An exciting FREE concert of music of two of the Chicago area’s largest ethnic groups – performed by Cuerdas Clasicas String Ensemble and the Lira Singers, both in colorful, authentic folk garb – will celebrate Mexican independence, Poland’s history of fighting for its freedom, and will compare them with Ukraine’s current struggle against Vladimir Putin’s aggression –
at two FREE performances, all with FREE parking:
· Saturday, September 24th at 3pm
National Museum of Mexican Art 1852 West 19th Street, Chicago
· Sunday, September 25th at 3pm
St. Hyacinth Basilica, 3634 West George Street, Chicago (just south of Belmont & Milwaukee)
These 75-minute, family-friendly concerts, produced by the Lira Ensemble, will include Mexican and Polish revolutionary songs, music of each nation’s fight for independence, as well as popular songs and Marian hymns, since both nations share a love for the Virgin Mary.
The concert narration will tell about what Mexican Americans and Polish Americans in the Chicago area have in common and about the similarities in the histories of their ethnic homelands. The music of these two groups are very unlike, but the contrast makes for a fantastic concert, as Lira’s past Polish-Mexican concerts have proved.
The September concerts signify the Lira Ensemble’s return to its decades-long tradition of presenting very popular cross-ethnic concerts for which it has won several prestigious awards, including one from the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. The Lira Ensemble of Chicago is the nation’s only professional performing arts company specializing in Polish music, song and dance.
Cuerdas Clasicas String Ensemble, which is highly praised and loved for singing and playing traditional Mexican stringed instruments that are central to Mexican indigenous folk culture, was founded and is led by, Rodolfo Hernandez.
The Lira Ensemble of Chicago was founded by Lucyna Migala who serves as artistic director and general manager. She will narrate all three concerts in English. The concerts will be conducted by Lira’s distinguished resident conductor, Mina Zirki, with piano accompaniment by Daniel Szefer. The Lira Ensemble is known internationally for its superb artistic level and its dedication to Polish authenticity.
The Sunday, September 25th concert at 3pm will be introduced by the Reverend Stanislaw Jankowski, pastor of St. Hyacinth Basilica, who invites all – not only those of Polish or Mexican heritage – to this important concert and to visit the historic, beautiful Basilica built in the famous “Polish cathedral” style.
The Saturday, September 24th concert at 3pm at the National Museum of Mexican Art will be introduced by Carlos Tortolero, founder, president and CEO of the museum, who is also the co- creator, along with Lira’s Lucyna Migala, of these beloved Mexican-Polish concerts.
These Mexican-Polish concerts are funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. The concerts at St. Hyacinth Basilica and the National Museum of Mexican Art are funded in part by a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
For more information about these free, very enjoyable concerts, call the Lira Ensemble at 773- 505-7831.
