The Flat Cats, based in Chicago, IL, play a range of vintage and modern music rooted in the hottest swinging jazz and blues, contemporary classics, and timeless standards. Whether you choose to listen, tap your foot, or cut a rug on the dance floor, you are sure to be entertained! The group is comprised of six talented musicians with years of performing, arranging, and composing experience.

In 2019, Lyric's larger-than-life new production and company premiere of West Side Story took Chicago by storm with sold-out performances. With the lush sound of the Lyric Orchestra playing the original orchestrations and a cast that was called "expansive" by the Chicago Tribune, seeing a Broadway classic this way is a rare treat. In 2023, Leonard Bernstein's music and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics will once again transplant Romeo and Juliet to the backstreets of New York City in this timeless Broadway musical masterpiece. Tony and Maria are wide-eyed teenagers from two communities in conflict, who fall in love. As their friends and family battle with one another, Tony and Maria long for "a place for us...somewhere." Their songs illuminate every scene and permeate our culture, from the romance of "Maria" and "Tonight" to the exuberance of "America" and the humor of "Gee, Officer Krupke." Add to that the bold, sexy, iconic choreography of Jerome Robbins that smolders and sizzles with energy, and you have a timeless musical theater experience you'll never forget. Please note, West Side Story will not have an at-home streaming option.

Mahler “peacefully bids farewell to the world” is how the composer’s protégé Bruno Walter described the finale to his Ninth Symphony. This valedictory score contains the many hallmarks of Mahler’s symphonies — their grand scale, profound emotions and folk dance themes — capped by an ethereal finale that achieves a sense of transcendent rapture.

Presented by Chicago Tap Theatre Tap dance lies at the intersection of dance and music; tap dancers are both dancers and musicians simultaneously. What you see is what you hear, what you hear is what you see. Instead of just dancing to music, tap requires that you also become the music – opening the door to deeper expression, connection, and exploration. Directed by Sterling Harris, Synesthete explores the inherently cross-sensory nature of tap dance. A synesthete is a person whose sensory perceptions are intertwined. What would usually stimulate one sense instead stimulates multiple. Imagine being able to see music, feel the sensation of a touch when you hear a specific note, or even taste words. Positioning tap dance as the inducer, or trigger experience, Synesthete will invite audiences into a world that is a blend of music, dance, motion, emotion, sensation, and perception. Chicago Tap Theatre's mission is to share the creativity, history, and joy of tap dance. If you would otherwise not be able to attend this show due to economic need, email jyonally@chicagotaptheatre.com to inquire about donated tickets. If you would like to donate to support this effort as well as CTT's mission, please do so here. VIP Tickets include early entrance 30 mins before showtime to view the dancers do a pre-show jam, one drink ticket, and front row seating. Premium Tickets include reserved seating in the first 3 rows. The Den Theatre is pleased to host Chicago Tap Theatre which is producing Synesthete, performing live shows June 8-11, 2023 at 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at thedentheatre.com or by calling (773) 697-3830.

Rest. Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal is a site-responsive dance ritual created by Founder and Artistic Director Vershawn Sanders-Ward and Company in collaboration with composer/music director avery r. young, filmmaker Jovan Landry, and Kelley KFLEYE Moseley and Evelyn Danner. This new work was developed in relation to the urban farm, ART ON THE FARM in GRANT PARK, a space stewarded and visually designed by Erika Allen and Urban Growers Collective. Sanders-Ward visions this work as "a practice, a process, an uncovering of the beautiful labor of bringing us ALL home to land, reclaiming ancestral cultural traditions, technologies, and tools that can lead to individual and collective healing." We invite you to witness this righteous journey!

