William Ferris Chorale presents Christmas Concert
The William Ferris Chorale opens its 34th season with their holiday concert, Welcome Yule, at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 690 W. Belmont Ave. Paul French, The Chorale’s newly appointed music director, conducts. Thomas Weisflog is the organist.
The Christmas concert includes traditional and contemporary carols, works of Renaissance masters, and, in honor of his 125th birthday anniversary, a performance of Canadian composer Healy Willan's lyrical cantata "The Mystery of Bethlehem."
The program features works by Renaissance masters Palestrina, de Lasso and Victoria; music by Paul French, Joaquin Nin-Culmel, William Ferris, Benjamin Britten, William Walton and William Mathias, as well as traditional English and Austrian carols.
Tickets at $30, $25 or $20 are available by calling (773) 325-2000. Major credit cards are accepted. There is ample free parking.
Romantic gift: Sweetheart Dinner Dance tickets
Plan to give your sweetheart an elegant gift this season — a romantic evening at the upcoming Sweetheart Dinner Dance. Tickets are available now. This premier event will be held at the Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton St., beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, 2006. The benefit is hosted by the Children’s Medical Research Foundation, Inc. and costs $200 per person.
The evening opens with a champagne cocktail reception, followed by a four-course dinner in the magnificent Gold Coast Room, a silent auction, and dancing to the music of the Michael Lerich Orchestra. Attire is black tie optional, so it's the perfect time for taffeta or tux. Call (708) 784-0631 for reservations and information.
Proceeds from the 11th annual Sweetheart Dinner Dance will support and expand medical research seeking a cure for Sanfilippo Syndrome and other children’s neuro-genetic disorders.
Christmas Market at Luther Memorial
A Christmas Market will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at Luther Memorial Church, 2500 W. Wilson Ave. Enjoy the artists, crafters, brunch, baked goods, fair market coffee, Maya works, and more. For more information, call (773) 539-3018.
Holiday 'Fair Trade' Fair
Attend a Fair Trade Bazaar at Berry Memorial United Methodist Church, 4754 N. Leavitt St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. Browse fair trade coffees, crafts and organic produce. There is a $2 donation at the door. For more information, call the church office at (773) 784-3273.
Nine voices offer sparkling holiday music
Chicago a cappella will ring in the holiday season with a concert of joyous music both familiar and new in “Holidays a cappella.” Spanning seven languages and five continents, Chicago a cappella will lend its trademark blend and intimate musical style to inventive new settings of familiar tunes, soulful Christmas spirituals, festive Chanukah songs, and brilliant works from Sweden, Italy, England, Africa, and South America. Among the highlights will be “Ave Maria” by Venezuelan composer Cesar Carrillo, stunning Renaissance polyphony by Palestrina, and new music by American composer Stephen Paulus.
“Holidays a cappella” will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Michigan Ave. at Delaware Pl. Tickets are $35 preferred/ $28 general/ $22 seniors & students/ group rates available. For tickets, call (773) 755-1628 or visit www.chicagoacappella.org.
Winter Holiday Delights
The Rembrandt Chamber Players will perform Winter Holiday Delights at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Lyon and Healy Hall, 168 N. Ogden Ave. The program features guest soprano Linda Mabbs singing Dominic Argento’s "Six Elizabethan Songs" for soprano, flute, oboe, violin, cello and harpsichord, and Telemann’s "Mourning music for an artistic canary—a tragicomic cantata." The program concludes with selections from Ned Rorem’s "Winter Pages" and Vivaldi’s "Winter" from the "Four Seasons," with featured guest violinist David Perry.
Tickets are $28 general admission and $6 for students. For further information or tickets, please call (312) 360-3145 or visit www.rembrandtchamberplayers.org.
Together for Christmas Relief Fund
The Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave., along with the Together for Christmas Disaster Relief Fund, presents an evening of live entertainment for a good cause.
This benefit will provide funds to the American Red Cross for its Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The event will take place in the Fifth Province lounge from 6 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Attendees are asked to assist the effort with a $10 donation at the door. There will be raffle prizes, a silent auction and a cash bar available.
Entertainment will be provided by the Dooley Brothers, Brogue, Catherine O’Connell, Seamus O’Kane and Jimmy Moore, Paul McHugh, David Dunne and more. For more information on the benefit, call the Center at (773) 282-7035, ext. 10.
