Music Institute of Chicago to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. With Music & More

The Music Institute of Chicago will present a free musical celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, January 16 at 3 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. The performance also will be available via livestream.

The program includes Danzas de Panama (1948) by William Grant Still, featuring a faculty string quartet led by Music Institute String Department Chair Sang Mee Lee on violin; Still's Incantation and Dance for Oboe and Piano featuring Music Institute oboe student Zachary Allen; The Planets, Op. 32, Mars and Venus by Gustav Holst, arranged for two pianos by Holst and performed by Artist in Residence Marta Aznavoorian and Music Institute President and CEO Mark George; and Violin Concerto Op. 5, No. 2 in A Major by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-99), featuring members of the Music Institute's Virtuoso Strings.

The afternoon also includes remarks by Dr. Gilo Kwesi Logan, an educator and diversity and leadership consultant.

Coming up at Nichols Concert Hall:

- December 11: "Duke It Out! Nutcracker," a family-friendly music and dance performance combining the classical (Tchaikovsky) and jazz (Ellington/Strayhorn) versions of the holiday favorite, performed by Axiom Brass and Music Institute Ensemble in Residence Quintet Attacca, joined by dance artists curated by Dance Chicago.

- January 30: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Robert Chen and Music Institute piano faculty Matthew Hagle performing a program of Classical and Romantic masterpieces for violin and piano.

For concert updates, visit nicholsconcerthall.org.