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The CSO African American Network (AAN) announces its season of programming, connecting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) with Chicago’s diverse communities by highlighting Black composers, conductors and artists. During the 2024/25 Season at Symphony Center, the CSO African American Network holds its largest season ever, featuring 13 concerts in its subscription series. In addition, the group once again hosts pre- and postconcert networking events alongside a selection of six of those concerts.
A liaison and volunteer group of active members, the CSO African American Network was established in 2016. The group encourages everyone to discover and experience the timeless beauty of music at concerts, receptions and educational events. Membership to the AAN is free and open to all. Sign up now at cso.org/AAN.
Select concerts in the AAN season include pre- or postconcert celebrations, artist meet-and-greets and networking events. The AAN season subscription package is available, allowing audiences to choose three or more AAN season concerts to secure the best seats now at special AAN pricing. More information available at cso.org.
Alsop & Vondráček (October 10-11)
*AAN event on October 10
Join AAN members at an exclusive reception with composer James Lee III, featuring a performance of his evocative String Quartet No. 3 (Untranslatable) by musicians from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The evening’s CSO concert is led by conductor Marin Alsop and includes James Lee III’s captivating work Chuphshah! Harriet’s Drive to Canaan, inspired by the life of Harriet Tubman.
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters: James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin (November 22)
Pianist and composer Jason Moran shares his multimedia tribute to James Reese Europe. A bandleader, composer, organizer for Black musicians and World War I hero, Europe helped set the groundwork for jazz in the early 20th century.
Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR): Voices of Migration & Innovation (November 24)
*AAN event
From the soul-stirring melodies of String Quartet No. 5 — dedicated to the memory of Rosa Parks and to courageous women everywhere — to a world premiere commissioned by the CSO, DBR’s evocative compositions represent a showcase of innovation.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (January 24)
The legendary Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra consists of 15 of the world’s finest ensemble players, arrangers and soloists and is led by celebrated trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Combining big band and small ensemble arrangements, the program honors legends like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams.
Cécile McLorin Salvant (February 21)
Revealing the connections among vaudeville, blues, jazz, Baroque and traditional folk music, singer and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant bridges the gap between our musical past and contemporary world.
Sphinx Virtuosi (February 25)
*AAN event
The trailblazing 18-member string orchestra, comprised of outstanding Black and Latino musicians from around the country, performs diverse masterworks by Teresa Carreño and Grammy Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery.
Hiromi’s Sonicwonder / Brandee Younger Trio (April 4)
Harpist Brandee Younger and her trio open the program, paying homage to jazz harp pioneers Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Following the trio, Japanese pianist and composer Hiromi explores the avant-garde worlds of video-game soundtracks and pioneering jazz fusion albums.
CSO x The Joffrey Ballet (April 10-13)
*AAN event on April 11
Dancers from Chicago’s world-renowned Joffrey Ballet bring to life two newly commissioned choreographies using music of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and Darius Milhaud in a program that also features the playful wit of Joseph Haydn and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Community Pride (May 3)
Joined by steelpan player Jaden Teague-Núñez, winner of the 2024 Crain Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition, Thomas Wilkins conducts members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a matinee concert celebrating the joy, power and beauty of community. Families with young audience members ages five to 12 are encouraged to attend.
An American Suite (May 31)
Symphonic show-stoppers by Bernstein, enchanting works by Price, a pair of bluesy Gershwin standards featuring Janai Brugger and Dvořák’s radiant salute to the New World propel this American road trip.
Elder, Goosby & Price (June 5-7)
*AAN event on June 5
Acclaimed for the sensitivity and intensity of his musicianship, American violinist Randall Goosby performs Florence Price’s second violin concerto on a program with Prokofiev’s enchanting Seventh Symphony.
Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite (June 13)
*AAN event
Hear Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite, inspired in part by Nelson Mandela and the intense struggle for human rights in 1980s apartheid South Africa, in a rare live performance.
Ticket and Patron Information
CSO African American Network individual tickets and 2024/25 Season subscriptions are available for purchase now at cso.org/AAN or by phone at 312-294-3000.
Individual AAN concert tickets start at $40. For concerts with an AAN event, a separate, free reception ticket is also required.
AAN season subscriptions offer the opportunity to choose three or more concerts to secure the best seats at special AAN pricing, plus access to additional subscriber benefits, including:
- Opportunity to order a variety of other Symphony Center concerts at special AAN pricing at the same time as purchasing the subscription
- Flexible ticket exchanges
- Exclusive rates at nearby parking garages
- 15% savings on purchases at the Symphony Store, and more
All artists and programs are subject to change.
