In Thursday’s (4/7) Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein writes, “A host of events during the 2011-12 season will introduce the Chicago Sinfonietta’s new music director, Mei-Ann Chen, to the local concert public. These include a free preseason concert at Millennium Park, a multimedia performance marking the centennial of Ravel’s ‘Daphnis et Chloe’ and several world premieres. For its 25th season, the orchestra will shift its west suburban home to Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College in Naperville.” The orchestra previously performed at Dominican University in River Forest. “It will continue to perform in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center as its primary Chicago venue. The guest roster and repertory will further the Sinfonietta’s mission under founding director (now music director emeritus) Paul Freeman to showcase ethnic and cultural diversity. Chen will share the podium with guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson for the annual tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Jan. 15-16, which will include the premiere of Chicago jazz flutist Nicole Mitchell’s ‘Flight for Freedom.’ … Harpist Ann Hobson Pilot will give the Chicago premiere of John Williams’s ‘On Willows and Birches’ on the subscription opener, Sept. 24 and 26, with Chen also conducting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.”
Posted April 7, 2011
