Wednesdays at 12:15 pm

From the Chicago Cultural Center, hear weekly live concerts.
Each week WFMT goes live to the Chicago Cultural Center for concerts with emerging artists from around the world, produced by the International Music Foundation. Some shows offer solo recitals while others feature ensembles. The concerts take place beneath the world’s largest Tiffany-domed ceiling, part of a landmark building that originally housed the Chicago Public Library. The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts are named for British pianist Myra Hess who organized some 1,700 free lunchtime concerts for Londoners during World War II, in the years of nightly air raids.
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra String Quartet
Azusa Tashiro, violin 1 Elizabeth Huffman, violin 2 Amanda Grimm, viola Jacob Hanegan, cello Azusa Tashiro, violin 1 Azusa Tashiro is Concertmaster for Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and is originally from Chiba, Japan. She started playing violin at the age of 4 and continued her studies at the Toho School of Music and DePaul University, where she studied with the ...
James Vaughen and Ann Newton Vaughen
James Vaughen attends the Curtis Institute of Music and is a student of David Bilger. James has soloed with the East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Illinois Sinfonia da Camera. James’s performances with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra have taken him on two concert tours of China ...
David Griffin and Mio Nakamura
David Griffin is the fourth horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Upon graduating from Northwestern University in 1987, Griffin began his career with the Rochester Philharmonic and followed with positions in the orchestras of Montreal and Houston before joining the Chicago Symphony in 1995. Griffin has served as guest principal horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony, Saint ...
Colere Quartet
John Cummins, soprano saxophone Elissa Kana, alto saxophone Greg Rife, tenor saxophone Dennis Kwok, baritone saxophone Founded in 2017 at the University of Iowa, the Colere Quartet is an Iowa-City based ensemble comprised of saxophonists John Cummins, Elissa Kana, Greg Rife, and Dennis Kwok. Colere presents engaging programs consisting of a wide range of classical as well as contemporary repertoire. ...
Duo Dotto-Cho
Arianna Dotto, violin Hyejin Cho, piano Born in Chicago and raised in Milan, Italy, violinist Arianna Dotto has performed across the U.S.A., Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany, including at Carnegie “Weill” Recital Hall, the Sala Verdi (Milan), and with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne at the BCV Concert Hall amongst others. She was awarded first prizes at the ...