Chicago Sinfonietta honors Martin Luther King Jr. with Pulse

Chicago Sinfonietta presents Pulse, its Annual MLK Tribute Concert, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14 at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville and at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15 at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. It will feature double bass soloist Xavier Foley.

Photo: Xavier Foley. Photo by: Matt Dine

“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. The Chicago Sinfonietta, one of the most diverse orchestras in the United States, follows the legacy of Dr. King. Every year, it organizes tribute concerts devoted to Martin Luther King Jr., and every year these concerts attract a great number of people who honor Dr. King and who love classical music.

This year, the Chicago Sinfonietta prepared a concert program called Pulse that will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 14 at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville and at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, January 15 at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. It will feature double bass soloist Xavier Foley.

Each concert and each performance of this great musical institution keeps developing and promoting diversity, inclusion, and both racial and cultural equity in the arts through the universal language of symphonic music. It has become a great tradition for the Chicago Sinfonietta to give an annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Join the Chicago Sinfonietta in their annual MLK Tribute Concert, PULSE, as they pay homage to the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a captivating lineup of works that celebrate the power of perseverance, triumph, and hope,” says the Chicago Sinfonietta’s website.

Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director and Conductor of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, is praised for her dynamic, passionate conducting style, high energy, and enthusiasm. Chen demonstrates her great devotion to Dr. King’s values and to her profession by choosing and conducting beautiful music throughout each concert season and particularly for annual tributes to Martin Luther King Jr. This year is not an exception.

The concert program will start with the dynamic Overture from Treemonisha, an opera written by Scott Joplin and reimagined for the orchestra by T.J. Anderson. Remembered for being one of the most recognizable ragtime composers, Joplin composed the music for Treemonisha in 1911. This piece is called “an entirely new form of operatic art” as it combines Wagnerian operatic techniques and practices with traditional African American folk tales and music. The overture opens the opera in a positive and energetic way. Its intriguing melodies, exciting harmony, and interesting textures will create a great mood and capture everyone’s attention.

The next composition requires special notice as a young composer and musician, Xavier Dubois Foley, will perform a solo on double bass presenting to the audience his piece called “Victory” Concerto. It’s impossible to stay calm while listening to this enthusiastic, energetic, and at the same time thoughtful and romantic piece. Its playful melodies combined with virtuosic presentation and Xavier’s extreme musicality will touch everyone’s heart and leave unforgettable memories.

Photo: Xavier Foley. Photo by: Matt Dine

“Double bassist Xavier Foley is a decorated performer and composer working at the intersection of classical, pop, and traditional folk styles,” wrote Forrest Howell on I CARE IF YOU LISTEN website powered by American Composers Forum. “A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Foley’s seemingly endless creative energy has resulted in public performances with major orchestras, a prolific catalog of compositions for double bass, a sizable following on YouTube, and a series of eclectic and often humorous blog posts.”

After Xavier’s stunning performance of his “Victory” Concerto the audience will have a chance to enjoy the fascinating Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds, a work that showcases the beauty and complexity of Black spirituals and folk songs. Bonds was a lifelong advocate of social and racial justice. She grew up in Chicago and was the first African American soloist to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She wrote jazz arrangements, songs for children, film music, popular songs, choral music, musicals, and classical compositions, but she also experienced decades of neglect. However, her music is being rediscovered lately and it’s getting more and more recognition.

Bonds composed Montgomery Variations as a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., after her visit to Montgomery, Alabama in 1963. This composition is based on the spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.” Unfortunately, she never heard the piece being performed. The Chicago Sinfonietta audience will be fortunate to hear this musical gem performed live by this great orchestra.

This beautiful tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. will end with We Shall Overcome / Lift Ev’ry Voice by Charles A. Tindley and James W. Johnson, arranged and orchestrated by Nicholas Hersh. For years, it has been a great tradition to end the Chicago Sinfonietta concerts devoted to Dr. King with the song We Shall Overcome. No matter your race, nationality, age, or socio-economic status, you will feel part of one big family singing along with the Chicago Sinfonietta at the end of the concert. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.”

For tickets, please go to https://chicagosinfonietta.org/pulse/

Natalia Dagenhart

01/09/24