Rush Hour celebrated its 11th season finale with a stunning performance of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor (“Death and the Maiden”) by the Euclid Quartet. The concert was dedicated to the legacy of Norman Pellegrini and sponsored in part by the NIB Foundation.

Jameson Cooper, violin (left); Luis Vargas, viola (center left); Si-Yan Darren Li, cello (center right); and Jacob Murphy, violin (right) rehearse on the stage of St. James Cathedral prior to the concert.

Rush Hour supporters (from left to right) Mark & Chase Levey and Richard & Mary Gray connect with Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol (center) during the pre-concert reception.

Rush Hour Advisory Committee members Chase Levey (left) and Helen Zell (center) chat with Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol during the pre-concert reception.

An Argo Tea team member prepares samples at the pre-concert reception. Additional refreshments were provided by Trader Joe’s and included cheese and crackers, strawberries and madeleine cookies.

Rush Hour volunteer and fanfare member Peter Graening greets concertgoers near a donation box inside the Cathedral. Rush Hour is currently only 1% away from meeting its season fundraising goal!

Quintet Attacca and guest bass clarinetist Emily Marlow took to the stage at St. James Cathedral this week for a performance of Leoš Janáček’s youthful Mladi. The concert was sponsored in part by the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago.

(Pictured from left to right) Jennifer Clippert, flute; Erica Anderson, oboe; Jeremiah Frederick, horn; Emily Marlow, bass clarinet; Collin Anderson, bassoon; and Barbara Drapcho, clarinet. Leoš Janáček’s Mladi is a rare example of music composed for a wind sextet.

Frantisek Gal, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago (left), chats with concertgoers during the pre-concert reception. In addition to consular partnerships, individual contributions are an important part of producing weekly concerts. Check out our website to learn how your donation can help Rush Hour continue to keep concerts free and open to all.

Rush Hour Advisory Committee member T.J. Ferrantella (left) meets with Rush Hour volunteer Chuck Hamilton (right) during the pre-concert reception.

Rush Hour volunteer Jori Swift (left) connects with a concertgoer at the fanfare Happy Hour following this week’s concert. Joining fanfare is a great way for under-40 concertgoers to network with other young professionals and become more involved with Rush Hour.

Rush Hour introduced its audience to the erhu this week in a lively performance by internationally acclaimed artist Xiaohui Ma. Ms. Ma’s diverse program included arrangements of J.S. Bach, melodies of the Beijing Opera, and the theme from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The concert was co-sponsored in part by the Consulates General of China and Switzerland in Chicago, and broadcast live and online by 98.7 WFMT.

Xiaohui Ma rehearses prior to this week’s concert. Concertgoers also got a close-up view on the big screen of Ms. Ma’s erhu – an ancient instrument also known as the “Chinese violin.”

Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol (center left) connects with Giambattista Mondada, Consul General of Switzerland in Chicago (left); Zongguang Guo, Consul and Director of Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago (center right); and Haiquan Yang, Cultural Consul at the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago (right). In addition to consulate sponsorships, Rush Hour relies on individual donations and volunteers to produce the weekly summer concert series.

Concertgoers sampled palmiers, blueberries and Swiss chocolates at this week’s pre-concert reception. Additional refreshments were provided by Argo Tea.

Concertgoers gathered on the front steps of St. James Cathedral during the pre-concert reception.

Rush Hour’s 11th concert of the season featured Estonian and Spanish music for cello and voice, performed by Kenneth Olsen, cello; Jonathan Pegis, cello; Linc Smelser, cello; Brant Taylor, cello; and Maire O’Brien, soprano. The program opened with Arvo Pärt’s Fratres before concertgoers were whisked to Spain for a rendition of Manuel de Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares Españolas. The performance was sponsored in part by the Consulate General of Spain in Chicago and the Embassy of Spain in Washington, and broadcast on the radio and online by 98.7 WFMT.

(Pictured from left to right) Kenneth Olsen, Brant Taylor, Maire O’Brien, soprano, Linc Smelser, and Jonathan Pegis during the pre-concert WFMT sound check.

Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol meets with Henry Fogel, Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University during the pre-concert reception.

