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. Everyone is welcome.
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:
You will be prompted to add the free reception ticket after selecting your seats for the concert. Both a concert ticket and reception ticket are required for entry. 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
An Evening with James Lee III, OCT 10
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 was held on Thursday, October 10 starting at 6:00 p.m. in Grainger Ballroom.
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters
James Reese Europe: From the Dancehall to the Battlefield
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
MusicNOW Afterparty
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.
MusicNOW Afterparty was held directly after the concert in the first floor Rotunda.
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 honored legends like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams.
Celebrate Black History Month: Honoring Black Artists in Music Feb 21 & 25
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Friday, February 21
8:00 Concert: Cécile McLorin Salvant
9:30 Event: Resonating Legacies: Celebrating Black Excellence in Music
Revealing the connections between vaudeville, blues, jazz and more, French-American vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant bridged the gap between our musical past and contemporary world. Following Salvant’s performance, the AAN reception featured a sing-along of “Lift Every Voice,” a tribute to Black musicians, along with a dynamic dance performance. Celebrate the richness of Black history through music and movement.
The reception was held in Grainger ballroom following the concert. View the Black History Month Flyer »
Sphinx Virtuosi: American Form/s
Tuesday, February 25
7:30 Concert: Sphinx Virtuosi: American Form/s
9:00 Event: Meet the Sphinx Virtuosi
The trailblazing, 18-member string orchestra, composed of outstanding Black and Latino musicians from around the country, performed diverse masterworks by Teresa Carreño and former CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, who joined the program with her 2024 Grammy-winning Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra.
The reception was co-hosted by Latino Alliance and was held in Grainger ballroom following the concert. View reception flyer »
Event Partner 
Additional Concerts:
Notes for Peace Reunion at Epiphany Center for the Arts
Sunday, February 16 at 2:00
Location: 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607
This free concert featured previously written Notes for Peace songs, celebrating the families who have taken part in this project since its beginning and the community that has come from it. Order tickets »
CSO Chamber Music at the Beverly Arts Center
Sunday, February 23 at 2:00
Location: 2407 W 111th Street, Chicago, IL 60605
CSO violinists Matous Michal and Danny Yehun Jin, violist Danny Lai and cellist Karen Basrak performed works by Jessie Montgomery, Florence Price and Wynton Marsalis. Learn more »
Hiromi’s Sonicwonder / Brandee Younger Trio APR 4
Harpist Brandee Younger and her trio opened the program, paying homage to jazz harp pioneers Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Following the trio, Japanese pianist and composer Hiromi explored the avant-garde worlds of video-game soundtracks and pioneering jazz fusion albums.
CSO x The Joffrey Ballet APR 10-13
Through His Spirit, APR 11
The AAN celebrated the musical legacy of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson in a showcase of talent and virtuosity. The AAN reception featured Renée Baker’s chamber opera Through His Spirit, performed by musicians from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Chicago Modern Orchestra Project. Afterward, patrons witnessed the brilliance of The Joffrey Ballet coupled with the sonic beauty of the CSO in world premiere choreography set to one of Perkinson’s vibrant works.
Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. and the AAN event started at 6:00 p.m. in Grainger Ballroom.
Cupcakes for Through His Spirit were generously provided by Molly’s Cupcakes.
Community Pride MAY 3
Joined by the winner of the 2024 CrainMaling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition, Thomas Wilkins conducted 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 propelled this American road trip.
An Evening with Heather Headley JUNE 3
Tony and Grammy Award winner Heather Headley joined 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.”
Black Excellence in Classical and Jazz JUNE 5 & 13
Elder, Goosby & Price JUNE 5-7
JUNE 5
7:30 Concert
9:30 AAN Reception
Acclaimed for the sensitivity and intensity of his musicianship, American violinist Randall Goosby performed Florence Price’s Second Violin Concerto on a program with Prokofiev’s enchanting Seventh Symphony.
After the concert, the AAN in met Randall Goosby in Grainger Ballroom.
Oscar Peterson's Africa Suite JUNE 13
8:00 Concert
10:00 AAN Reception
Audiences heard 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.
After the concert, AAN members joined in Grainger Ballroom to network and meet the artists.
Event design provided by Lauren Deanne Premier Events.