Northbrook Star

Park Ridge Orchestra ends season with Beethoven’s Ninth

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:10:02 -0500

The Park Ridge Civic Orchestra is taking no chances as it moves into its third decade next season. As the finale to its 2012-13 season Sunday afternoon at the Pickwick Theatre, it will play one of the greatest pieces of classical music ever written, Ludwig van Beethoven’s majestic Symphony No. 9 in D Minor.

Former ‘Idol’ Lee DeWyze back in town

Sun, 12 May 2013 06:15:59 -0500

There’s nothing like a homecoming. On April 19, Season 9 American Idol winner Lee DeWyze returns to Viper Alley in Lincolnshire. DeWyze, who previously played Viper Alley’s anniversary show in 2012, hails from Mount Prospect.

Ravinia Festival tickets now on sale

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:43:41 -0500

Forget the calendar. Summer runs from June 6 through Sept. 15 at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, with more than 120 events, including more than 80 festival debuts.

Top musical talent sings at Siddons show

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:58:01 -0500

Thirteen of Chicago’s finest musical theater professionals will sing some of their favorite songs under the direction of Dominic Missimi and music direction of Doug Peck. Sounds like a must-see show.

Indigo Girls still a powerful two

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:09:45 -0500

Though their longtime friends and associates REM have recently disbanded, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are still going strong as the Grammy-winning folk-rock duo Indigo Girls.

Anne Frank-inspired concert at Ravinia

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:30:01 -0500

Anne Frank died at the age of 15 in a Nazi concentration camp, but her diary, left behind when she and her family were arrested in Amsterdam by German police, has made her name a household word.

Living in harmony suits Ars Viva couples

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:44:01 -0500

“Did music bring them together? Does music keep them together? We do sometimes marry the people we meet at work, so it’s no surprise that musicians marry musicians.

Musicians vanish, gender wars rage at PRCO concert

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:42:01 -0500

“The “Farewell” is Haydn’s Symphony No. 45, a work unique in that composer’s vast output. It seems that Haydn’s patron Prince Esterhazy had kept the court musicians for an extended time at his summer palace. The men, missing their wives, wanted to return home.

Artemis Singers perform works they love

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:52:01 -0500

Artemis Singers, Chicago’s lesbian feminist chorus, which takes its name from the Greek goddess of the hunt, will present a highly individualized concert Jan. 19 in Skokie.

Chamber music fest warms up winter at NU

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:26:03 -0500

If it’s January, it must be time for the Winter Chamber Music Festival at Northwestern University. This is the 17th year chamber music fans will gather in the 989-seat Pick-Staiger Concert Hall alongside Lake Michigan, heedless of the wind and weather, to enjoy performances by local, national and even internationally acclaimed chamber musicians.

Norwegian group never stops singing

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:34:03 -0500

It’s not often that a singing society stands the test of time for nearly 150 years. But the all-male Normennenes Singing Society of Chicago — a chorus where most of the singers have roots in Norway — has done just that.

Big Band concert will aid jazz students

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:36:00 -0500

It will be an evening of fine, big band jazz to support a new generation of jazz musicians. “I’m proud of what we’re doing and accomplishing in this short time with Jazz Community, in we’re keeping Bill’s memory alive with the music he loved through the band he created and built,” said Marianne May of Norridge.

Orchestras tuning up for busy season

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:34:00 -0500

Summer is winding down, but things are just warming up for area orchestras. Here is a look at the upcoming classical music season. Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra opens its season Sunday, Sept. 23 with Khachaturian’s “Masquerade” Suite; the Brahms Double Concerto with soloists David Taylor, violin, and Richard Hirschl, cello, and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 8. Season concerts feature Brahms, Sibelius and Shostakovich on Nov. 4; Vaughan Williams, Mahler and Beethoven on Jan. 13; Diamond, Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Schubert/Mahler on March 3; and Corigliano, Sibelius and a concerto played by the winner of the Music Institute of Chicago Concerto …

Ravinia extends classical concert season

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:48:01 -0500

Building on the success of the summer’s many classical concerts in Bennett Gordon Hall for $10 each, the Ravinia Festival is presenting eight programs in the 450-seat theater this season for that very attractive price. Titled “BGH $10 classics,” the series runs October through April and includes the Chicago premiere of James Whitbourn’s “Annelies: The Choral Setting of the Diary of Anne Frank” in 2013, as well as what surely must be the first-ever Christmas concert the Ravinia Festival has ever presented. Those two concerts are only available for $10 to persons who have purchased three other concerts. The series …

Keb’ Mo’ busts through blues boundaries

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:16:00 -0500

Keb’ Mo’ says he feels validation after hearing his fans shout requests for songs—and not just his older songs, but also the ones on his 2011 album, “The Reflection.” “All the songs were received very warmly — much more warmly than some of the reviews,” says Keb’ Mo’, a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist who plays Sept. 14 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. Those album reviews Keb’ Mo’ mentioned weren’t actually all that negative. For example, the All Music website gave “The Reflection” 3 out of 5 stars, calling it “a warm outing” while wishing it …

Hall & Oates bringing ‘rock ’n’ soul’ to Ravinia

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:22:01 -0500

Darryl Hall and John Oates, one of the most influential rock duos during the Reagan years, return to Ravinia on Sept. 1. Better known as Hall & Oates, the two men rocked the pop stage with their rock and R&B fusion throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s, en route to being named Billboard’s best duo of all time.