2024/25 AAN Concerts & Events
The African American Network invites you to its 2024/25 Season, celebrating Black composers, conductors and performers across genres including classical, jazz and new music. This season, the African American Network hosts celebrations, artist meet-and-greets and networking events.
African American Network Subscription
The best way to secure your seats is to become an AAN season subscriber today!
Choose three or more concerts to secure your seats at special AAN pricing, plus enjoy access to additional subscriber benefits.
- Select at least three concerts with associated AAN receptions and the corresponding reception tickets.
- You will also have the opportunity to order additional AAN season concerts and a variety of other concerts at special AAN pricing at the same time as purchasing your subscription.
- Secure your favorite seats: more seating options are available through the AAN subscription.
- Access exclusive subscriber benefits, including flexible ticket exchanges, exclusive rates at nearby parking garages, a 15% savings on purchases at the Symphony Store and more.
Select concerts will also have associated pre- or postconcert celebrations, artist meet-and-greets and networking events.
Ticket Information
Concert tickets start at $40 with promo code AANSEASON. For concerts with an AAN event, a separate, free reception ticket is also required. Your concert ticket pricing will be adjusted after you have added your seats to the online order.
FOR CONCERTS WITH AAN EVENTS:
When ordering your concert ticket, follow the prompts to add your free reception ticket to the order. Both a concert ticket and reception ticket are required for admittance to the reception. If you forgot to order the reception ticket or have questions and need assistance, contact Patron Services online or call 312-294-3000.
Alsop & Vondráček OCT 10-11
AAN event OCT 10: An Evening with James Lee III
The CSO African American Network invites you to its inaugural event of the 2024/25 Season! Join AAN members for 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.
An Evening with James Lee III will be held on Thursday, October 10 starting at 6:00 p.m. in Grainger Ballroom.
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters: James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin NOV 22
“The most provocative thinker in current jazz” (Rolling Stone)
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 NOV 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, Roumain’s evocative compositions represent a showcase of innovation.
More information about this concert’s associated AAN event will be available soon.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis JAN 24
The legendary Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra consists of 15 of the world’s finest ensemble players, arrangers and soloists. Combining big band and small ensemble arrangements, the program honors legends like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams.
Cécile McLorin Salvant FEB 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 FEB 25
AAN event
The trailblazing 18-member string orchestra — comprised of outstanding Black and Latino musicians from around the country — performs diverse masterworks including Jessie Montgomery’s Grammy Award-winning Rounds.
More information about this concert’s associated AAN event co-hosted with the Latino Alliance will be available soon.
Hiromi’s Sonicwonder / Brandee Younger Trio APR 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 APR 10-13
AAN event: APR 11
Dancers from Chicago’s world-renowned Joffrey Ballet join the CSO with newly commissioned choreographies in a concert that pairs with Symphony No. 1 by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
More information about this concert’s associated AAN event will be available soon.
Community Pride MAY 3
Joined by the winner of the 2024 CrainMaling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition, Thomas Wilkins conducts members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a program celebrating the joy, power and beauty of community.
Perfect for ages 5-12!
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.
An Evening with Heather Headley JUNE 3
Tony and Grammy Award winner Heather Headley joins the CSO for a night of music from her celebrated 25-year Broadway career. Billboard praises her as “one of the great entertainers of the day, on record and on stage,” and says that her live performance “absolutely astounds with its intensity.”
Elder, Goosby & Price JUNE 5-7
AAN event: JUNE 5
Acclaimed for the sensitivity and intensity of his musicianship, American violinist Randall Goosby performs Florence Price’s violin concerto on a program with Prokofiev’s enchanting Seventh Symphony.
More information about this concert’s associated AAN event will be available soon.
Oscar Peterson's Africa Suite JUNE 13
AAN event
Hear Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite in a rare live performance, inspired in part by Nelson Mandela and the intense struggle for human rights in 1980s apartheid South Africa.
More information about this concert’s associated AAN event will be available soon.