Chicago Sinfonietta Bids Farewell to Founder Paul Freeman

Maestro Paul Freeman, who founded the Chicago Sinfonietta 24 years ago, takes the podium as Music Director for the final time for the last concert of the Sinfonietta's 2010-2011 season, titled Women in Classical Music. Joining Maestro Freeman as guest conductor for the program will be Chicago Sinfonietta Music Director Designate Mei-Ann Chen. The Chicago Sinfonietta presents Women in Classical Music Sunday, May 22 at 2:30 pm at Lund Auditorium of Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street in River Forest, and Monday, May 23 at 7:30 pm at Orchestra Hall of Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

"This momentous occasion in the Sinfonietta's history is indeed a bittersweet one. With these final two concerts, we say goodbye to our beloved Founder Paul Freeman and celebrate the arrival of our brilliant new Music Director, Maestro Mei-Ann Chen," said Sinfonietta Executive Director Jim Hirsch.

The Women in Classical Music concert celebrates the influence of female conductors, composers and musicians. The Monday, May 23 program opens with a five-minute video tribute to Maestro Freeman, including a greeting by Yo-Yo Ma. The concert will be broadcast live by WFMT 98.7 FM beginning at 7:30 pm. Fifth Third Bank, the concert's principal sponsor, has generously agreed to sponsor the live broadcast that will stream nationwide on the web.

Maestro Freeman opens the program, conducting selections from Alberto Ginastera's Danzas Del Ballet Estancia, op.8a, a work inspired by José Hernández's Argentinean nationalist poem Martín Fierro. This piece was chosen by Freeman for his final concert because of his great love of the work. Following this work will be an historic "passing of the baton" moment, as Freeman not only passes the podium duties to Chen for most of the remainder of the concert, but also symbolically passes stewardship of the Chicago Sinfonietta to her as well.

Maestro Chen, who officially assumes the position of Music Director on July 1, 2011, continues the program with Pulitzer Prize©-winner Jennifer Higdon's colorful and uplifting blue cathedral, followed by Gwyneth Walker's An American Concerto, featuring special guest artist and Sphinx Award-winning violinist, Latina musician Elena Urioste. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's organic and accessible Symphony No. 1 is next on the jam-packed program, followed by an original composition by Sinfonietta principal violist Reneé Baker, titled Divertimento Notte blu (for String Orchestra and Friends), featuring the Sinfonietta and an ensemble comprised of some of Chicago's most exciting jazz musicians, including Nicole Mitchell on flute, David Boykin on tenor saxophone, Bruce Nelson on vibraphone, Mwata Bowden on baritone saxophone and Karl E.H. Siegfried on bass.

To finish off her section of the program with a bang, Maestro Chen has programmed Antonin Dvorák's celebratory Scherzo capriccioso, specifically selected as a tribute to Maestro Freeman's 15-year tenure as Music Director of the Czech National Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Freeman will then return to the podium for an encore piece and his final farewell to the audience and musicians.

Paul Freeman founded the Chicago Sinfonietta in 1987 with the mission to increase diversity in classical music. Since then, he has built Chicago's premier mid-sized orchestra into the "nation's most diverse symphony orchestra," championing the work of conductors, musicians and composers of all racial and gender minorities. In 1996 Freeman was named Music Director of the Czech National Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague; there he unearthed and recorded forgotten works by early Czech composers and also brought a range of American music to European audiences. In the early 2000s, he launched a new African Heritage Symphonic Series of recordings on the Cedille label, with an album of works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, William Grant Still and the Nigerian-born composer Fela Sowande. Throughout his career Maestro Freeman has been recognized as one of the first major African-American conductors to make a mark in the symphonic world, exemplifying his ability to break through the "color barrier." He has conducted more than 100 orchestras in 28 countries and has made more than 200 recordings, performing music ranging from the mainstream European repertory to completely unfamiliar pieces by composers from a great variety of backgrounds. Freeman will remain Music Director Emeritus following his retirement from the Chicago Sinfonietta.

Mei-Ann Chen was named the Chicago Sinfonietta's new Music Director in August 2010, to succeed Paul Freeman upon his retirement at the conclusion of the current season. Chen made her Sinfonietta podium debut in October 2009 for the Sinfonietta's critically-acclaimed season opener concert titled West Meets East. The first woman to win the Malko International Conductors Competition (2005), Chen is considered one of America's most exciting and promising young conductors. She accepted a three-year appointment as Music Director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra that began with the 2010-2011 season, following the conclusion of a highly successful tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony in 2010.

Ticket Information

Prices range from $26-$40 for the concert at Lund Auditorium and from $26-$96 for the concert at Orchestra Hall, with special pricing available for children and students. Call 312-236-3681 ext. 2 or visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

About the Chicago Sinfonietta
The Chicago Sinfonietta has a proud history of having enriched the cultural, educational, and social quality of life in Chicago, while gaining significant recognition on the national and international stage. Performing in both downtown Chicago and the recently announced Wentz Auditorium in Naperville, the Sinfonietta presents a full season of symphonic. The Chicago Sinfonietta has also served as the official orchestra of The Joffrey Ballet since 2003. Under the guidance of Founding Music Director Paul Freeman, the orchestra has performed at the highest artistic level and has achieved an outstanding reputation for its innovative programs. Mei-Ann Chen was named Music Director Designate of the Chicago Sinfonietta in 2010, to succeed Freeman following his retirement at the conclusion of the 2010-2011 season. The Sinfonietta is dedicated to the authentic performance of Classical, Romantic and Contemporary repertoire and excels at presenting imaginative new works by composers and soloists of color. Chicago Sinfonietta musicians truly represent the city's rich cultural landscape and continue to fulfill the orchestra's mission of Musical Excellence through Diversity^TM. A 2007 survey of major orchestras revealed that the Chicago Sinfonietta is the most diverse professional orchestra in the United States. Through this distinction, the Chicago Sinfonietta serves as a national model for inclusiveness in classical music.

The Chicago Sinfonietta's 2010-2011 season is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, The Chicago Sun-Times Media Group, the Joyce Foundation, and the Fairmont Hotel. Additional support for the season finale concert, Women in Classical Music, is generously provided by ABC7, Fifth Third Bank, Today's Chicago Woman, and the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media.

For more information on the Chicago Sinfonietta, please visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

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