Laurin Talese
The Chicago Sinfonietta has announced its 2024-25 season, titled Propel. The innovative and diverse classical ensemble’s lineup features six concerts, four of which will be led by music director Mei-Ann Chen.
The season’s theme, Propel, taps into the Sinfonietta’s ongoing mission to foster change and progress in classical music. The country’s most diverse union orchestra continues to hone its industry-leading approach. In addition to vibrant concert programming, the Sinfonietta offers pay-what-you-can ticketing, interactive family-friendly activities, and professional development opportunities for artists.
Five of the season’s programs will receive one performance each in Naperville’s Wentz Hall and Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre; the December holiday concert will receive a single performance at the Auditorium.
The season opener on September 7 and 8 highlights music from Stage and Screen, including an excerpt from a recent Marvel film by composer Laura Karpman and a Joe Hisaishi-composed track from beloved Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. A vocal set featuring Laurin Talese samples musical theater excerpts from Nine and West Side Story, plus an original composition. The evening also includes a symphonic reimagining of Reggaeton music in a movement from Mexican composer Horacio Fernández’s Tumbao.
November’s Culture Chronicles comprises works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Juan Pablo Contreras (in a Sinfonietta co-commissioned work), and Antonín Dvořák, all under the baton of conductor Vinay Parameswaran.
Conductor Chelsea Tipton II will preside over the sole holiday concert on December 19. The orchestra will present diverse musical traditions of winter holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and more.
In January, Black Being marks the ensemble’s annual MLK concert. This year’s edition will host flutists Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull under the banner Fluxtronic, who’ll share an original 2022 work composed by Loggins-Hull that gives the evening its name.
Mei-Ann Chen, music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta
Love Letters, in March, is the orchestra’s fundraising concert and will feature guest bassoonist Monica Ellis, a founding member of the award-winning Imani Winds ensemble. Ellis will solo in a work from ensemble co-founder Valerie Coleman that pays tribute to Serena Williams, one of the most decorated and respected athletes in history. The Chen-program also features the return of a Sinfonietta-commissioned work by Michelle Isaac as well as symphonic selections by Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, and Felix Mendelssohn.
A wide-ranging Tonal Transformation will wrap up the season in May. The evening opens, aptly, with Brittany J. Green‘s In the Beginning. Then, saxophonist and University of Michigan professor Timothy McAllister joins Mei-Ann Chen and the Sinfonietta to perform Adolphus Hailstork‘s Saxophone Concerto. Hailstork, a respected American composer, wrote the piece specifically for McAllister. The concert — and season — conclude with Tchaikovsky’s Fate Symphony.
For ticketing and information, visit chicagosinfonietta.org.
