The Chicago Sinfonietta, named the nation's most diverse orchestra, is ready to present its fourth concert of the 2008-2009 season, entitled "Global Voices." The performances, which will take place on Sunday, March 22 and Monday, March 23, will showcase vocalists Kiran Ahluwalia and Carolyn Sebron, along with cimbalom player Alex Udvary, guitarist Rez Abbasi and tabla player Nitin Mitta. Each piece of the program will embody the musical identity of the country from which it originates.
The concerts will kick off with superstar Indian singer Ahluwalia, who will be joined by Abbasi and Mitta. Ahluwalia, who is instrumental in keeping the ancient Persian and Indian vocal tradition of ghazal alive, will sing several pieces, including the American premiere of "Chant of Wind and Thunder" by composer Glenn Bhur.
The Chicago debut of mezzo-soprano Sebron will continue the program with a performance of "El Amor Brujo" by Spainard Manual de Falla, who was the first major composer in his country to incorporate Gitano flamenco elements into an orchestral context. Sebron will sing the impassioned role of "Candelas" in six of the 13 sections from the famed work.
The "Global Voices" concerts will conclude with a performance by cimbalom virtuoso Udvary, who will play the "Hary Janos Suite" by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. The piece, which tells the 19th-century tale of a boastful Austrian army veteran, prominently features the cimbalom, the Hungarian version of a hammered dulcimer.
The Sunday, March 22 concert will take place at 2:30PM at Lund Auditorium at Dominican University (7900 W. Division St., River Forest). Tickets for that concert are $26-$40. The Monday, March 23 performance is set for 7:30PM at Orchestra Hall at the Chicago Symphony Center (220 S. Michigan Ave.). Tickets for the Orchestra Hall performance are $26-$96.
