Concerts

Contempo: Big names, world premieres

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Contempo always packs a heavy-hitting and heady mix of music.  This past Sunday seemed extra significant as Contempo gave the world premieres of works by Gunther Schuller and Sofia Gubaidulina - two giants in the world of contemporary composition who were also in attendance.  Add composer and Contempo artistic director Shulamit Ran, conductor Cliff Colnot, and U of C ensembles-in-residence Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbird, and you've got some of the best in new music.  

Unlike traditional classical music forms, contemporary music is impossible to predict, making it uniquely challenging to photograph.  The usual strategy of waiting for the loud parts doesn't necessarily work since the loud parts may never come, or they come and go in an instant.  Here are some moments that I caught when the shutter sound was (hopefully) masked.  

The Avalon Quartet at the Art Institute

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"I'm with the band" is becoming my favorite cliche.  It was particularly true when I photographed the Avalon Quartet at the Art Institute, getting 360-degree access onstage during rehearsal - something that is impossible during a concert.  Fullerton Hall is a perfect venue for chamber music, and the Tiffany glass overhead makes it a visual stunner.  Program: Berg's String Quartet, Op. 3; Brahms' String Quartet, Op. 51, No. 1 in c minor.  Blaise Magniere, Marie Wang, violins; Anthony Devroye, viola; Cheng-Hou Lee, cello.

Mozart and champagne with the Chicago Philharmonic

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Some scenes from the Chicago Philharmonic's Valentine's Day weekend concert at Nichols Concert Hall, including a performance by Visceral Dance Chicago and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with violinist David Perry and violist Carol Cook.  Conductor Scott Speck led the Philharmonic through an energetic program ending with Strauss's Champagne Polka; a champagne toast finished off a beautiful afternoon.  

Stefan Jackiw and Anna Polonsky at Mandel Hall

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Back in Hyde Park for UChicago Presents on February 6, this time in Mandel Hall (no relation).  The recently renovated hall is now a brilliant space for intimate chamber music with great acoustics. Here is a gallery of shots from the concert with violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist Anna Polonsky.

CAIC's Winter Lieder Lounge

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Back for another wonderful Lieder Lounge with my friends at the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago.  From the Dixon-Stein instrument shop, CAIC hosted this salon recital featuring mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, pianist Maureen Zoltek, and violist Frank Babbitt in music by Brahms, Ravel, de Falla, and Britten.  

Contempo celebrates 50 years

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The University of Chicago's Contempo series is celebrating its 50th year of contemporary classical music this season, and featuring its two ensembles-in-residence: eighth blackbird and the Pacifica Quartet.  Joining them on January 24 was soprano Sharon Harms, trumpeter Stephen Burns, conductor David Fulmer, and a host of players from Chicago's new music community.  It's always fun to photograph these expressive musicians, and I'm looking forward to more in March. 

Sweet-singing Bruce Henry at Jazz Showcase

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I was fortunate to photograph jazz singer Bruce Henry and his band at Jazz Showcase as part of a benefit evening in support of my friends at Sharing Notes. I've seen first-hand how the fine artists of Sharing Notes bring beautiful music to hospital patients of all ages - often in bedside performances - and it was great to see an enthusiastic audience come out to support this group on a snowy Monday night. From the stage, Bruce Henry's multi-octave tenor range belted out a high-energy set, backed by some great solos from each of his bandmates. More info on Bruce here.  More info on Sharing Notes here. 

New Year's Eve 2014 in music and pictures

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I spent New Year's Eve 2014 in much the same way I spent most of the year: photographing great music. During Evanston's First Night celebration, I hopped from one downtown cathedral to another, in and out of the cold, to catch some killer jazz ensembles, as well as slam poet extraordinaire Marc Smith doing his thing. Here are some of my favorite shots from the evening, the last pictures I took in 2014, and some of the first of 2015.  

On stage with Third Coast Percussion

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Microphones, music stands, lights, cables, a thousand mallets.  Plus the instruments - some of them large (marimbas, drum kits, cymbals, a gong, a piano), and some of them found objects (pipes, empty whiskey bottles, a string of paperclips).  And the artists themselves: Rob, Pete, Sean, David, all with earpieces plugged in and playing in perfect syncopation.  Third Coast Percussion is a complete sensory experience.  A few weeks ago, they gave me free range on stage at the University of Chicago's Logan Center for the Arts during their dress rehearsal with one directive: get all four musicians in one frame.  The solution was a multiple exposure frame created in the camera; it also captured the organized chaos of instruments.  

