Rush Hour @ 10: Double Digits

Ten years old is one of life’s important milestones. For a child, it means “double digits” finally, and being taken more seriously – perhaps. For an arts organization, it means “double digits,” and definitely being taken more seriously.

Even with all the good intentions in the world, a young arts organization is very fragile and can cease to exist after only a few years. So, as we celebrate Rush Hour Concerts being ten years old, we can be proud that we survived those first unsure steps.

Eleven years ago, my friend Deborah Sobol told me what she was going to organize: a summer series of short weekly chamber concerts, opening always with light refreshments. She simply asked if I would be a sort of advisor, and of course I said, “Yes.” (It is very hard to say “no” to Deborah.) Also, I am the ideal appreciator of music as I play no instrument, and am in total awe that anyone can read those little black bird tracks and make sense of them, much less make gorgeous sounds from them. I love to listen to music, and I figured that there were many of us out there. I was right.

Within three years, our audience began to grow: from 40 – 50 per week in the first summers, to over 400 per week in recent summers. One of the elements of which I am so proud is that this child grew with many helping hands – many individuals who both volunteered their time and gave their money, as well as the wonderful foundations and organizations who have believed in us.

We never relied on one single individual as a sponsor, as so many fledgling groups do. They have an angel, but that angel is in reality a devilish handicap, because the strong support of one sometimes precludes the need for community ownership and support, thus preventing those baby steps from becoming strong strides.

Rush Hour has thrived, not due to an angel, but due to its own strength: the quality of the music heard – which means that, above and beyond all the hard work of the staff and supporters, it is simply that Chicagoans can hear sublime music every summer Tuesday in the afternoon.

The infant Rush Hour has grown up and is a part of the community, its arrival each summer is eagerly anticipated, and we are moving boldly forward towards our 20 year birthday!

- Anstiss Krueck,
Founding Member and Secretary,
Rush Hour Board of Directors

Rush Hour @ 10: Everybody Wins

As a performer, my longest-standing associations with concert organizations are the ones where “everybody wins”. By this I mean that there are wonderful colleagues to collaborate with, adequate rehearsal time, a fine performance space, and a loyal, attentive audience of people who came specifically to enjoy the music. With RH, my initial involvement came about because of prior experience with Deborah Sobol – but in some senses, I was still taking a (calculated) risk. I didn’t yet know many things about what the complete experience would be. After my enjoyable initial experience, it became a given that I would always desire to perform and be a part of this group of people.

In recent years, I have greatly enjoyed my involvement with Deborah at the conceptual level, putting together some of the programs in which I am involved. We think similarly about many things musical, and it feels great to bounce ideas around and then see them come to fruition months later when the concerts happen. (Last summer’s program with piano, pipa, and cello was the epitome of this: none of us knew of any program with these instruments ever having been done, anywhere. We began by reading some music together and just went from there. Ideas were proposed and several were discarded along the path to that program’s realization.)

It’s hard to speak of one specific memory that is a highlight of my years playing at RH. The Beethoven Sonata in A Major that I performed with Deborah a few years back was particularly enjoyable, and the six-cello ensemble concert from the summer of 2007 was memorable because it is such a rare treat to be able to do something like that. That concert was voted the “Audience Favorite” of Rush Hour’s first nine seasons, which was very gratifying – I’m so pleased that we’ll be presenting an even bigger cello ensemble concert in celebration of the 10th anniversary next summer.

I am particularly happy that RH has lasted and grown into something of real value to our city’s cultural environment. Congratulations, and here’s to many more years of great music!

- Brant Taylor
Rush Hour Advisory Committee member
Cellist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Quartet, & Pink Martini

The Final Days: The Under-40 Challenge

Help us cross the finish line in the final month of the under-40 donor challenge.

The goal is to raise $5,000, which the Irving Harris Foundation will match, meaning your gift is doubled. All gifts will go toward Rush Hour’s basic operating costs, helping keep admission and refreshments free of charge.

We have nearly met our goal but still need your help – all donations must be received by December 31, 2008 in order to apply to the match.

Choose from 3 easy and convenient ways to give:

- Click here to make a secure online donation through PayPal (all major credit cards and e-checks are accepted)

- Call the Rush Hour office at 773.338.9480 to make a credit card donation over the phone

- Mail a check payable to “Rush Hour Concerts at St. James Cathedral” with “Under-40″ in the memo line to:
Rush Hour Concerts
St. James Cathedral
65 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611

Please make your gift today, and help spread the word like good cheer to friends and family!

