RUSH HOUR CONCERTS
A FREE virtual concert series on Tuesdays –
July through September
TIME: 5:45 pm
LOCATION: imfchicago.org
2020 SEASON
SEASON OPENER
July 7 — Chen String Quartet
Robert Chen and Laura Park Chen, violins;
Beatrice Chen, viola; Noah Chen, cello
George Walker: Lyric for Strings
Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz, D 703
Florence Price: Folk Songs in Counterpoint
July 14 — Hanford Family
Robert and Sheila Hanford, violins; William Hanford, piano
Maddalena Sirmen: Duet, Op. 5 No. 6
Johan Halvorsen: Concert Caprice on Norwegian Melodies
Dmitri Shostakovich: Polka from Five Pieces
July 21 — Kirk Family
Lewis Kirk, bassoon; Melissa Kirk, viola; Ellie Kirk, harp
Florence Price, arr. L. Kirk: Adoration; Ticklin’ Toes
Kevin Day: Silent Spaces
Henriette Renié: Contemplation
John Steinmetz: Love Song
Manuel de Falla: Siete Canciones Populares Españolas- Asturiana; Nana
Edward Elgar: Salut d’Amour
July 28 — Warner/Griffin Family
Susan Warner, clarinet; David Griffin, horn;
Henry Griffin, baritone; Tian Qin, piano
Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune, arr. D. Riniker
Clara Schumann: 2 Songs, arr. A Ertz
Franz Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade, D.118
Leonard Bernstein: Sonata for clarinet and piano
Henry Griffin: “Exultation” from Pandemic, Op 4
August 4 — Poulenc Trio
William Welter, oboe; Keith Buncke, bassoon; Beilin Han, piano
Francis Poulenc: Trio
Asako Hirabayashi: Trio
André Previn: Trio
August 11 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Clarinet Quintet
Stephen Williamson, clarinet
Chen String Quartet
Robert Chen and Laura Park Chen, violins;
Beatrice Chen, viola; Noah Chen, cello
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 10
Encore:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 381
II. Larghetto
August 18 – Deborah Sobol Memorial
Kenneth Olsen, cello; Kuang-Hao Huang, piano
Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op.73
Ethel Smyth: Cello Sonata, Op. 5
This concert is generously sponsored by Norman and Cynthia Goldring, Dr. Rowland Chang and The Friends of Debbie Sobol
August 25 — Brahms Horn Trio
Neil Kimel, horn; Robert Hanford, violin; Andrea Swan, piano
TJ Cole: Drifter
Johannes Brahms: Horn Trio, Op. 40
Sept 1 — Nexus Chamber Music
Brian Hong, violin; Rannveig Marta Sarc, violin; Alexander Hersh, cello
Sept 8 — Avalon String Quartet
Blaise Magnière, violin; Marie Wang, violin
Anthony Devroye, viola; Cheng-Hou Lee, cello
Gabriela Lena Frank: Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12, Op. 96 ‘American’
This concert performance is generously sponsored by the Zell Family Foundation.
Sept 15 — Rebecca Clarke Trio
Janet Sung,violin; Calum Cook, cello; Kuang-Hao Huang, piano
Dinuk Wijeratne: Love Triangle
Rebecca Clarke: Piano Trio
This concert performance is generously sponsored by the Zell Family Foundation.
SEASON FINALE
Sept 22 — Kontras Quartet
Eleanor Bartsch & Francois Henkins, violins;
Ben Weber, viola; Jean Hatmaker, cello
ABOUT RUSH HOUR CONCERTS
Rush Hour Concerts exists to provide “great music for busy lives” free of charge every Tuesday evening, June through August, at 5:45pm in historic St. James Cathedral in downtown Chicago. In the Summer of 2000, concert pianist and civic leader Deborah Sobol founded the Rush Hour Concert series to reinvent the traditional classical music concert format by presenting chamber music masterworks in an engaging setting, accessible to all. These 30-minute concerts offer unparalleled access to repertoire spanning 700 years, performed by world-class musicians from Chicago’s leading ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago and independent chamber music groups. Informal education via pre-concert conversations about the music with artists, composers and other members of Chicago’s vibrant classical music scene and post-concert opportunities to interact with the performers make for an inviting and invigorating cultural experience.
LISTEN
We have a large selection of pieces on our SoundCloud account, we invite you to take a listen.