This past February, Stephen Alltop led the Northwestern University Symphony, the Alice Millar Chapel Choir, the Evanston Children’s Choir, and soloists in Terra Nostra – Our Earth – by the acclaimed Chicago-based composer Stacy Garrop. This large-scale celebration of our planet, and the relationship between humankind and the natural world, uses poetry by Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Walt Whitman, and …

WFMT observes the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day with a fitting broadcast: Chicago composer Stacy Garrop’s oratorio Terra Nostra, which celebrates our planet and explores the relationship between humankind and the natural world.

Two young Chicago-area cellists have risen to the challenge of social distancing, bringing together 24 young artists from around the world for one moving performance.

This Sunday, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will host a Facebook premiere for a video recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 from its archives, in part because it is “widely recognized as one of music’s most powerful and inspiring works.”

John Prine, who began his career in Chicago, exhibited the ability to wring every possible meaning from a word to expose the joy, sorrow, frailty, and strength of the human condition.

News that Prine’s health was in jeopardy provoked an outpouring of affection for the legendary singer-songwriter.

With everyone cooped up inside, David Lee Csicsko returns with another great design. Our four avian conductors perch, waiting for an orchestra. You’ll notice that they’re also waiting for a splash of color, so print it out and paint, crayon, pencil, or marker to your heart’s content! 

On Saturday, March 7, four young artists competed for a dream opportunity: to perform with the CSO. With her performance of the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, violinist Isabella Brown won the competition.

Larry Johnson, the host of WFMT’s Arias and Songs, died over the weekend in his home on Chicago’s North Side. He was 72 years old. He leaves behind a brother, Alan Johnson, and a cousin, Lynn Newhart. Larry had a business career in the textile industry but was always an avid music lover and record collector. He joined WFMT as …

Marching bands are art in motion. But you have to see the intricate formations – moving images, clever phrases, and more – to truly believe their artistic capabilities.

For many of us, the ‘L’ is more than just a means of getting around the city. It’s a social network, concert venue, observation deck, and roving reading room, uniting Chicago’s cosmopolitan mix over 224 miles of track.

Citing fundraising shortages in the face of rising costs, the Lake Forest Symphony has announced the cancellation of the remainder of its 2019-20 season. This decision comes despite good concert turnout. According to the symphony, the announcement followed a weekend of sold-out concerts midway through the ensemble’s 62nd season. The early termination will bring the cancellation of three programs, including …

“I think that art needs to serve the public… not just to be comforting and familiar, but to push the envelope,” declares Marin Alsop.

On February 21, Music of the Baroque announced its 2020-2021 season, the ensemble’s 50th.

A year of milestones, the upcoming season marks Joffrey’s 65th season, its 25th in Chicago, the five-year anniversary of its reimagined Nutcracker, and its inaugural season at Lyric Opera House.

With all the incredible performances that happen every year around this city, it can be easy to forget: Chicago is a hub for new music. This year, one of the cornerstones of Chicago’s contemporary classical music scene — Frequency Festival — celebrates its fifth year in a week of new music concerts.

Culminating in “The Times Are Racing” by choreographer Justin Peck, Joffrey’s mixed-rep program features “ballet, contemporary, comic, and a ‘sneaker ballet,’” artistic director Ashley Wheater describes.

“Tchaikovsky’s ‘Serenade for Strings’ while enjoying a nice pour-over, or anything by Mozart would be perfect,” says Sadie Woods, project manager of the Chicago Sinfonietta‘s Residents Orchestrate Project (ROP). Whether you enjoy Liszt and a latte, Grieg and a green tea, or Bartók and a black coffee, the Sinfonietta’s ROP Melodic Lounge live music series infuses symphonic sounds with aromatic coffeehouse …

Conductors are all but a given in symphonic performance today. Front and center, they provide a dynamic focal point for the audience while guiding the artistic experience onstage. But what if there were no conductor? Who would run the show? In chamber music, the artists themselves are usually tasked with determining the artistic interpretation and then communicating together to play …

The season, which runs from August 19, 2020, to May 6, 2021, features 36 performances including vocal recitals, symphonic concerts, and ballet performances.

This weekend, while many are preparing to tune in to the Big Game, one artist will be embarking on a uniquely athletic and strenuous concert more than 12 hours in length. Carl J. LaMark, a pianist and composer who hails from the Chicago area, will be performing Erik Satie’s full Vexations beginning the morning on Sunday, February 2 (and lasting …

The CSO’s 130th season begins on September 17 with a free concert for Chicago at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Ahead of Grammy weekend, a local look at the Chicago-area nominees and hosts!

See what’s in store for the Grant Park Music Festival 2020 season.

Chanticleer shares festival carols spanning over three centuries at the gorgeous Gothic-inspired Fourth Presbyterian Church on the Magnificent Mile!