Members of Smith College Alumnae of Chicago visited with Rush Hour staff during the pre-concert reception. (Pictured from left to right) Penny Trowbridge; Anne Girton; Susan Schnell, ’86; Rush Hour intern Eliza Warren, ’10; Sarah Schriber; Rush Hour intern Abigail Kellogg, ’11 and Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol, ’72.

fanfare member and Rush Hour volunteer James Weging hands a concertgoer Rush Hour’s annual survey. Audience feedback helps Rush Hour continue to deliver innovative programming and maintain its accessibility and appeal.

Back by popular demand, Third Coast Percussion returned to Rush Hour this week in a performance of Paul Lansky’s “Threads.” The concert was once again broadcast live on the radio and online by 98.7 WFMT, garnering rave reviews from fans all over the country. For in-depth discussion of the Princeton-based composer’s work, listen to Artistic Director Deborah Sobol’s podcast with Third Coast Percussion.

(Pictured from left to right) Robert Dillon, David Skidmore, Owen Clayton Condon and Peter Martin of Third Coast Percussion. This is the fourth consecutive season these fan favorites have performed for Rush Hour.

The Very Rev. Joy E. Rogers of St. James Cathedral (left) and Richard Cahan of The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation (center) connect with Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol during the pre-concert reception. The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation is a Rush Hour foundation sponsor. Visit our website to learn more about how you can support Rush Hour.

Concertgoers gather on the stage at the end of the concert for a closer look at Third Coast Percussion’s instruments. Members of Third Coast Percussion welcomed concertgoers to join them on stage after the performance to “test-drive” the marimbas, cymbals, drums and glass bottles used during their performance.

fanfare members enjoy refreshments at this season’s fifth fanfare post-concert happy hour.

This week’s concert welcomed Brant Taylor, cello, and Kuang-Hao Huang, piano, to Rush Hour for a performance of Frédéric Chopin: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 65. The concert was sponsored in part by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and broadcast live on the radio and online by 98.7 WFMT.

Brant Taylor, cello (left), rehearses with Kuang-Hao Huang, piano (right), before the concert. Their duet was a stunning example of Chopin’s rarely-heard chamber music.

Allan Drebin of the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation (left) meets with Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol (right) at the pre-concert reception. The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation sponsored both this week’s and last week’s concert.

Rush Hour volunteer Max Eisendrath works the Tell-a-Friend table during the pre-concert reception. Picking up brochures and distributing them around town, volunteering, or making a donation are great ways to get involved with Rush Hour beyond weekly concert attendance.

fanfare members connect in the choir loft before the concert. In addition to a full choir loft–reserved for Fanfare, Rush Hour’s associate board of young professionals–the audience spilled into the standing-room area in the back of the cathedral.

Poetry met piano this week at Rush Hour’s annual spoken word concert as Mary Ann Hoberman, the Children’s Poet Laureate, alternated selections of her own children’s poetry with Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (“Scenes from Childhood”), performed by Kuang-Hao Huang, piano. The concert was sponsored in part by the Poetry Foundation and was broadcast on the radio and online by 98.7 WFMT.

(Pictured from left to right) Kuang-Hao Huang and Mary Ann Hoberman during rehearsal. Ms. Hoberman’s poetry paired well with Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen as both the poet and the composer were inspired by the experiences of children in crafting their work.

Mary Ann Hoberman’s performance included a pre-concert poetry reading for children. The audience was encouraged to participate by calling out words or clapping to the beat on Ms. Hoberman’s cues.

Mary Ann Hoberman (left) connects with Rush Hour supporter Chase Levey (right) at the pre-concert reception. Making donations and volunteering are a great ways to help Rush Hour continue to keep concerts free and open to all.

Many families attended this week’s concert and mingled with the artists over refreshments provided by Argo Tea at the pre-concert reception. The kid-friendly program was enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Organist and Director of Cathedral Music at St. James Cathedral Bruce J. Barber II returned to Rush Hour in a program of 19th Century French masters by Saint-Saëns, Messiaen and Widor. In addition to watching Barber perform from the choir loft, concertgoers were treated to a close-up, live video of his hand and footwork projected onto a large screen on the stage. The full concert was broadcast live on 98.7 WFMT, which will continue to broadcast Rush Hour’s weekly concerts live on the air and online.

Bruce J. Barber II rehearses prior to the concert.

A young concertgoer enjoys the pre-concert reception. Refreshments at this week’s concert were provided by Trader Joe’s and Argo Tea.