March 30, 2006

Harmonic Convergence continues

The “Harmonic Convergence: From Bach to Hip-Hop,” a 12-day School of Music-sponsored festival featuring an array of musicians runs through April 8.

At 7:30 p.m. tonight (March 30), guitarist Sharon Isbin will join innovative singer-songwriter legend Patty Larkin and 25-year-old guitar revolutionary Kaki King for a concert of solos, duets and trios. All three are members of “La Guitara,” a unique artistic collaboration that explores and celebrates the contributions of women to the evolution of modern guitar playing.

Renowned performers and instrument makers Howard Levy, Joe Filisko and Austria’s Franz Chmel will present a free and public harmonica master class at 4 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Regenstein Recital Hall.

This exploration of harmonica styles and historical overview precedes their “Harmonica Conver-gence” performance at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, a 40-piece saxophone orchestra including School of Music faculty, students and alumni will perform a program celebrating the saxophone’s 165th birthday.

The festival continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at Pick-Staiger with a concert titled “24 Bits: Hip-Hop Studies and Études, Book 1,” featuring pioneering composer and performer DBR (Daniel Bernard Roumain). To perform his hip-hop études, one in each key, DBR will be joined by The Mission, eight cutting-edge musicians from diverse musical backgrounds.

Seven-time Grammy Award-winning drummer Paul Wertico will lead the Chicago Percussion All-Stars, an ensemble of master percussionists from Brazil, India and Chicago, in an adventurous and diverse celebration of rhythm and sound. Wertico will be joined by Chicago guitarist John Moulder and bassist Brian Peters; Brazilian percussionist Dedé Sampaio; world-renowned Indian tabla master Kalyan Pathak; and Chicago Symphony Orchestra vibraphonist and percussionist Ed Harrison at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 7, at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

A one-hour lecture by Dana Kimble, a Clair Musser historian, at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 8, in the Pick-Staiger Rehearsal Room, will be followed by a 10:30 a.m. Percussion Master Class conducted by marimba and percussion virtuosi Leigh Howard Stevens, Gordon Stout, She-e Wu and Bob Becker.

The festival concludes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, with a program titled “Clair Musser’s Legendary 1933 Chicago World’s Fair Marimba Orchestra Extravaganza,” to be held in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

The Harmonic Convergence Festival program will feature a screening of vintage Clair Musser film footage and performances of Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” music from Bizet’s “Carmen,” Tchaikovsky’s Andante from the Fifth Symphony and Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

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To order tickets, call (847) 467-4000. For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 491-5441. Program information and tickets also are available at www.pickstaiger.com.