“Culture — the way we express ourselves and understand each other — can bind us together as one world.”

Cello maestro Yo-Yo Ma will perform at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe as part of the ceremonies marking the centenary of the end of the World War I next month in Paris.

The shofar, an instrument made from a ram’s horn, is heard in synagogues all over the world during the Jewish High Holidays. It has also been heard outside those confines for ages, as a call to battle, or a way for shepherds to summon their flocks.

Yo-Yo Ma, the CSO’s creative consultant, learned about the decades-long commitment to social justice and outreach within the Faith Community of St. Sabina, and wanted to see how he could honor its work through music.

Samuel Adams and Elizabeth Ogonek shared 20 modern and contemporary works that have most inspired them in celebration of 20 years of CSO’s MusicNOW series.

“Surprisingly, people will come up to me after [concerts] and say, ‘Oh that sounds like a banjo! That sounds like a harp! That sounds like a guitar!’”

“Yo-Yo Ma wanted to meet with me, and I thought it was a joke,” Reverend Michael L. Pfleger said to an audience of over 1,000 people at St. Sabina Church.

Net proceeds from the remaining ticket sales will benefit St. Sabina’s Strong Futures employment program, which currently serves 50 young people ages 17-26 by providing training, mentorship, and other services.

If there’s any neighborhood in Chicago where a Czech swing orchestra and an Afro-Latin funk band can share a stage, it’s Pilsen. The neighborhood has been home to diverse music and musicians since its early history and today it remains a musical melting pot of traditions from around the world.

The newly announced season features the Monteverdi Choir, American Ballet Theatre, and the Mark Morris Dance Group performing “epic masterworks.”

Riccardo Muti will conduct ten weeks of subscription programs at Symphony Center and lead the orchestra on two U.S. tours, to the West Coast in October and to the East Coast in February 2018.

Elise K. Kirk, emerita director of the White House Historical Society, highlights ten US presidents who changed music in America through the music they presented at the White House.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is not only one of the world’s most renowned musicians; he’s also a passionate advocate for using the power of music to create community.

Chicago-based Sam and Helen Zell acknowledged a $17 million dollar gift from the Zell Family Foundation for the endowment of the position currently held by music director Riccardo Muti.