You may find it hard to believe that Rush Hour is celebrating its ninth season this year. There is a sense of innovation and freshness around the audience, the programming, and the spirit of each concert event. I hear at some point each Tuesday evening, “I didn’t know about this!” and “I’m here for the first time…” This juxtaposition of new faces with familiar is mirrored in RH’s mission to bring the traditional chamber music format to new listeners while introducing all of our listeners to new kinds of chamber music.

For those of you who have been around for awhile—and those who are reading our blog for the first time—we have an invitation. In honor of our 10th anniversary season in 2009, we would like to revisit one of your favorite programs.

Artistic Director Deborah Sobol has compiled a list of five of the most popular programs from Rush Hour’s first nine seasons. Vote below or cast a ballot at the August 12 or 19 concerts. We will announce the audience favorite to be programmed in 2009 at this season’s final concert on August 26.

We look forward to hearing from you!

- Megan Balderston

Third Coast Percussion members Owen Clayton Condon, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore dazzled Rush Hour audience members with a dynamic presentation of contemporary percussion music on Tuesday. Beginning with Nico Muhly’s arresting Ta and Clap, the quartet was joined by Constance Schoepflin, flute, for George Crumb’s An Idyll for the Misbegotten and ended with quartet member David Skidmore’s composition In Contact.

In addition to the unique musical presentation, concertgoers enjoyed refreshments generously provided by Trader Joe’s at the pre-concert reception.

Thank you, Trader Joe’s!

David Skidmore and Owen Clayton Condon rehearse before the concert

Robert Dillon and Peter Martin

The group rehearses framed by the stunning Cathedral interior

Owen Clayton Condon demonstrates different sounds for interested concertgoers

Managing Director Julie Hutchison with volunteer Chuck Hamilton

2008 marks the third summer of our internship program, which gives college students hands-on participation in operations, decision-making, and the continued evolution of Rush Hour in its mission. We are fortunate to have four intelligent and energetic young people with a passion for live music and community building with us this summer, thanks to generous funding from the James S. Kemper Foundation.

I’ve asked them to respond directly to a few questions, and now I’d like to introduce them to you here, via their own words and thoughts.

Nick Feder, rising sophomore at Sarah Lawrence College
Ian Ford, rising senior at the University of Chicago
Louise Geraghty, rising senior at Connecticut College
Megan Kingsbury, rising sophomore at the University of Chicago

(L to R) Louise Geraghty, Megan Kingsbury, Ian Ford, and Nick Feder

On any given RH work day, what is someone most likely to find you doing?

Nick: I’m generally sitting in front of my computer working on the website, editing podcasts, editing photos from the concerts, and making posters. And eating.

Ian: I mainly help out with the financial aspect of Rush Hour. The organization has many expenses and revenues, and part of my job is to help keep track of them all. I track all of our wonderful donors, and make sure to help thank them at the end of the process (Because it can’t be said enough: Thank You!) On concert days, you probably won’t find me at the reception with the other interns, because I’m “hiding” in the back making sure the artists have everything they need.

Louise: I am most likely engaged in a battle with Microsoft Word or e-mailing someone about information for the program.

Megan: Well, I’m rarely sitting at the intern round table! I’m usually out and about-spreading the word about Rush Hour with brochures, shopping for supplies or meeting with sponsors and volunteers.

What are your other hobbies and interests?

Ian: I have been playing music for most of my life, and still find time to practice my two instruments, bass and piano. I also play chess and do a lot of biking. I like the bike more than the CTA, so on most mornings you can find me on the lake path heading out for another day at Rush Hour.

Louise: I like clothes, singing, playing violin, and ethnomusicology.

Megan: I’m always practicing and performing with “Off-Off Campus,” an improv and sketch comedy group. I also enjoy dancing, running and cupcakes.

Nick: I suppose my biggest hobby and interest is food. (Ask anyone in the office- they can attest to that.) During the summer, my TV (among other things) becomes my main hobby and interest. During the school year, I’m the musical director of Sarah Lawrence’s all-male a cappella group, “Vocal Minority.”

What is your favorite thing about Rush Hour?

Louise: The music! I love that all of my work goes toward hearing a great concert every Tuesday.

Megan: I love standing at the back of St. James during a concert and watching the audience react to the music-some people bob their heads with the beat, some people have their eyes closed and these perfectly serene smiles on their faces-each person becomes involved with the music in their own way, which is great to witness.

