Stories

Nighttime at the Grant Park Music Festival as the public gazes upon the striking Pritzker Pavilion, lit in multicolor and with the Grant Park Orchestra onstage. The skyline in the background

Grant Park Music Festival 2025 Season: Guerrero Era Begins

Marking the free classical music festival’s first season led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero.

Mary MazurekNovember 24, 2021

Chicago Classical Music Makes A Strong Showing at 2021 Grammy Nominations

Julian Velasco in front of a bright, multicolored wall

WFMTNovember 22, 2021

Saxophonist Julian Velasco Wins Cedille Records Emerging Artist Competition

WFMTNovember 19, 2021

WFMT Joins Forces with Cedille to Share Stream of Emerging Artist Competition

Violinist on Russian trains soothes weary commuters

Associated PressMay 5, 2023

Classics, jazz, Russian folk music and children's songs all flow as Oksana glides her bow across the strings.

Gordon Lightfoot, in a deep red blazer, strums an acoustic guitar and sings into a mic

Folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84

Associated PressMay 2, 2023

“I simply write the songs about where I am and where I’m from,” Lightfoot once said. “I take situations and write poems about them.”

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Venezuelan Musicians Pursue World’s Largest Orchestra Record

Associated PressNovember 15, 2021

Thousands of Venezuelan musicians, mostly children and adolescents, have attempted to set the record of the world's largest orchestra during a concert in Caracas.

Verismo Meets Lyrical Flow: Chicago Composer Creates Opera from Classic Nas Track

Adela SkowronskiNovember 12, 2021

It was a rap song by Nas that directly influenced Chicago composer Steve Wallace’s newest chamber opera, Undying Love.

Emilie Kouatchou Makes ‘Phantom’ History On Broadway

Associated PressNovember 12, 2021

The actor and soprano made her Broadway debut as Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera," becoming the first Black woman in the role in the show's 33-year history in New York.

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