Thoughts & Recommendations from the Artistic Director: December 2008

December is always frenetic. This year is no exception. It may, perhaps, break all previous records. My tried and true antidotes to this “non-stop/never-have-enough time” condition are to give into the early darkness and chill – no, cold - in the air, to sit back and listen: to good friends and colleagues in conversation, to great music, to words of fine minds. This month, I’m sharing a bit of all three of these with you, in hopes that it will slow down your frenetic pace (in the way Rush Hour does during the long summer days). One additional tip: a glass of sherry or Grand Marnier alongside for extra inner warmth!

My favorite music to revisit each December is Concentus Musicus Wien’s recording of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” which features the beatific voices of the Vienna Boys Choir, all under the superb direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. It’s not December in my household unless this glorious music is filling every room!

There are many old favorite books to recommend at this time of year. This year, however, I find myself enthralled in Alice Waters’ wonderful volume, “The Art of Simple Food.” Since a good 50% of Rush Hour each week is devoted to food and epicurean themes, I feel it’s a valid entry here!

And now, to my concert recommendations:

Saturday, December 13 – 7:00 p.m.
St. James Cathedral
Christmas at the Cathedral
Corelli, Christmas Concerto
Handel, Messiah (Part 1)
The Cathedral Choir, Soloists and Chamber Orchestra of St. James
Bruce J. Barber II, conductor
$20 requested donation

Sunday, December 21 – 3:00 p.m. and Monday, December 22 – 7:00 p.m.
Civic Opera House
33rd Annual Bank of America Do-It-Yourself Messiah, sponsored by the International Music Foundation
Complimentary tickets available

Sunday, December 7 – 3:00 p.m. (Evanston) and Monday, December 8 - 7:30 p.m. (Merit School of Music)
Rembrandt Chamber Players
Vivaldi: Selections from The Four Seasons
Brahms: Songs for Alto, Viola and Piano
Bach: Aria from Cantata No. 182
Mozart: Quintet for Clarinet and Strings
Tickets: $30 (adult) / $10 (student)

Happy and safe holidays, everyone!

- Deborah Sobol
Artistic Director

Eat Out: Expanding the Rush Hour Experience

Community partner Bijan’s Bistro has been offering special post-concert dinner discounts since 2005, making it a frequent stop for many of our audience members during the summer. In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we’re planning to further expand the Rush Hour experience with additional dining partners, both during the summer season and during the upcoming winter and spring months.

As you know, everything at RH is created with you, the audience, in mind. To ensure that our dining partnerships continue to be successful, we need your input. Please take the one-minute survey below now and share your valuable opinions with us.


Thank you for your help!

Thoughts & Recommendations from the Artistic Director: November 2008

I’ve noticed of late that there seems to be an increased focus on young people in our contemporary lives, going beyond the usual cultural obsession with youth and the ubiquitous consumer marketing to that demographic. The national dialogue of the last many months in the political campaigns seems to include the presence of young adults in unprecedented ways. Equally, they are referenced and involved in some of the most pressing issues of our times, whether economic, educational or environmental. As founder and artistic director of an arts organization grounded in the reality of contemporary life, it has always been most gratifying to me to witness the role young adults have played from the beginning.

Our ’08 season is a fine example: Our artistic roster spanned the generations – from high school to internationally acclaimed veteran artists, including young composer Clancy Newman. 20% of our regular, weekly audiences were under the age of 40. This is a stunning statistic for a new arts organization devoted to great classical music. Many of these folk were so excited about Rush Hour and its mission that they formed an auxiliary board – the Fanfare Committee – to help spread the word of RH to their contemporaries and contribute to the annual work of keeping RH’s entire season free and open to all. Their presence at our weekly summer series and their work year-round is an important part of the RH engine.

The presence of young people in RH reflects an inclusive vision of community, with the power of great music identifying common human qualities in need of regular inspiration and nourishment. The music is powerful and the energy contagious.

Before I offer my concert recommendations for this month, I’d like to share the thoughts of author David W. Barber from his humorous book, If It Ain’t Baroque… More Music History As It Ought To Be Taught, on the challenges of the term “classical music”:

“The problem is no one’s been able to come up with a better term, or at least a better term people are willing to accept. Some people call it “art” music, to distinguish it from “popular” music – as if to imply that Bach shouldn’t be popular, or that there’s no artistry in the Beatles… Some people will tell you there are a lot of different types of music. But there are really only two: good music and bad music.”

And, at Rush Hour, there is “Great Music for Busy Lives.”