Nick: My favorite and, in my mind, the most pervasive aspect of RH is its accessibility-even in the office! The senior staff has included the interns in a lot of the decision making for this season. To have that kind of access, even as an intern, is really exciting and challenging.

Ian: I have been very impressed by the music. Before I applied, I had no idea it would be this good. Rush Hour brings in world-class musicians on a weekly basis, for free! This is something I am usually happy to pay good money for. This organization is truly committed to an extremely high standard-only the best.

Why did you get involved with Rush Hour?

Megan: Rush Hour seemed like the perfect way to gain hands-on experience with an arts organization-and it really is!

Louise: Rush Hour’s approach to the concert experience in emphasizing their accessibility seemed quite unique and something in which I would like to partake.

Ian: A job in the music world was too good to turn down. I’m a music lover, and the opportunity to explore this as a possible career path was very exciting. When I interviewed with Rush Hour in April, and I easily recognized the worth of the organization. They do an amazing job of making great music accessible to all, in a day and age when it really isn’t.

Nick: I’ve never been on the administrative side of an organization like this. Having been to many classical concert series around the city, I was only granted access to the performance and nothing else. I was really interested in how things worked and what it took to put on a series of this kind.

Why is classical music important to you, and why do you think it is important for people to have access to it?

Ian: I grew up playing classical music; it is a part of me. More than that, though, classical music is an important piece of musical history and culture. We should all listen to and even study the works of the great geniuses in music, and many of these greats came from the era of “classical” music.

Nick: Classical music stimulates the brain in a very specific way that many people are not used to. It’s an experience that many ought to have but don’t either because it’s not immediately accessible to them or because it often carries the notion of being “intimidating.” Accessibility is important because the experience can change those previously conceived ideals of what classical music is all about. So in that sense, it’s a two-way street: the performers have to make it accessible and those listening should be open to a new experience.

Megan: When I think of my earliest exposure to classical music, I think of Wagner and Looney Tunes and how perfectly the music fit to the cartoon struggles. With further access to the music and educational resources, people can discover that maybe Wagner’s feelings and experiences may not be so far from Bugs Bunny’s. Classical music can communicate shared emotions without the frames of a language or time period; it ties us all together.

Louise: Classical music is important to me because I really like listening to it and playing it. It’s important that everyone should be able to access it simply because I think it’s great music: something that everyone can enjoy if they are given a way to listen.

What’s next?

Nick: I was just writing a friend from school saying, “The future is so sublime!” I can’t really tell you what’s next but I can tell you music will, of course, be a part of it. I’m chuggin’ along just fine. So, we’ll see!

Megan: I’ll be starting my second year at the University of Chicago…so my future plans include studying.

Ian: In the future, I hope to graduate from college. Other than that, my only real long-term goal is to someday have enough money saved to buy a big, beautiful Steinway piano.

Louise: I am entering my senior year at Connecticut College, where I will (hopefully) graduate in May with a double major in music (concentration in ethnomusicology) and art history. I am currently investigating funds and programs to travel after graduation to do research on hip-hop and Islam.

We are currently searching for interns for fall 2008, winter/spring 2009, and summer 2009. If you are interested with an internship with Rush Hour, please contact me for more information at julie@rushhour.org or 773.338.9480.

- Julie Hutchison

This week, Rush Hour was delighted to welcome Yang Wei, pipa, Brant Taylor, cello, and Artistic Director Deborah Sobol, piano, for their cross-cultural exploration of the works of European and Chinese composers. This “outside the box” program featured unique instrumentation in works of Bach, Beethoven, and Dvorak, as well as 2 pieces from or inspired by the Eastern tradition.

Audience members extended their experience of Chinese culture in the pre-concert reception with delicious egg-custard buns from Chiu Quon Bakery located at 1127 W. Argyle Street in Chicago.

We would like to thank the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago for their partial sponsorship of Tuesday’s performance.

