Chicago Sinfonietta Announces 33rd Season - Stories Of The People

Chief Executive Officer Blake-Anthony Johnson and Music Director Mei-Ann Chen announced the Chicago Sinfonietta's plans for the 2020-21 season today. Adapting to the COVID-19 guidelines put in place by the Governor of Illinois and the CDC for the health and safety of the public, the award-winning orchestra will present a modified but provoking 2020-21 season.

"On behalf of the Chicago Sinfonietta board, the musicians, staff and myself, we are grateful and excited to enter our 33rd season continuing our mission of championing equity, diversity, and inclusion by creating community through bold symphonic experiences," announced Mr. Johnson, who took over the reins of the bar-raising ensemble in early May 2020. "This season will focus on leveraging the rich cultural capital of Chicago Sinfonietta to participate in the rebuilding of our great city during this time of uncertainty within our city and in our country. Thanks to our amazing musicians, staff, and local city officials, we've been able to find safe and responsible ways to stay engaged with our community. My top priority is to protect the health and well-being of our audiences, the Sinfonietta family and the greater Chicago area community from the spread of COVID-19 while remaining engaged as America's 21st century orchestra.

"The current pandemic affords us a unique opportunity to expand our audience and to have the orchestra's artistry become even more accessible via virtual offerings this season. Our first two orchestra concerts will be online offerings, while our third and final concert of the season will be a return to the live concert hall format."

Maestra Chen added, "We have titled our season Stories of the People, as each concert focuses on that which connects us as a people - community, friendship, tradition and respect,and how these connections are presented through the universal language of music. In keeping with this theme, we have selected chamber works to add to the feeling of an intimate, close community, as well as to adhere to social distancing mandates.

"Our season is unique in that we are likely one of the very few orchestras in the country during the 2020-21 season to present a commissioned world premiere on each concert, and all by African American composers. These thought-provoking and memorable commissions are a regular part of our mission of inclusion and equity begun by our late founder, Maestro Paul Freeman, 33 years ago."

An orchestra deeply invested in its community, Chicago Sinfonietta will ensure that its three year-old Residents Orchestrate Project, an orchestra initiative re-imagining the role that an orchestra can play in historically overlooked Chicago neighborhoods, will continue to present its Mixtape Mondays, Melodic Lounge, masterclasses, and more this season via online offerings.

The orchestra will also introduce a new arm of the Project Inclusion program - a Composer Fellowship. "I have always wanted to expand Project Inclusion to include composers," stated Maestra Chen. "It just seemed like the natural next step after the expansion of conductors and administrators, in addition to instrumentalists for which the program was created for in the first place. We are deeply grateful for Fifth Third Bank's sponsorship to make this Composer Fellowship become a reality!"

Also of importance: the introduction of a new Artist in Residence position. Maestra Chen would like to explore a closer relationship with composers of color, especially during the pandemic when new works around the country have been met with countless cancellations. Chicago Sinfonietta's new CEO, Blake-Anthony Johnson, came up with the Artist in Residence model as one of Chicago Sinfonietta's many initiatives to champion important voices. The Sinfonietta's program also focuses on evolving the relationship between audience and artist, as well as within the Sinfonietta community itself (including mentoring the new Freeman Composer Fellow). Composer Kathryn Bostic has been announced as the 2020-21 Artist in Residence. In collaboration with Ms. Bostic, the Chicago Sinfonietta hopes to capture this unprecedented time through creativity and artistic work that could only be achieved via a collaborative and open-minded approach.

The Chicago Sinfonietta's 33rd season will offer three concerts: two online and one in a socially distanced concert hall.

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