In your busy lives this month, you might want to make time for these great concerts:

Thursday, November 13 – 7:00 p.m.
St. James Cathedral
The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra
David Katz, music director and conductor
Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor
Free admission

Monday, November 10 – 12:15 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall (Chicago Cultural Center)
Third Coast Percussion
Music of Cage & L. Ligeti
Free admission

Wednesday, November 19 (Symphony Center), Thursday, November 20 (Evanston), and Saturday, November 22 (Hyde Park) – 7:30 p.m.
Baroque Band
The Temple of Apollo
Tickets: $30 (regular)/ $27 (seniors)/ $15 (student)

Saturday, November 8 and Sunday, November 9 - 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier
The Chicago Chamber Musicians
November 8-9 Family Concert - Leaping Leopold! The Mozart Show
Tickets: $18 (adult) / $15 (12 and under)

Sunday, November 16 (Evanston) and Monday, November 17 (Merit School of Music) – 7:30 p.m.
The Chicago Chamber Musicians
November 16-17 Subscription Series
Böhme: Sextet for Brass in E-Flat Minor, Op. 30
Bruce Broughton: Hudson River Valley
Dvorák: Piano Trio in F Minor, Op. 65
Tickets: $16 – 40 (adult)/ $10 (student)

Wednesday, November 12 – 7:30 p.m.
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Fulcrum Point
Soundtracks in New-Art Music
Tickets: $50 – 75 (adult) / $25 (students & seniors)

And don’t forget the following two regular events:

The Dame Myra Hess weekly free lunchtime series at The Chicago Cultural Center, every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m., presented by the International Music Foundation.

The Chicago Chamber Musicians’ First Monday lunchtime concerts, also at the Chicago Cultural Center at 12:15 the first Monday of each month.

- Deborah Sobol
Artistic Director

Slow Down

Slow down! No, stop.

Flying from task to task at the speed of light, more powerful than a triple latte, able to leap a stack of emails in a single bound? Hmmm. I don’t have superpowers, but I recently encountered some serious Kryptonite.

I believe in taking breaks, being on vacation when you’re on vacation, and setting aside time for reflection. But I waffle on actually doing these things, and I just paid a steep price for that. My body enforced a leave of absence a couple of weeks ago in the form of unexpected surgery. Though I had hoped to make it to my 40th birthday* with all of the original parts, fortunately I have no long-term health issues to deal with. I can now assure you all unequivocally that what we learned in physics class is true: being forced to stop when you’re traveling at high speed is apparently a lot more painful than mindfully slowing down first.

Once I got home from the hospital, the immediate crisis was over, and my family went back to work and school. Then an amazing thing happened: I found myself with several days of absolute silence. The doctors had differing opinions on recovery time, from the cautious, “You will be able to go back to work after two or three weeks,” to the brusque, “You can go rake leaves tomorrow, if you’d like.” (Yeah, right.) I split the difference and spent about a week in bed. My husband, co-workers, and friends immediately and completely stepped into the fray to protect my recovery process, and I love them for it.

It was a still, small place of napping, painkillers and reflection. In fact, I think I spent a good 15 minutes one day wondering about the last time I saw a car painted in my favorite color, British racing green. But I also thought about what is important to me, and how I have been spending my time, and enjoyed the ability to assess and synthesize all that’s happened recently both professionally and personally.

If you are scratching your head and wondering what this has to do with Rush Hour since we are officially “off-season,” the truth is that RH staff works year-round. As executive director, this is a crucial time for planning and writing, though somehow I believe everyone survived my brief absence. There’s a certain symmetry in the fact that I had to stop my mind to help my body heal, since usually I’m talking about the importance of slowing down physically to experience aesthetic nourishment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. When we bring what is within us out into the world, miracles happen.” Rush Hour expands the space between what we just did and what we’re going to do, giving us a gift in real time. My recent “retreat” was a gift of real time- and a strong reminder that mental and physical breaks are not just a pleasant idea, they are requirements.

Slow down. Your body may thank you, too.

- Megan Balderston
Executive Director

* If, like me, you’ve not yet celebrated your 40th birthday, read here for important information on how to participate in the under-40 matching grant challenge.

The Under-40 Challenge: Help Us Meet Our Goal

As the saying goes, the best things in life are free. I happen to think that they are often also worth paying for, or at least supporting financially. This year Rush Hour is conducting a fundraiser in conjunction with the Irving Harris Foundation aimed at donors under 40. The goal is to raise $5,000, which the Harris Foundation will match, meaning your gift is doubled ($50 becomes $100, $25 becomes $50, and so on.) Gifts will go toward Rush Hour’s basic operating costs, helping keep admission and refreshments free of charge.

