Kathryn Bostic

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Chicago Sinfonietta to perform three 2020-21 concerts, each featuring a commissioned score by a Black composer

Posted on “The Hub” – August 25, 2020

“The Chicago Sinfonietta will present two online concerts and one live concert for its 2020-21 season,” writes Howard Reich in Sunday’s (8/23) Chicago Tribune. “Each program will feature a commissioned world premiere, all by African American composers.” Included are a new work by Joel Thompson featuring cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing; bassist Victor Wooten in his own La Leccion Tres for Electric Bass and Orchestra; and a new work by Kathryn Bostic, the orchestra’s 2020-21 artist in residence, on a program featuring music by Florence Price and Jeff Scott. “ ‘We are grateful and excited to enter our 33d season continuing our mission of championing equity, diversity and inclusion by creating community through bold symphonic experiences,’ said Blake-Anthony Johnson, the institution’s new chief executive officer…. Said Sinfonietta music director Mei-Ann Chen in a statement, ‘We have titled our season “Stories of the People,” as each concert focuses on that which connects us as a people—community, friendship, tradition and respect, and how these connections are presented through the universal language of music.… We have selected chamber works to add to the feeling of an intimate, close community, as well as to adhere to social distancing mandates.”