015).

Last season's performance at the Harris saw ChiArts present lively renditions of "Hm, Hm, Hm, Hm" from Mozart's The Magic Flute, "Colored Women" from the Broadway musical Memphis, and an exciting repertoire of other pieces produced during the ChiArts 2012-2013 school year. The March 6 program will include highlights of the students' work throughout the year.

The Harris Theater's Eat to the Beat series continues this spring with performances from:

· The Boise-based Trey McIntyre Project in a Harris-commissioned collaboration with the Music Institute of Chicago on Friday, April 4

· A new program from the Music Institute of Chicago on Wednesday, April 23

· Chicago Academy for the Arts on Wednesday, May 28

Tickets for Eat to the Beat are just $5, available at HarrisTheaterChicago.org or by calling or visiting the Box Office at 312.334.7777, 205 East Randolph Drive.

About ChiArts (Chicago High School for the Arts): Opened in 2009 with 150 ninth-grade students, ChiArts is a college-preparatory, pre-professional arts training program providing instruction in dance, music, theater, visual arts, and creative writing. With students from all neighborhoods across Chicago, ChiArts satisfies the strong need for a diverse, public arts high school open to all Chicago residents who qualify. ChiArts Executive and Artistic Director José Ochoa explained to WBEZ, "At our school, the jock is the student who wins the concerto competition, and the homecoming queen is the young lady who gets the lead in the school play. The culture has been building where everyone is equal, everyone is accepted." The school offers challenging courses in all subject areas that encourage intellectual curiosity and develop critical thinking skills; including courses in academic topics, arts training in their majors, and daily rehearsal time. Having graduated its first class of seniors at the Harris Theater last year, ChiArts looks forward to its next milestone: moving into a permanent home, recently announced by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Mayor's office, at 2714 W. Augusta in the Humboldt Park/Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

Access Tickets Program: Launched in January 2009, the Access Tickets Program ensures that Chicago residents of all ages and communities are able to experience the powerful and uplifting benefits of the performing arts. Through these programs, the Harris Theater partners with health and human service organizations, K-12 schools, and community arts organizations to provide complimentary tickets to performances throughout each season. To date, over 7,000 complimentary tickets have been distributed to children, students and families across 25 diverse Chicago neighborhoods.

In addition to complimentary tickets, the Harris Theater provides behind-the-scenes artist interactions and enrichment activities for its Access Tickets Program partners. Most recently, youth from Mercy Home for Boys and Girls participated in a backstage tour and interactive music and dance demonstration with artists from the November 23, 2013 Loiza in Chicago performance.

Teen Arts Project: Through the Teen Arts Project, the Harris Theater partners with arts education providers and schools serving Chicago youth. The model for Teen Arts Project partnership has three components:

1. Complimentary tickets for students to attend performances in the Harris Presents, Eat to the Beat, and Family Series, through the Access Tickets Program

2. Educational programs such as master classes, workshops and post-performance discussions with the local, national and international artists who perform at the Harris Theater

3. Presenting student work through collaboration with presented artists, appearances in Eat to the Beat, and participation in Harris Theater outreach and special events

The Harris Theater has established Teen Arts Project partnerships based on this model with Chicago Academy for the Arts, Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts), and Music Institute of Chicago.

Harris Theater for Music and Dance: The Harris Theater's mission is to partner and collaborate with an array of Chicago's emerging and mid-sized performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. Now in the midst of its 10th season, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929 and today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city's world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international artists and ensembles.

The Harris Theater is proud to have the support of The Northern Trust Company as its 2013-2014 season sponsor. United Airlines is the Official Airline of the Harris Theater. Hyatt Regency Chicago is the Harris at 10 Hotel Sponsor. The Harris Theater is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. All performances are performed on the Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage. The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund, established in 2006 to bring artists and ensembles of the highest caliber to Chicago in order to complement the works of the Theater's resident companies and build audiences.

To learn more about the Harris Theater, visit HarrisTheaterChicago.org, call the Box Office at 312.334.7777 to request a brochure or additional information. The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago's state-of-the art 1,525 seat performance venue, can also be found on Facebook facebook.com/harristheater and Twitter twitter.com/harristheater.