We want to hear from you!

Summer is not over yet!!

There is much excitement as we lead up to our twelfth summer season finale next Tuesday, August 30.My young colleagues at Fifth House Ensemble are getting ready to wow you with Beethoven’s Septet (read all about their rehearsal adventures here), the Rush Hour staff is stocking the larder with refreshments for Tuesday’s pre-concert reception, and we’re getting calls from audience members wondering if Comcast could give away an iPad every week. (Sorry, this is a special opportunity for our finale — but make sure you enter the drawing at the concert this week to win!)

At the end of this phenomenal season of music-making and milestones, I have a special request for you: please share your thoughts with me.

* What was your favorite concert?

* Do you have a favorite piece we should consider programming for the 2012 Summer Series?

* Anything you’d like to change about our Summer Series?

* Do you know of a perfect site (or sites) for Make Music Chicago 2012?

I welcome your responses to these questions or anything else about Rush Hour that’s on your mind as the summer winds down.

Your feedback — compliments, criticism, and ideas — are valuable to me, to our staff, and to Rush Hour’s board of directors as we continue to make Great Music for Busy Lives!

Please write to me at deborah AT rushhour.org

I look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you next Tuesday, when we raise a glass to a great summer.

Many thanks and all best,

Deborah Sobol

Artistic and Executive Director

An Afternoon with Julia: Tickets Now Available!

Make your afternoon with “Julia Child” even sweeter – and help keep Rush Hour’s 2011 summer season admission free!

Back by popular demand, Rush Hour is presenting Lee Hoiby’s “Bon Appétit!: How to Make a Deliciously Decadent Chocolate Cake” on Tuesday, July 19.

Purchase a ticket to the 2011 summer fundraising event, “An Afternoon with Julia,” and receive the following bonuses in addition to FREE concert attendance:

• An invitation to attend the dress rehearsal on Monday, July 18 at 5:30 PM
• Prime seating during Rush Hour’s free concert on Tuesday, July 19 at 5:45 PM
• A flash drive of a podcast interview with the artists and a live track of the performance
• An invitation to a private post-concert terrace reception with the artists and Artistic Director Deborah Sobol featuring spectacular city views and food prepared by Chicago celebrity chef Bill Kim of the award-winning Urban Belly and Belly Shack restaurants)

Tickets are $125 per person. Space is limited – click on the “Buy Now” button below to purchase your tickets.

All fundraiser proceeds help ensure Rush Hour’s admission-free policy for the 2011 summer season.

Make Music Chicago 2011 Pictures Now Available!

After a busy and exciting day throughout Chicago with over 450 musicians of varying genres, the first-ever Make Music Chicago 2011 is now in the history books.

We asked for volunteers and attendees to send us pictures during the day; we now have nearly 500 photos! View them through our Flickr account here.

Special Video Message from Renée Fleming

Lyric Opera Creative Consultant Renée Fleming shares her wishes for Make Music Chicago’s inauguration via video message from Paris below:

2011 Summer Season Preview

The first signs of spring in Chicago brings Rush Hour to many people’s minds.

As our season brochure is about to go to print, I thought I’d share a few of our 2011 summer season highlights with you to warm up these still (mostly) chilly days!

Our opening concert on June 7 features the second of
Brahms’ string sextets, Op. 36 (the first of which opened our 2010 season to great acclaim).

Back by popular demand for the third time at Rush Hour, mezzo-soprano Emily Lodine returns in the role of Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s mini-opera “Bon Appétit!: How to Make Julia Child’s Deliciously Decadent Chocolate Cake” on July 19.

CSO Principal Trumpet Chris Martin will be featured on our July 26 program with music both old and new for trumpet, organ, and strings, including music of Henry Purcell and contemporary American composer Eric Ewazen.

And on August 9, the Poetry Foundation will again partner with Rush Hour on a program devoted to poetry from Russia paired with the piano preludes of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Click here to view the full schedule of 2011 summer season concerts.

We look forward to welcoming you at St. James Cathedral beginning June 7!

- Deborah Sobol
Artistic Director