Consul Xinjie Li, Yang Wei, Executive Director Megan Balderston, Artistic Director Deborah Sobol, Consul Zongguang Guo, and Consul Haiquan Yang

Yang Wei, Brant Taylor, and Deborah Sobol in rehearsal

Artistic Director Deborah Sobol smiles with Advisory Committee member Margaret Bergan Davis and Drew Davis after the concert

Yang Wei

I had a conversation with a colleague from our ‘08 artist roster last week in which he remarked how Rush Hour is one of the few musical organizations he plays with that is willing to experiment with projects a little “outside the box.” Tuesday’s program, an East-West fusion, might fall into that category. After he played a traditional solo program for pipa with us last year, Yang Wei expressed an interest in – no, a fervor for – collaborating in chamber music from the Western canon. He, Brant Taylor and I spent some time over the winter months thinking about what might work for our respective instruments together.

Of course, J.S. Bach came to mind immediately. His music has been transcribed for so many combinations that an arrangement of the Two Part Invention No. 6 (written originally for Bach’s keyboard students) for cello and pipa is a natural. My thoughts then turned to Beethoven’s Op. 11 piano trio – written originally for clarinet, cello and piano and arranged (by Beethoven himself) for violin, cello and piano. Here we have three “stringed” instruments: one is plucked to make sound (the pipa), another’s strings (the cello) are bowed (and plucked on occasion). The third has the most strings, and its sound is made by a hammer’s striking from deep inside the case! Each brings its unique timbre to the trio and contributes to an overall unified sound. Beethoven was riding the crest of a celebrated career as a piano virtuoso when this piece was written, and his compositional work was supported by royalty. The piano itself was evolving as an instrument – from the “fortepiano” (a descendent of the Baroque harpsichord) to the very beginnings of the modern grand piano we know today. The cello remained the same from then to now. And the pipa was likely entertaining and soothing members of the Emperor’s court in China, far away from Vienna, the 19th century capital of European music.

One might find it curious or remarkable to hear this combination of instruments. For me, it affirms once again the power of music to transcend time and geography. And in the end, Beethoven’s music continues to communicate the deeply human qualities each of us can identify with.

It has been a pleasure for Brant and me to work with Yang Wei and to witness his joy at adding this music to his vast repertoire. Here are a few of his own thoughts:

“Beethoven wrote this piece [Piano Trio No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 11] about 200 years ago. At that time, the pipa had already been developed in the ancient world, and had existed in its present form in China. At the time that Beethoven wrote and developed his music, travel and commerce were limited in the western parts of Europe, and it is somewhat doubtful if the great composer himself had seen or was familiar with the pipa. 200 years later, I interpret his moving piece by playing it on my pipa with piano and cello. The piano and the cello give the music its own unique and emotional depth, complementing the pipa. The wonderful, delicate cascading effect of the pipa adds to the musical enhancement of the melodies. If Beethoven ever knew about this, I believe he would have been as happy and excited about this beautiful combination as I am now!”

- Deborah Sobol

This week, we invited the Rush Hour audience to join acclaimed musicians Mathieu Dufour, flute, Karina Canellakis, violin, Yukiko Ogura, viola, and Kenneth Olsen, cello, for a stunning performance of chamber music from the Classical period in Eighteenth Century Virtuosity: Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn.

Executive Director Megan Balderston prefaced the concert with a thank you to the Rush Hour volunteers who help “put together” the small details that make our weekly series unique, inviting new audience members to contribute their efforts to future performances. If you’re interested in volunteering with us, please email us at info@rushhour.org, call us at 773.338.9480, or talk with us at an upcoming concert.

Rush Hour would also like to thank the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation for their generous partial sponsorship of Tuesday’s concert event.

Audience members enjoy the beautiful weather outside the Cathedral

Mathieu Dufour, Karina Canellakis, Yukiko Ogura, and Kenneth Olsen rehearse before the audience's arrival

Executive Director Megan Balderston, Kylie Weller, and Jerry Thomas Azhakathu smile during the pre-concert reception

Violist Yukiko Ogura in rehearsal

Rush Hour prides itself on presenting the traditional art form of chamber music in innovative ways. One thing all performances have in common is the level of detail that goes into producing them. Stephen Sondheim’s song, “Putting It Together,” explains this more eloquently than I could. Each concert event is actually a series of decisions, a dance of organization, and coordination of elements familiar and unfamiliar. When are the artists arriving? Is the wine chilled? Where is my “executive director” nametag? Are the programs ready to go? Are there enough chairs? The questions are the same, and different every week depending on the needs of that particular concert.

Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art

Executing the details that must happen each week works largely because of our wonderful volunteers. The smiling people you see at the reception, distributing programs, plating food, and answering questions are vital members of the Rush Hour team.

