Rivers Empyrean
Fifth House Ensemble Outdoor Concert
Sunday, September 19th
Youth Art Exhibition Opening at 1 P.M.
Rivers Empyrean Concert at 2 P.M., followed by a Deep Listening Walk
At a time when the environment is more threatened than ever with pollution and our life-giving waterways at risk, Fifth House Ensemble traces the life cycle of water from its metaphorical descent from the heavens as rain, to its long journey in streams and rivers informed by conservation experts and ecologists. Join us for an outdoor concert at Brushwood Center, in conjunction with the opening of our new exhibition of youth voices, Our Future: Youth Perspectives on the Environment. Featuring a new commission by Fresh Inc Festival alumnus Patrick O’Malley driven by ecological data from Friends of the Chicago River, a new commission by Shawn Okpebholo that celebrates water as a precious resource by transforming it into a musical instrument alongside music inspired by First Peoples, this program asks what it would mean to return to a sacred conception in which humans are a part of nature rather than beings standing outside of its impact. Following the performance, the audience is free to join members of Fifth House Ensemble on a Deep Listening walk. With the sounds of the Rivers Empyrean concert music freshly in our ears, we will navigate the sounds of natural world together, allowing those two experiences to blend together in our memories with the affirmation that all sound is music.
Rivers Empyrean and its related residency and partnership programs have been made possible with support from: Chamber Music America, through its Residency Endowment Fund; New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Fidelity Foundation, The Rogers & Hammerstein Foundation & Anonymous; and a grant from the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research at the Eastman School of Music.
Registration Required. Tickets are $20 for BCRW Members/Riverwoods residents, $30 for nonmembers, and free for any youth ages 14 and under (if accompanied by a ticket-holding adult), and free for students and family of those participating in the Our Future: Youth Perspectives on the Environment exhibition.
Rivers Empyrean and its related residency and partnership programs have been made possible with support from: Chamber Music America, through its Residency Endowment Fund; New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Fidelity Foundation, The Rogers & Hammerstein Foundation & Anonymous; and a grant from the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research at the Eastman School of Music.
Registration Required. Tickets are $20 for BCRW Members/Riverwoods residents, $30 for nonmembers, and free for any youth ages 14 and under (if accompanied by a ticket-holding adult), and free for students and family of those participating in the Our Future: Youth Perspectives on the Environment exhibition.
About Fifth House Ensemble:
Praised by the New York Times for its “conviction, authority, and finesse,” the Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble harnesses the collaborative spirit of chamber music to reach beyond the traditionally-perceived limits of classical music. The ensemble’s artistic, educational, and civic programs engage theater groups, video game designers, corporate innovators, and folk bands to share stories as diverse as the communities it serves.
Reaching 17,000 students annually through its arts-integrated educational programs, Fifth House connects K-12 core curricula to vivid, custom-crafted, and interactive musical experiences which challenge students to share and lead. As an extension of this work, Fifth House enters its fourth year of partnership with Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning this season, through which the ensemble is in residence at sites serving at-risk youth and adults including Deborah’s Place, Teen Living Programs, Cara Chicago, and Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School at the Chicago Temporary Youth Detention Center. Fifth House also partners with Storycatchers Theatre as part of its residency at the detention center to develop new curriculum culminating in a new theatrical work based on participants’ own experiences.
An established partner and resource to the nation’s top music schools and conservatories, Fifth House launches the careers of emerging artists through entrepreneurship residencies and training programs, including those at Yale College, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, UT-Austin, Northwestern University, San Francisco Conservatory, DePaul University, and the Colburn School. Recent creative partnerships have included those with The Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera. In 2012, Fifth House launched Fresh Inc, a two-week, intensive training program for emerging composers and performers where Fifth House works with participants on building careers in music in line with their own unique vision and values.
Visit their website, www.fifth-house.com for more information, and for videos of their latest work.
Reaching 17,000 students annually through its arts-integrated educational programs, Fifth House connects K-12 core curricula to vivid, custom-crafted, and interactive musical experiences which challenge students to share and lead. As an extension of this work, Fifth House enters its fourth year of partnership with Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning this season, through which the ensemble is in residence at sites serving at-risk youth and adults including Deborah’s Place, Teen Living Programs, Cara Chicago, and Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School at the Chicago Temporary Youth Detention Center. Fifth House also partners with Storycatchers Theatre as part of its residency at the detention center to develop new curriculum culminating in a new theatrical work based on participants’ own experiences.
An established partner and resource to the nation’s top music schools and conservatories, Fifth House launches the careers of emerging artists through entrepreneurship residencies and training programs, including those at Yale College, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, UT-Austin, Northwestern University, San Francisco Conservatory, DePaul University, and the Colburn School. Recent creative partnerships have included those with The Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera. In 2012, Fifth House launched Fresh Inc, a two-week, intensive training program for emerging composers and performers where Fifth House works with participants on building careers in music in line with their own unique vision and values.
Visit their website, www.fifth-house.com for more information, and for videos of their latest work.
This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Illinois Arts Council Agency, Kawai Piano, and Family Piano Co.