Lively and FUN group of diverse musicians with a wonderful 5 year new conductor Mei-Ann Chen who has enough energy for everyone and then some MORE.
On Halloween night we attended the Dia de los Muertos,The Dance of Life and Death, a wonderful blend of classical music, film clips, costumes and face painting while honoring those who have gone before us. Very wild for 220 S. Michigan.
BONUS Google Day of the Dead archives
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/project/dia-de-muertos
I have only seen the Chicago Sinfonietta's performances at the CSO but they also have their own hall in Naperville.
The program from the 10/31 program is below. Seems like a happy partnership with the CSO staff who were face painting and having a wonderful time themselves. There are often 20% coupons for the half a dozen programs a year they do in the READER. Seats are significantly cheaper than a typical CSO and more sparsely attended, for example the gallery was closed but you could get a lower balcony seat for the same price as the upper Gallery at around $32. Here's their 2016-7 program, Try One, not your usual night out at the symphony.
http://www.chicagosinfonietta.org/1617season/
Here's an excerpt from the recent Day of the Dead program. Carlos Rafael Rivera was present and took a bow for both his pieces.
Dia de los Muertos, The Dance of Life and Death
CONDUCTOR:
Mei-Ann Chen
GUEST ARTISTS:
Chicago Film Archives
PROGRAM
Golijov Last Round
Beethoven Coriolan
Mussorgsky Night On Bald Mountain
Rivera Popol-Vuh*
Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre
Rivera PizziCuban Polka*
Galindo Sones de Mariachi
*Chicago premiere read more