Uncommon instruments blow their own horns on a special day, July 31

July 31 marks Uncommon Instruments Awareness Day. It’s an occasion designed to encourage people to play unusual instruments but also to make their own unfamiliar instruments.

Symphony Center has long been a haven for violin virtuosos or premier pianists. But in recent years, virtuoso performers on decidedly more unusual instruments have begun frequenting Symphony Center and other leading concert halls worldwide.

Performers like Béla Fleck on banjo and Howard Levy on harmonica are well-known for playing jazz, pop, classical and other music far removed from their instruments’ humble folk origins. Fleck once referred to himself and other masters of obscure folk instruments as the “odd instrument club.” He was referring to musicians such as Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, Swiss alphorn soloist Eliana Burki and jazz musician Steve Turre, who often plays conch shells in concert.

Of course, “odd” is a relative term. What is “odd” to Americans may be quite commonplace in other cultures, and vice versa.

Some of the instruments featured at Symphony Center in recent season are classical folk instruments with hundreds, or even thousands, of years of history in their respective countries: the pipa and sheng of China, and the kamancheh, or Persian spike fiddle, used in the folk music of Iran.

And one instrument was popular with classical musicians in Europe, especially in Italy, during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today it is known more as a folk instrument in America, where it is a familiar member of country and bluegrass bands: the mandolin.

Two concerts this season will feature the bandoneón: a kind of concertina popular in Argentina and Uruguay and used in tango ensembles. Guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Astor Piazzolla with his Aconcagua Concerto for Bandoneón and Orchestra. (The soloist will be Daniel Binelli, who made his CSO debut under Guerrero in 2019.) In addition, the Quinteto Astor Piazzolla will perform a special Symphony Center Presents concert on Nov. 19 as part of a world tour.

A version of this article was previously published on Sounds & Stories