“Geof Bradfield has drawn plenty of praise for his work as a reed soloist, and it’s all deserved… But in the last few years, Bradfield has made just as much impact with his precise and colorful writing, in compositions that evoke a vivid sense of place through the same mixture of detail and sweep.” Neil Tesser Geof Bradfield’s work as a composer and performer on saxophones and clarinets embraces intersections of modern jazz and other streams of African Diaspora music, drawing inspiration from Charlie Parker, Melba Liston, Lead Belly, Shona mbira music, and Gullah spirituals. Born in Houston, TX, Bradfield has performed throughout North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, sharing the stage with artists such as Randy Weston, Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Brian Blade, Anna Webber, Orrin Evans, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, and Ryan Cohan. His work is featured on 50+ CDs including eight albums as a leader that have garnered critical accolades from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and NPR. Nate Chinen describes his Yes, and…Music for Nine Improvisers (Delmark Records) as “an album of chamber-esque color and oft-surprising texture, because Bradfield is the sort of composer who creates room for departure.” He has received grants and awards from Chamber Music America, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, DCASE, Illinois Arts Council, and the Mellon Foundation. The Downbeat Critics Poll has named him a Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist and Arranger multiple years. A committed educator, Bradfield is Professor of Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University and has given master classes and lectures at the Brubeck Institute, the Manhattan School of Music, the Jazz Education Network conference, and numerous other national and international venues.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Dwayne’s and Dwight’s passion for jazz started at an early age. The brothers grew up listening to the sounds of great jazz artists such as Earl “Fatha” Hines, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Oliver Nelson and their father Lloyd Smith, who was a well-known businessman and a sideman in Basie’s and Ellington’s orchestras. Influenced by famous musicians, and family friends, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, by age 14 the twins were performing professionally as The Bosman Twins. Over the years, The Bosman Twins have shared their love of music and the stage with entertainment legends Freddie Cole, Branford Marsalis, Fontella Bass, Roy Ayers, David Peaston and the late trumpeter, Lester Bowie. Whether performing with their own band or accompanying other notable jazz professionals, their unique style and renditions of jazz, rhythm and blues, funk and gospel have earned them national and international acclaim. In April of 2015, The “Legendary” Bosman Twins released their first album of original music, entitled “When Lions Roar” and from the album “Many Moons,” a cinematic jazz video was released. During their inaugural CD release weekend, The Bosman Twins sold out all 4 shows at The Ferring Jazz Bistro, inside the Harold and Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz. The Bosman Twins are extremely proud and grateful for awards and recognitions received and opportunities provided to share their music with the rest of the world. Most recently, they received three distinguished awards. In January 2016. The Bosman Twins received the prestigious Excellence in the Arts from the St. Louis Arts and Education Council, and in November of 2015, they were inducted into the St. Louis Jazz Hall of Fame and received the George Smith Diversity Award from the Musicians’ Association of St. Louis Local 2-187. In 2009 The Bosman Twins received the Legend Award from the St. Louis Argus Foundation and were recognized by the St. Louis City Chapter of the NAACP as being among the “100 Most Inspiring St. Louisians”. In May of 2010, The Bosman Twins traveled to Stuggart, Germany with City of St. Louis Mayor, Francis Slay and delegation, where they opened The American Days Festival at the U.S. Consulate General performing for DPO Doria Rosen and other illustrious guests. These distinguished gentlemen of jazz are composers, arrangers, recording and performing artists who share in the legacy and tradition of great jazz through education, creativity and innovation. The Bosman Twins are true ambassadors of music. www.thebosmantwins.com

Witness the combustible fusion of jazz music and dance for one night only with Chicago’s rising star choreographer, Kia S. Smith, and saxophonist Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few. Making an Auditorium Theatre debut, South Chicago Dance Theatre presents the World Premiere of Memoirs of Jazz In The Alley, in which Smith celebrates the legacy of her father, the renowned saxophonist Jimmy Ellis.

The 18-piece Outcast Jazz Band have been swinging their way through some of the most prestigious ballrooms and events in the Chicagoland area for over 40 years. Their love of the classic big band sounds of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and more, have garnered them a loyal fan base of listeners and swing dancers, and regular performance dates across Chicagoland. The band features only the finest Big Band dance instrumental songs, as well as the dual vocal punch of siblings Vince and Claudia Clark. Vince brings his own unique vocal interpretations to classics from Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, Joe Williams, Frank Sinatra and more; while Claudia’s powerful vocals breathe new life info great standards from Peggy Lee, Diann Schuur and others.