Every moment makes a contribution,
Every little detail plays a part.

This week I am asking you to consider all of the “moving” parts that make up the Rush Hour whole. You are reading your program, sipping your wine, and chatting with artists and audience members because the detail work is done. If you’d like to help put it together by volunteering your time and talents, please speak to an usher or RH staff member at Tuesday’s concert, email us at info@rushhour.org, or call us at 773-338-9480.

Having just a vision’s no solution,
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together, that’s what counts!

Many thanks to the wonderful volunteers who help Rush Hour “put it together” every week!

The art of making art
Is putting it together, bit by bit.

- Megan Balderston

This Tuesday, Rush Hour was delighted to welcome distinguished performers Sandra Morgan, flute, Robert Morgan, oboe, and David Schrader, harpsichord, in their striking renderings of the works of J.S. and C.P.E. Bach. Beginning with the elegantly tempered Sonata in G Minor by Johann Sebastian and ending with the lively Sonata in G Major by Carl Philipp Emmanuel, the Rush Hour audience observed the similarities and differences of the works of father and son.

The Rush Hour audience was able to take these observations home with them today In-A-Flash. In only a few moments following the performance, dozens of concertgoers held the Rush Hour experience in the palms of their hands in a flash drive loaded with the concert and an exclusive pre-concert interview with the performers and Artistic Director Deborah Sobol.

Oboist Robert Morgan and flutist Sandra Morgan greet audience members at the pre-concert reception

Oboist Robert Morgan and harpsichordist David Schrader rehearse before their performance

Artistic Director Deborah Sobol smiles with Rush Hour supporters Janet and Emory Williams before Tuesday’s performance

Nearly 450 music lovers filled the Cathedral to hear Tuesday’s performance

Audience members gather around the In-A-Flash table for a flash drive loaded with the concert and an interview with the performers

This week, Rush Hour audiences joined acclaimed clarinetist Larry Combs and the finalists of the Chicago Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition in an exercise on interpretation in Impromptu Interplay: Improvisations on Poetry. The reciters read the works of a variety of noted poets including Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, W.H. Auden, and Pablo Neruda while Combs improvised a spontaneous musical accompaniment to the readings.

We would like to express our appreciation to the Poetry Foundation for making this unique collaboration possible and inviting Rush Hour audiences to experience an innovative approach to hearing classic poetry.

The performers sit with Stephen Young of the Poetry Foundation and Artistic Director Deborah Sobol in the recording of Rush Hour Conversations.

Tasty refreshments and Poetry Out Loud magnets await the audience members’ arrival

Artistic Director Deborah Sobol and reciter Ariela Rotenberg smile after the performance

Performers Ariela Rotenberg, Heidy Alvarado, Larry Combs, Iyeokan Ativie, Kimmy Steele, and Mark Schmidt gather after the performance

Tuesday marks the third year RH has partnered with the Poetry Foundation in combining words with music. We have had a history together of what I might call “experimental collaborations.” For the last two years, the Poetry Foundation commissioned poets to write for J.S. Bach’s Two Part Inventions and Three Part Inventions for keyboard. This year, the Poetry Foundation’s Stephen Young and I have created another interplay of disciplines: talented young people (all winners in the Chicago region of the Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest) reciting poems of their choice, and world-renowned clarinetist and veteran artist Larry Combs improvising music to their words.

What to listen for? You will hear a “single word” strung together with other “single words” to make a poem, create a feeling, an experience, a mantra. And, you will hear a “single note,” gradually added to other “single notes” to form “music” – a feeling, experience or statement in sound. Together, they will enhance each other and take the individual experience to another level of richness and depth.

I am delighted to welcome these multi-talented and dynamic students to Rush Hour. Larry Combs and I have collaborated on a wide variety of projects over the last twenty-five years. He is a remarkably versatile artist, at home equally on the symphony stage, in chamber music performances and with jazz groups. Not surprisingly, he welcomed the challenge of today’s new direction in RH’s “words-and-music” offerings. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“The program of poetry for RH will be a new experience for me, not that I haven’t improvised, as in the jazz sense, but in matching totally improvised music to the spoken word. I would emphasize that this is not jazz, although it could take on a jazz-like flavor. It will be a big challenge!”

We hope you enjoy the exchange of ideas offered in this year’s partnership.

- Deborah Sobol