The Music Institute of Chicago’s 2022-23 season at historic Nichols Concert Hall in downtown Evanston features a diverse lineup of artists performing classical, jazz and gospel music.
Music Institute President and CEO Mark George said, “The diversity of this series connects with every part of our community. What each concert has in common is the excellence of the artists. The Nichols Concert Hall experience is alive and rich with tradition music, truly something for everyone.”
This year the Music Institute is celebrating Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) through its One Composer, One Community program, which focuses on the life and work of a single, often underrepresented BIPOC composer. Considered the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music, Villa-Lobo’s unique compositional style synthesized contemporary European techniques with elements of national music. A prolific composer, Villa-Lobos wrote more than 2,000 orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works. Three of this season’s Nichols Concert Hall programs feature works by Villa-Lobos.
Latin American Quartet
Saturday, October 15, 7:30 p.m
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, the season kicks off with the world-renowned Cuarteto Latinoamericano featuring classical works from Central and South America and a quartet by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, the focus of the Music Institute’s One Composer, One Community program this year. Celebrating 40 years as an ensemble, the multiple Latin Grammy Award-winning string quartet has premiered more than 100 new pieces and championed overlooked musical gems by underrepresented composers. Cuarteto Latinoamericano presents a master class in Villa-Lobo’s string quartets on October 15 at 4:00 p.m., free and open to the public. This concert is presented in partnership with the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago.
Saturday, October 29, 7:30 p.m
Chicago jazz favorite and Music Institute Artist-in-Residence Tammy McCann pays tribute to gospel pioneer and Chicago legend Mahalia Jackson. Yes Mahalia! is a fresh and soulful reimagining of Jackson’s music that captures the synergy of her unique sound and fuses it with the sonic power of big band jazz.
Matthew Hagle: Brahms and his contemporaries
Saturday, November 5, 7:30 p.m
Pianist Matthew Hagle presents a program of late 19th and early 20th century piano miniatures inspired by Op. 118 pieces for piano by Johannes Brahms. A faculty member and alumnus of the Institute of Music, Hagle is a favorite of WFMT listeners and a frequent collaborator with CSO musicians. He has appeared in concert throughout the United States and internationally in England, Australia and Japan.
Taking It Out! Nutcracker
Saturday, December 10, 2:00 p.m
Tickets $10
This unique Nutcracker performance pits the classical (Tchaikovsky) and jazz (Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn) versions of the holiday favorite in a spectacular side-by-side showdown. Curated by Dance Chicago, the program features members of Axiom Brass and the Institute of Music Ensemble-in-Residence Quintet Attacca. The performance is a family-friendly 60 minutes and is followed by an interactive petting zoo for children at 1 p.m.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert without party
Sunday, January 15, 3 p.m
Co-curated by Tim Rhoze, artistic director of the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theater and Institute of Music, this annual tribute features scholarship students from the Institute of Music, the Chicago Music Streets Initiative and Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play program joining musicians and actors of Evanston. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss comments on Evanston’s groundbreaking reparations initiative.
Reveron Piano Trio
Friday, February 17, 7:30 p.m
The Institute of Music shines a spotlight on the classical music of Latin American composers with the return of the Reverón Piano Trio, which co-curates the Institute of Music’s Latin American programs. This trio of virtuoso musicians, originally from Venezuela, have emerged as leading advocates of the music of Latin American composers through their performances, research and composer commissions. Among the works in their program is Piano Trio No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, the focus of the Music Institute’s One Composer, One Community program this year.
The Marcus Roberts Trio
Saturday, April 15, 7:30 p.m
Jazz returns to Nichols Concert Hall with the famous Marcus Roberts Trio. Known for its virtuoso style and a fresh approach to jazz trio performance that showcases each member equally, the trio has developed a reputation for almost telepathic communication on stage, displaying quick musical reflexes and musical imagination.
Music Institute of Chicago Luminaries Celebration:
Pianist Inna Faliks with the Academy Orchestra
Pianist Marta Aznavoorian with Quintet Attacca
Saturday, May 6, 7:30 p.m
The season finale, which celebrates more than 90 years of teaching and performing at the Institute of Music, features graduate pianists Inna Faliks and Marta Aznavoorian—also Artist-in-Residence, Ensemble-in-Residence Quintet Attacca, and award-winning musicians awards of the Academy of Music Institute Orchestra. Works include Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, KV 466 and Piano Quintet in A Major, KV 452, as well as Bachianas-Brasileiras no. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, the focus of the Music Institute’s One Composer, One Community program this year.
Tickets for the Music Institute’s 2022-23 season at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, are $50 for VIP seating, $25 in advance or via live stream, and $30 at the door, available at nicholsconcerthall.org or by call 847.448. 8326.
All programming is subject to change. For the latest information on COVID protocols
or additional details, visit nicholsconcerthall.org.