Global Transcendence with Chicago a cappella

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The light, the venue, the music - it was all perfect back on October 19 when I photographed Chicago a cappella at Rockefeller Chapel.  The program blended sacred and spiritual music from ancient vocal traditions, performed flawlessly by the ensemble of nine singers.  The late-afternoon autumn light streamed through Rockefeller's giant stained-glass windows; the crystal-clear singing filled the building, making an otherwise huge venue feel intimate, and, well, perfect. 

Fulcrum Point's Concert for Peace

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For its 16th annual Concert for Peace, Fulcrum Point New Music Project showed off some serious chops.  The first set went from Somei Satoh's meditative "Hikari (Light)" to Louis Andriessen's taut and racing "Hout (Wood)."  The second set filled the South Shore Cultural Center with Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver.  A little yoga on a windswept lakefront ended the afternoon.  Looking forward to working with Fulcrum Point again on its November 1 concert, featuring Indian classical music alongside Messaien and Mingus. 

Ian Maksin at Old Town School of Folk

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It's a pretty cool thing when one artist can blend so easily with other styles.  Russian-born cellist Ian Maksin gave a great concert Saturday at the Old Town School of Folk Music that began with contemporary works for unamplified solo cello.  By the end of the night, he was plugged into some reverb and sharing the stage with Flamenco guitarist Carlo Basile, percussionist Bob Garrett, and veena master Saraswathi Ranganathan (Basile described her sound as "an Indian Ry Cooder").  As one last feature, Maksin performed with Lucas Segovia from Joffrey Ballet.  Here are some shots from the concert, and a few from soundcheck that afternoon. 

Collaborative Works Fest, part 2: Michelle DeYoung

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Yes, the Michelle DeYoung who has won multiple Grammys and performed in every major opera house in the world.  What an honor to photograph her beautiful recital with pianist Kevin Murphy at the Harold Washington Library last Friday.  

Collaborative Works Festival 2014, part 1

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A year ago, the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) became my first official photography client.  Last week, I marked that anniversary by once again shooting CAIC's annual Collaborative Works Festival.  The four-day festival opened at the Poetry Foundation with a quartet of wonderful singers - Joshua Hopkins, Susanna Phillips, Kelley O'Connor, and CAIC's Artistic Director Nicholas Phan - in music by Robert and Clara Schumann.  Pianist and accompanist Myra Huang opened the concert with Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Major.  It was an honor to photograph these artists, and a pleasure to hear them perform in such an intimate venue.  As a bonus, my photo accompanied Andrew Patner's review in the Sun-Times.  Here is a small gallery from the concert: 

A gallery of singers.

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I love photographing singers - it's the perfect combination of drama and music.  

Wrapping up a summer at Rush Hour Concerts

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Hard to believe the season has ended, but the 15th Summer Concert Series presented by Rush Hour Concerts was another good one filled with a variety of music.  Here is a gallery of fantastic artists whom I had the pleasure of photographing throughout the summer.  

Recent Work: Flutes Take Over Orchestra Hall

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I've never heard so much flute music in one concert, nor seen so many flutists under one roof. But that's what happens when you photograph the National Flute Association's Gala Concerto Concert: flutes of all shapes and sizes and music from Bach to "Sweet Home Chicago."  The Los Angeles Flute Orchestra performed an intimate concert in the elegant Grainger Ballroom and showcased some of its custom-made instruments.  The Concerto Concert closed with a marvelous performance of Mozart's Flute Concerto by Los Angeles Philharmonic principal flutist Julien Beaudiment.  Click through the gallery below for some of my favorite shots from the evening.  

Recent visits to the Green Mill

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I'm pretty lucky to have one of the world's greatest jazz clubs three blocks away from my apartment.  Recently, I've seen saxophonist Victor Goines, who performs around the world with the Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; and accordion virtuoso Julien Labro and the Hot Club of Detroit.  Click through the gallery below for some views from my table.

Photographing the Thirsty Ear Festival

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One of the highlights of July was the opportunity to photograph WFMT's Thirsty Ear Festival at City Winery.  Thirsty Ear is the annual showcase concert for the weekly new music show, Relevant Tones with Seth Boustead.  This year's concert featured two Chicago-based ensembles - Fonema Consort and Gaudete Brass Quintet - and the renowned composer/pianist Graham Reynolds.  The two-hour concert and live broadcast was packed with music ranging from vocal-instrumental fusion from Fonema, new music for brass quintet, and arrangements of Reynolds's film scores for string quartet and piano.