The Chicago Chamber Musicians (CCM) and Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) will present their 12th annual Family Concert collaboration with Fairy Tales, designed to introduce families with children ages four and up to the joys of live performance. The hour-long concert, made possible in part by Target, will be performed on Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. 

Alongside CST actors will be the CCM resident musicians, Joseph Genualdi (violin) and Rami Solomonow (viola). Guest artists are Mathias Tacke (violin); Cheng-Hou Lee (cello); and Doug Johnson (double bass). On both days activities are planned for the entire audience in the CST lobby, including concert artists available for autographs and pictures, and talented young local musicians demonstrating musical instruments and answering questions.

The CCM 2013/2014 season marks Benjamin Britten’s 100th birthday anniversary and the 75th birthday of William Bolcom. William Bolcom’s staged Fairy Tales—including The Frog Prince, Jorinda and Joringel, and The Hare and the Hedgehog—give children the opportunity to discover, up-close, how individual instruments are played, how they play together, and how they can interrelate with actors to create a theatrical event. Also on the program are excerpts from the Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten, composer of the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Based on music from Britten’s childhood, it also was used extensively in the musical score for the commercial film, Moonrise Kingdom. 

Tickets to the upcoming event can be purchased online at http://www.chicagoshakes.com/, by phone at (312) 595-5600 or in person at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater Box Office on Navy Pier.    

Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts

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