St. Michael Concert Series

09/16/2024

A little taste of last night's concert! Who doesn't love Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue?

09/04/2024

Check out our lineup for the 2024-2025 season! We can't wait!

05/09/2024

Join us for our series finale tomorrow evening at 7pm at St. Francis Church, located at 15050 Wolf Rd! Formed in 2009, the "superb Chicago-based ensemble" (Gramophone Magazine) has become known for its vibrant and nuanced performances, “crisp precision" (Palm Beach Daily News), "superlative artistry" (CVNC Arts Journal), and unique penchant for exploring the folk roots of classical music. Kontras’s "enjoyable musical personality" (Fanfare Magazine) and welcoming, friendly approach to the recital stage have attracted audiences near and far for over a decade. Kontras means ‘contrasts’ in the Afrikaans language - fitting for a string ensemble whose colorful repertoire spans centuries, genres, and continents.

On the program tomorrow:

Quincy Porter (1897 - 1966): In Monasterio (1927)
Stacy Garrop (1969 -): String Quartet No. 1 (1992)
Caroline Shaw (1982 -): Entr’acte (2011)
Johannes Brahms piano quintet in f minor Op. 34
(with Michael Finlay at the piano).

Please join us for an evening of wonderful music making!

03/19/2024

A couple of changes to announce in our Spring lineup:

The recital planned for April 21st featuring cellist Dane Johansen of the Cleveland Orchestra has been postponed until next season. In his place, SMCS artistic director Michael Finlay will be performing a solo recital featuring Mozart Sonata K. 333, Chopin Ballade No. 4, and Liszt Sonata in b minor. We were so excited to see so many of our regular concertgoers at his recent concerto performance with the Southwest Symphony Orchestra on March 3rd, so if you enjoyed that performance make sure to mark your calendars for April 21st at 4:30 to hear him again!

Our season finale will be Friday, May 10th, at 7pm at St. Francis of Assisi - Orland Park, IL. Please note the different day, time, and venue! We will be hosting the marvelous Kontras Quartet, who will play an exciting program including a performance of the magnificent Brahms Piano Quintet in f minor, once again featuring pianist Michael Finlay.

Finally, we initially scheduled a piano recital featuring pianist Natalia Kazaryan for June 2nd. This has also been postponed until next season, so we are making May 10th our season finale.

03/14/2024

Looking for something to do this St. Patrick’s day? Consider making a stop at St. Michael around 4:30! This Sunday we are joined by the outstanding Rita Rovenskaya, a marvelous pianist who will play an all Czech program this Sunday at St. Michael Concert Series. Rovenskaya is a Ukrainian-American pianist who has performed extensively in the
US and abroad, with performances in Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center, Zim-
merli Museum, Ukrainian Museum, Teatro Machiavelli in Sicily, and Salmagundi Art Gallery, among others. Prizewinner of the
WPTA Finland International Competition, Constantine the Great International Competition, American Music Talent Competition, Mary Smart International Concerto Competition, and Chopin
Society Malaysia Competition, Margarita has also performed and studied internationally. She recently presented her research and performance of Dvořák's Poetic Tone Pictures at the Czech Center NYC and continues to champion the music of the Czech Republic.

St. Michael Concert Series is excited to host award-winning concert pianist Margarita Rovenskaya on Sunday, March 17 at 4:30 PM in the Church. Born in the Ukraine and a champion of music by Czech composers, Margarita will perform “Music of Czechia,” including works by Smetana, Dvorak, Janacek an...

02/21/2024

March 3rd!

02/04/2024

Following last weekend's spellbinding recital by pianist Alex McDonald you may be wondering who on earth could follow an act like that! Well, it is a tall order, but you could hardly do better than our next pair of performers, Amanda Pabyan and Julia Siciliano! Pabyan is a bona fide opera star, best known for her triumphant run of performances as Queen of the Night with the Metropolitan Opera in NYC under the baton of James Levine. She has toured the world in this and many other dramatic roles. The New York Times describes her as "a brilliant coloratura", and she was praised in the New York Observer as "a soprano of fearsome agility and power." She will be joining us at the St. Michael Concert Series on February 25th at 4:30. For full her complete biography and to hear her sing, check out her website at www.amandapabyan.com

Joining her on piano will be the marvelous Julia Siciliano, who veteran SMCS concertgoers may recognize from her previous appearances on our series. Siciliano is known for her "fabulous creative power" (Bonn General-Anzeiger) and her "fine technique and natural musicality” and "masterful delicacy, harmonic motion, and timing" (Gramophone Magazine). She maintains a very active performing schedule and has performed all over the world, most recently at the Teatro Victoria Eugenia in San Sebastián, Spain in October, on tour in Cincinnati, New York City, and Washington DC in November, and at Chicago's own Dame Myra Hess series just 2 weeks ago. You can learn more about Julia at her website, www.juliasiciliano.com

We are delighted to welcome both of these world-class artists to our stage! Don't miss it!