Kitchen Table Talk For Seniors
On Wednesday, Dec. 14, get in the holiday spirit with Kitchen Table Talk For Seniors: Catching the Holiday Spirit with Friends and Fun. Listen to music by the North Shore Senior Stompers Dixieland Band and hear suggestions from Demetrius Trakas, MD, board certified in psychiatry, on how to reduce stress and have a happy holiday season. The 20th Police District Senior Program will give a presentation. Prizes and refreshments will be offered. The free event takes place 10 a.m. to noon at Anderson Pavilion Auditorium, 2751 W. Winona Ave. For more information, call (773) 878-8200.
'It’s a Wonderful Life: Live Radio Play'
“It’s a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play” by Frank Capra, adapted for the stage by Joe Landry, will be performed by the American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St., from Nov. 30 through Dec. 31. Adult tickets are $20-$30; children’s are $10.
"It’s A Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play" is faithful to the heartwarming holiday movie. George Bailey, desperate and alone on Christmas Eve, considers suicide. The prayers of his steadfast wife, Mary, and the rest of the citizens of Bedford Falls are answered when he is saved by Clarence, his guardian angel, who shows George what the town of Bedford Falls would be like if he’d never been born. In this radio-style production, six actors at microphones, accompanied by both live sound effects and music, re-create roles from the original film.
The show features James Learning reprising the role of George Bailey and John Mohrlein reprising his many roles, including Mr. Potter, Clarence, and Mr. Gower. John Sterchi on Foley re-creates the many sounds of the movie, including a breaking window at the old Granville house, George jumping in the river, and Uncle Billy crashing into some garbage cans. Enriching the show are actual, live radio-style advertisements featuring ATC sponsors, as well as Christmas caroling with the audience, free cookies, and a live raffle every night. For more information, visit www.atcweb.org or call (773) 929-1031.
The Nutcracker
The Joffrey Ballet’s 50th anniversary season continues with a Chicago family holiday tradition, Robert Joffrey’s production of "The Nutcracker," in 18 performances only at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Pkwy., Dec. 14-28. "The Nutcracker" features the full Joffrey Ballet company, plus the Arpino Apprentices, and a puppeteer—all augmented by five local children’s choruses and more than 120 young dancers ages nine through 14.
For the third season, the Chicago Sinfonietta, under the baton of Dr. Leslie B. Dunner, will provide live musical accompaniment of the beloved Tchaikovsky score.
Robert Joffrey’s uniquely American production of "The Nutcracker," based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s early 19th century German tale, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” premiered in 1987, and has become a Chicago holiday favorite since its first performance here in 1996. Amidst lavish period costumes and spectacular scenery depicting Victorian America in the 1850s, this holiday classic touches the child in everyone as it comes alive with familiar characters including Clara; her mischievous brother, Fritz; the King and Queen of the glorious Land of Snow; the Sugar Plum Fairy; the warring Mice led by the Mouse King; the Nutcracker Prince; and the mysterious Dr. Drosselmeyer and his nephew. Gerald Arpino, founder and artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet, choreographed the Land of the Snow Scene, which closes Act I, and the Waltz of the Flowers in Act II.
The performance schedule for The Joffrey Ballet’s presentation of the Nutcracker, Dec. 14-28, is as follows: Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m.; Thursday Dec. 15, at 7 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 17, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 22, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 23, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 24, at 2 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 27, at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; and Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 2 p.m.
Tickets, priced $15-$95, are now on sale at the Auditorium Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by telephone at (312) 902-1500, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Please note, the Auditorium Theatre does not allow children under six years of age. There will be special $15 college student “rush” tickets available an hour before curtain for any remaining tickets. Students will need to show a current ID.
For more information on the Joffrey season, call (312) 739-0120, ext. 33, or visit www.joffrey.com.
Pottery to jewelry to photography to more
Lee Tracy, Milijana, Elaine Pawlowicz, Becca Numann, Michelle Devine and Cathi Bouzide invite you to experience a day of wandering around in a world of assorted gift items, old and new, created and collected, from here and afar. Find paintings, sketches, pants, tops and skirts, knitwear, vintage glass and figurines, century old prints, cards and stationary, jewelry and ceramics from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Lee Tracy Studio, 855 W. Blackhawk St. For more information, call (312) 266-4955.
Shop, explore, meet artists at Lillstreet
The artists of Lillstreet Studios will be celebrating the holiday season throughout the month of December. On Friday, Dec. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m., the studios will be open to the public along with Saturday, Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The studios are located on the second and third floors of 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.