During my time volunteering for Rush Hour, I have been struck by the enthusiasm these concerts inspire in series devotees and random drop-ins alike. I have also been impressed by the increasing number of young people attending concerts (approximately 20% of our audience each week is under 40).

I decided to donate to the under-40 match simply because I see how important Rush Hour is to people. And I want it to remain such that anyone can come by the Cathedral on a summer Tuesday afternoon, throw back some snacks, and hear a concert of the highest quality. Of course, it should be free. But I think it’s also worth paying for. If you agree, then I urge you to contribute, too.

- Charles Cooney
Treasurer, Fanfare Committee

Thoughts & Recommendations from the Artistic Director: October 2008

The last notes of RH’s ’08 season were sounded just over 5 weeks ago. When I sit back and reflect on the entire summer season, I feel the physical satiation of having taken part in a magnificent feast full of a variety of artists, composers, genres, instruments – tastes, textures and people – and by all audience reports, immensely satisfying. While “digesting” this recent feast, I am hard at work planning another: 2009 will mark RH’s 10th birthday, a cause for much anticipation and excitement in all corners of the organization.

We hope to design a season which reflects RH’s commitment to “Great Music for Busy Lives,” as it relates to our broad and diverse (and busy!) audience throughout the summer. We will continue to offer a weekly respite of culture. We will continue to strive to inspire, amuse and broaden experiences.

Throughout the last month of our ’08 season, we ran a survey of audience favorites from the last 9 years, in which the program with the most audience votes would be repeated during our 10th anniversary season. The winner was the multiple cello program “A Cello Celebration: CSO Cellists and Friends” from our 2007 season. We are already underway planning its “return visit.”

RH’s 10th birthday season opens in June 2009, a long way away by most folks’ yardsticks. We will have several “off-season” events between now and then and I suggest you keep tuned to our website and these e-newsletters for information in the coming months.

And, of course, I’ll be passing on my recommendations for other great concerts in the city each month as part of this column.

October is rich in that regard. Here are three which are sure to inspire and please:

St. James Cathedral’s 2008-2009 Concert Series opens Saturday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m. with the performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, op. 86, as well as his Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, op. 19, featuring guest pianist David Korevaar. Bruce J. Barber II conducts the Cathedral Choir and Chamber Orchestra of St. James.

CCM’s second pair of subscription concerts of the season on Sunday, October 26 and Monday, October 27 mix old and new: Brahms’ String Quintet No. 1 is complemented by brass music of Verne Reynolds; Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances will be joined by the North American premiere of Avner Dorman’s Jerusalem Mix, a wind and piano collage of Christian, Jewish and Muslim musical traditions co-commissioned by CCM and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival.

And finally, Fifth House Ensemble opens their 2008-2009 season on Saturday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. at Gottlieb Hall with Act I of their subscription series based on the ancient Italian comedy tradition, Commedia dell’Arte.

Enjoy a musical October, along with your apple cider and other goodies of the season!

Best,

Deborah Sobol

The Magic of Rush Hour

It is difficult to believe that it’s already October, when Rush Hour seems so fresh in my mind. I hope that you enjoyed the summer as much as I did- and that the music and RH community lifted your spirits, complemented the beautiful weather, and gave you a place to pause and reflect.

I love being on the RH production team, except for one thing: I don’t always get to be an audience member. This summer, although I attended every concert, I remember one specifically in which I had the opportunity to sit and listen in a different way- and no, I won’t say which one! Suffice to say that it had been a long day for me. It was one of those days- and we all have them- that I felt that I was starring in my own version of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The magic of the series set me straight, though. After 30 minutes of beautiful music, I somehow knew that all of the many seemingly insurmountable problems I walked in with were diffused, placed in perspective, and not nearly as bad as I had thought. “Wow!” I thought. “We do exactly what we say we do!”

The summer was also successful beyond my wildest dreams. I was uplifted and delighted by meeting all of you, and by seeing firsthand the support and love you all have for Rush Hour. How fortunate we are to have this kind of audience community with whom to share these outstanding concerts! NBC Nightly News thinks so too: they featured Rush Hour in their series “What Works” in August. (If you did not yet have a chance to see this clip, please click here to watch.)

With successes like this behind me, I feel confident about reaching the major goal left to accomplish before the end of the year: meeting our “Under 40″ challenge grant from the Harris Foundation. For each gift from those under the age of 40, the foundation will match contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000. Since I am 39 until the end of November, I jumped on this challenge. Please join me in showing support for RH’s free concert events by helping us raise our final $1,500 of this challenge.

- Megan Balderston