Program Aaron Copland: An Outdoor Overture Dr. Henry Panion III: Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin and Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 (“Reformation”)

ORiHANA is a modern J-POP / Anime music project reimagining iconic songs from Japanese anime, tv series and movies. Founded by award-winning international musicians, violinist Olya Prohorova and pianist Hana Fujisaki, ORiHANA creates unique arrangements of J-pop and anime songs, elevating them through the two musicians’ classical and jazz music backgrounds. ORiHANA brings a fresh spin on music from anime like Bleach, Elfen Lied, Fruits Basket, Honey and Clover among many others, covering songs by celebrated musicians like Kenshi Yonezu, Mika Nakashima, Radwimps, Angela Aki, Suneohair and others. ORiHANA has been a regular entertainer at Japanese Culture events in the Midwest. Their work and upcoming performance dates can be seen on the ORiHANA YouTube Channel, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. About the musicians Violinist Olya Prohorova is a highly versatile musician enjoying a career in multiple music genres - from classical, to rock, country and bluegrass. Ms. Prohorova performed internationally as a classical musician in Italy, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Japan, United States and Canada, winning awards at violin and chamber music competitions, as well as playing with prominent artists like Augustin Dumay, Tessa Lark, Anna Tifu, Utto Ughi and others. She performed at Tiny Desk Concert series and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC with Grammy-winning artist PJ Morton, and collaborated as a studio musician with celebrated artists like Kirk Franklin, John Legend, Chronixx, etc. In 2021, with her friend Hana Fujisaki, she started ORiHANA, a project to reimagine Japanese pop music. Hana Fujisaki is one of the most sought-after Chicago-based pianist, organist, composer and music educator. She earned awards at multiple music competitions as an organist and composer, such as Yamaha Electone Festival, Luminarts Jazz Competition, etc. Hana studied organ at Yamaha Music School in Tokyo, Japan, and later went on to pursue her music career in Chicago. She received her BM’ from Chicago College of Performing Arts, where she studied jazz with Jim Trompeter, Scott Mason and Paul Wertico, and a MM’ from Northwestern University, where she studied with Jeremy Kahn and Victor Goines. Aside from her US academic degrees, Hana holds a Yamaha teaching certificate and currently teaches jazz, classical piano and directs a choir at Harold Washington College. As a performer she plays with a variety of cultural music projects including Chicago Samba, soul musician Brandon James, Los Perros Cubanos, Forever Frida project, and most recently, ORiHANA. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbx_ZQTiqNlEqPKbU_GSl2g https://www.instagram.com/orihana_music https://www.facebook.com/orihana.music/

Alexandros Pirillis is a violinist of 42 years and composer of contemporary classical music. Pirillis also has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California State University Long Beach. Pirillis believes that his expertise in geometry and in building parts in computer aided design software (CAD) contributes to his ability to compose multi-layered pieces. Pirillis has composed three albums and continues to compose amazing instrumental music. At the age of 16, Pirillis taught himself intricate folk music from Moldavia by ear. This is something that Pirillis is very grateful for being exposed to. Pirillis is performing with his ensemble, VIOCELLO, music mostly from his third album, “Renaissance”. For his performances, Pirillis plays violin, cello, piano, and bells. His ensemble members are performing on violin, cello, bass, and bells. Pirillis’ music is captivating, haunting, magical, and emotional. His music can be found on iTunes and Spotify. Performing with Pirillis are: Jinty McTavish, Genevieve Tabby, and Andrew Vogt, all accomplished and gifted instrumentalists. “If I were to choose between designing a car or composing a beautiful quartet, I choose the latter - it would last an eternity and fill hearts forever.” “The main factor in my composing is the love in my heart, filled by my wonderful wife Beti.”