Student Ambassadors curate a back-to-school playlist of classical faves

Classes are back in swing, and so CSO Student Ambassadors welcome students with a playlist of their favorite music for studying and relaxing.

Melynna Hakim
DePaul, class of 2026

Sensemayá by Revueltas — I’m a Mexican national and have grown up exposed to classical music due to my mother’s passion for the arts. Silvestre Revueltas is also from Durango, Mexico, like myself.

Leena Sfar  
University of Chicago, class of 2026

“Méditation” from Thais by Jules Massenet — I used to have an old friend who grew up in the same piano studio as me, David Moore. He was an exceptionally exemplary musician, a real prodigy. His favorite piece to play was the piano rendition of this piece. He tragically died of sudden heart failure at 16 years old, weeks short of graduating early to attend college on a full-ride. His dream was to open a music school in our hometown of Nicholasville, Kentucky, to help the underprivileged. This piece comforts me with his memory.

Faith Do  
Northwestern University, 2026

Un Sospiro by Liszt — it was the piece that inspired me to continue playing piano, and eventually led to me being able to play another piece, Consolation No. 3 from Liszt, at Carnegie Hall.

Nathan Manna  
SAIC, class of 2023

I study to a variety of music. For me, the best music to study to is something with a rhythm and is somewhat repetitive. I’m the type of person to listen to a single song on repeat for several hours and get lost in the close listening as my brain multi-tasks. For that, I tend to turn to Philip Glass and this 1984 recording of Einstein on the Beach. However, I have also put the Rautavaara Cantus Articus into my rotation, which I first heard at the CSO last season and immediately fell in love with.

Sarah Hendry  
DePaul University, class of 2026

The third movement of Dvorak’s New World Symphony — it provides such pastoral instrumentals that I can almost visualize the countryside. It was part of my first trip to the CSO last year and the movement where Dvorak became my favorite composer.

Minjung Kim  
Northwestern, class of 2027

Fantaisie impromptu by Chopin — this beautiful piano piece makes me feel like I am being lifted away into the sky or feeling the most refreshing rain after a hot sunny day. The octaves/chromatic section (second theme) in particular jumps out to me — the way I hear this part is that the lower octave represents the grounding to reality, whereas the upper octave represents longing for freedom. Over all, this is an excellent piece that makes you feel like you are drifting into a magical place.

Yufei Xiong 
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, class of 2024

El Flete by d’Arienzo — I like dancing to Argentine tango, and this is the music that I have been practicing with most recently.

Maya Atassi  
University of Chicago, class of 2027

My favorite piece of classical music to study or relax to would be Chopin Polonaise No. 6 in A-Flat Major (Heroic). I find that it’s difficult to study or relax when I’m listening to symphonies because I focus too much on the music. It’s hard to study listening to Shostakovich. but Chopin has the perfect balance of easy, joyful listening with just the right amount of attention to the music. Heroic is the kind of piece that brings a smile to my face every time I listen to it, and I think many would agree.

Matthew Raroque  
University of Chicago, class of 2024

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, specifically, the third movement — it was the first big orchestral piece I was a part of in high school, and it will always have a place in my heart.

Katelin Reinert  
Columbia College Chicago, class of 2025  

My favorite piece of classical music to relax to is Debussy’s “The Little Shepherd” from Children’s Corner. Though it is originally a piano solo, my favorite arrangement is for flute and harp by Georges Lambert and Jung Wha Lee. I remember I came across it on the radio while I was looking for a song to play in my senior flute recital. It is a delightful piece with a captivating rhythm and melodic line that leaves room for interpretation by the soloist.

Michael McCaffrey  
Lane Tech High School, class of 2025  

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Yuja Wang with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra) — I love the themes from movements 1 and 3, and this recording is the best version I have ever heard. 

Jacob H. Thomas  
Illinois Institute of Technology, 2026  

If I must choose which to study to, then Bach’s Cello Suites would have to be my choice, as they catalyzed my interest in classical music.