See over 30 artists making pottery, tiles, jewelry, photography, mixed media works, sculpture and more. This month two artists have set aside exciting pieces for door prizes that will be given away via a drawing entered by all attendees. The drawing will be located by the front stairs on the second floor. Refreshments will also be available in most of the studios. Visitors are welcome to tour the Lillstreet Art Center Gallery and classrooms. For more information, call (773) 710-5149 or visit lillstreetstudios.com.
Family fun at St. Clement Holiday Fair
St. Clement School, 2524 N. Orchard St., will host its annual Holiday Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. The fair will offer the sale of fresh trees and other greens, gift items from local artisans and boutiques, bows and ornaments, and home-baked goods. The theme of this year’s fair is “A Family Christmas.”
Activities designed for kids include photos with Santa, paint-it-yourself pottery and other fun ideas. The school will provide free babysitting at the Kid’s Corner, a safe place for younger children to stay while their parents shop.
Rudolph’s Café offers a selection of fresh food and beverage items. Winners of the event’s raffle will take home a grand prize of $1,000 in cash as well as other prizes. Parking passes will be available curbside on the day of the event to all who attend. All proceeds benefit St. Clement School.
For more information, please contact Pam Brick, publicity co-chair, at (773) 539-7931 (please do not call the school), or visit www.stclementschool.org/greenery.
Multi-cultural Holiday Festa
Enjoy gourmet Italian wine tasting, a sale of Italian gourmet gift baskets, plus the display and sale of semi-precious jewelry created by the international designer Ani Afshar. The fest runs from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at Filippo’s Ristorante, 2211 N. Clybourn Ave.
Charming book of nature photos
Just in time for the holidays, the summer’s surprise hit movie “March of the Penguins” is captured in two volumes—a lavishly illustrated book combining images from the movie with the science behind the emperor penguins' story as well as a children’s book—timed to coincide with the DVD release of the film in November.
“March of the Penguins” (National Geographic Books, $30) and a kids’ book of the same name (National Geographic Books, $5.95) tell the inspiring story of the emperor penguins’ yearly Antarctic odyssey and the long months of endurance, self sacrifice and love as they raise a new generation of chicks.
Everything about the “March of the Penguins” story is extraordinary—the birds themselves, their arduous trek in single file through the world's most forbidding landscape of blue-white ice swept by blizzards and gale force winds, their elaborate courtship, and the almost unimaginable ordeal each penguin couple endures as they safeguard a single, precious egg.
Small print show at CPC
The Chicago Printmakers Collaborative presents the 16th Annual Small Print Show and Holiday Open House, featuring small works-on-paper and artist-made gifts by CPC members, students, and invited guests. The event takes place from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10 and 11. Both festive days are devoted to small art, great food, a bit of eggnog, enormous fun, and big general mayhem! The show will run through Feb. 25, 2006.
The exhibition will highlight a variety of print media (made teeny) by over 40 artists. Artist-made books, cards, boxes, lamps, jewelry, and other cool stuff will also be available. Most of the work will be for sale at less than $100.
The Chicago Printmakers Collaborative is located at 4642 N. Western Ave., just across the street from the Western el stop on the CTA Brown Line. Plenty of parking is available nearby. For more information, call (773) 293-2070, email ink1101@aol.com, or visit www.chicagoprintmakers.com.
The CPC will be open Saturdays, from noon to 5 p.m., and by appointment throughout the month of December, January, and February.
German Language Advent & Christmas Masses
The German community of St. Alphonsus Parish at Lincoln, Southport and Wellington avenues extends a hearty invitation to all to attend the 9:15 a.m. German language liturgies on Sunday, Nov. 27, and again on Sunday, Dec. 18. Rev. Theodore Twarog will be the celebrant, and the Mixed German Chorus will commemorate the season of Advent by singing the beautiful Alpine folklore Mass by Annette Thoma under the direction of Mr. Alfred Schoepko. This is the Mass which includes a Devotional Yodler.
All are also invited to attend the festive German language Christmas Mass on Dec. 25, beginning at 9:15 a.m. The Mass will be concelebrated by Pastor James Hurlbert and Rev. Twarog. The German Choir will sing traditional German and Latin hymns.
St. Alphonsus is undergoing extensive renovation and restoration work. One important project which has already been completed is handicapped accessibility. An elevator is available between the church and the Athenaeum Theatre buildings for people in wheelchairs and those who have problems climbing stairs.
For more information, please call the church office at (773) 525-0709 or Maria Bappert, the German Choir's Public Relations Secretary, at (773) 728-8l27. |
