Duarte Sings MY LATINO HEART At The Music Institute of Chicago, September 23

The Music Institute of Chicago's 2023–24 season of Nichols Concert Hall Presents opens with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte performing a program entitled “My Latino Heart” Saturday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, in downtown Evanston.  

 

The Grammy Award-winning Duarte makes music at the place where Anglo and Latino cultures intersect. “My Latino Heart” features Mexican boleros and classical songs, including works by Manuel Ponce, Manuel De Falla, Alberto Ginastera, Claude Debussy, and more. Pianist Ana María Otamendi and Spanish percussionist Jesús Pacheco join Duarte for this program.

 

Houston-based mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte excels in a variety of genres, encompassing early music, jazz, classical, and contemporary music, and she performs throughout the country and internationally. She created the role of Renata in the first Mariachi opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna with the famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera in 2010 and performed across the country and in Paris. She was a soloist on the Grammy-winning album Duruflé: The Complete Choral Works with Signum Records.

Cecilia Duarte performs “My Latino Heart” Saturday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. Tickets are $60 preferred, $40 standard, and $30 value, available at nicholsconcerthall.org or by phone at 847.448.8326. All programming is subject to change.    
 
Noted architect Solon S. Beman designed the architecturally and acoustically magnificent First Church of Christ, Scientist, located at 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, in 1912. In 2003, the building was sensitively restored to become Nichols Concert Hall, a state-of-the-art, 550-seat performance space and music education destination, easily accessible to numerous restaurants, on-street and metered parking, and the Davis Street CTA and Metra stations. The converted building, featuring a fully restored, 1914 E. M. Skinner pipe organ, received the Richard H. Driehaus Award for best adaptive use by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. Each year Nichols Concert Hall reaches approximately 15,000 people and hosts a world-class chamber music series, workshops and master classes, student recitals, and special events.
 
The Music Institute of Chicago leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music through unparalleled teaching, exceptional performances, and valuable service initiatives that educate, inspire, and build strong, healthy communities. Since its founding in 1931, the Music Institute's commitment to innovation, access, and excellence has served as an important community resource and helps to ensure music is available to everyone. Each year, the Music Institute provides personalized music instruction to more than 1,500 students, regardless of age, level of experience, or financial means, across eight Community Music School locations in Chicago, Downers Grove, Evanston, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, and Winnetka, as well as online. In addition, the Music Institute brings music education, arts curriculum integration, professional development, and music performance and engagement opportunities to thousands in the Chicago area; offers scholarship opportunities to students in its Community School and its Academy, a nationally recognized training center for highly gifted pre-college pianists and string players; and (pre-pandemic) welcomes more than 15,000 visitors annually for performances, master classes, and special events at Nichols Concert Hall.  
    
All programming is subject to change. For information, visit musicinst.org.

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