Music For Food concert featuring Spektral Quartet at PianoForte Studios November 22

Sunday, November 22, 2015, 5 p.m.
PianoForte Studios
1335 S. Michigan Ave.

Admission: Monetary donation and/or non-perishable food items
Event Web site

Thanksgiving is synonymous with gatherings of family and celebrations of abundance, but it is also an opportunity to consider those for whom food is far from plentiful. This November, Spektral Quartet expresses its own gratitude by partnering with Music for Food to bring much-needed food to hungry people in Chicago with a rousing concert benefiting the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry.

Internationally renowned violist and program founder Kim Kashkashian launched Music for Food as a community-based initiative to transform talent into real world hunger relief for those in need. Music for Food has provided over 200,000 meals during its six-year tenure, with the goal of addressing the everyday, long-term effects of hunger on children and families. A 2012 USDA report found that 20% of Americans live in food-insecure households, and Music for Food aims to help lower that staggering number.

The Spektral Quartet will perform Schubert’s Quartettsatz, Cage’s Quartet in Four Parts, Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 1, and Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge for any attendee making a monetary or non-perishable food donatioin at the PianoForte Studios on November 22. While the admission process may be out of the ordinary, the program is characteristically diverse for Spektral, taking the audience from the Romantic melodrama of the Schubert to the Zen-like stillness of Cage, and from the lyrical twists of Prokofiev through the ecstatic counterpoint of the Beethoven.

The Spektral Quartet’s concert marks the second Music for Food event in Chicago, led by cellist Mira Luxion. For this event, concertgoers are offered incentives for giving beyond the suggested $20 donation. Donors at the $50-or-more level will be invited for drinks with the quartet following the concert, and gifts of $100 or more will provide a Thanksgiving basket to a South Loop Pantry client as well as an invitation to post-show cocktails. Donors are requested to make their contributions by November 18, to secure their seats.

For queries and interview requests, please contact doyle@spektralquartet.com. For Music for Food inquiries, please contact Mira Luxion at miracello@gmail.com.

Playful Talk Show with Yana Reznik at PianoForte Studios A New Kind of Classical Music Show!

Yana Reznik

PianoForte Foundation is proud to present “Playful Talk with Yana Reznik”, a new production that invites audiences to engage with renowned stars of the classical music world in an entertaining and personal exchange of words and music. For the first time, both live and internet audiences come to know the personalities of the men and women behind the instruments. Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Ars Viva Orchestra and international soloists join pianist and host Yana Reznik in music making, either prepared classical masterpieces or spontaneous improvisations.

Yana and her guests connect the classical stage with a diverse, cross-generational population that lives on the social media platforms of our interconnected world. The experience continues as “Playful Talk” live studio attendees get an exclusive opportunity to dine with Yana and her guest artists immediately following each broadcast.

The show is inspired by the passion of breaking down the boundaries and stigma of classical music. “Playful Talk” reaches out to the audiences through personal communication and accessibility along with the high level of performance.

“Playful Talk with Yana Reznik” is supported by Chicago’s prestigious PianoForte Foundation.

Here are the details: 

-“Playful Talk” is produced by the acclaimed and innovative pianist Yana Reznik and welcomes live audiences at PianoForte Studios at 1335 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60605.

-Each show is broadcast live via www.yanareznik.com

-Each broadcast is available for viewing at anytime after the show via www.yanareznik.com

-Audience members are encouraged to ask questions via Twitter (@playfultalk), which will be answered selectively during the show.

-The dining with the artists is held at Chicago’s Kurah Mediterranean Restaurant – the city’s cozy, highly regarded culinary niche at 1355 S. Michigan Ave. (VIP tickets required)

About Yana Reznik

Pianist, speaker, producer, host, entrepreneur, and cultural leader, Yana Reznik has been revolutionizing the way classical music affects our society. Her passionate performances and captivating storytelling had won the hearts of thousands on her 2010-2014 tour across the United States. Becoming known as the “Pianist with a Voice,” Yana breaks the boundaries of the expected and creates innovative programs to bring the beauty of classical music to a wider and more diverse audience around the world.

Yana’s passion for inspiring a new generation to love classical music has led her to be a guest speaker for the TEDx Skid Row, “Idea Project of LA”, Southern California Music Institute and Idyllwild Arts Academy.

As a humanitarian, Yana Reznik created the 'Artistic Voyage' concert series of 2011, a visionary gathering of musicians and artists to benefit worthwhile charity organizations around the world. Another one of Yana’s celebrated achievements had been her work as Artistic Director, pianist and host for 'Live at the Lounge' (Los Angeles) – a weekly concert series throughout 2010 that featured over 130 world class performers who collaborated with Ms. Reznik in an up-close and personal setting.

Since moving to Chicago in 2014, Yana has performed at the Myra Hess Concerts Series and PianoForte Foundation. Both concerts were broadcasted live at WFMT 98.7 Radio.

Upcoming Shows and Broadcasts:

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 @ 7pm CST Cory Tiffin, clarinet (Las Vegas Philharmonic) Chris Wild, cello (Ensemble Dal Niente)

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 @ 7pm CST Members of New Millennium Orchestra Francesco Millioto, conductor Dominic Johnson, viola, violin, DJ

Sunday, May 31, 2015 @ 6 pm CST Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra David Taylor, violin Weijing Wang, viola Richard Hirschl, cello

Live Performance Location: 

PianoForte Studios 1335 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago IL 60605

Broadcast streaming: 

www.YanaReznik.com

Tickets and Info: 

www.yanareznik.com

www.pianofortefoundation.org

Twitter: @playfultalk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Playful-Talk/1624050907822782

Contact: 

Yana Reznik Yanareznikmusic@gmail.com

312.569.9157

Below is Yana meets the artists from February 17, 2015 performance.

Music For Food Concert On April 12 To Benefit South Loop Food Pantry

CHICAGO – On Sunday, April 12 at 5:00pm, a group of acclaimed young musicians from the Chicago area will present a concert at the PianoForte Foundation, 1335 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago to benefit the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry.

The Chicago musicians are presenting the concert under the auspices of Music for Food, a musician-led initiative for hunger relief. Mira Luxion, the organizer and one of the participating artists, comments: “I am thrilled to be presenting this Music for Food concert, hopefully the first of a lasting series in Chicago. From the moment I first heard of Music for Food, I was moved by its mission. As musicians, we are given the capacity to touch people in tangible as well as intangible ways. The performers are dear friends and colleagues and it is truly inspiring to be working with them towards this mission.”

The program offers works by Austrian composers Mozart, Schubert, and the lesser-known Carl
Frühling:

PROGRAM
Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola in G Major, K.423
Lauren Lai, violin
Kim Uwate, viola

Mozart: Andante from Sonata No. 9 in D Major, K.311
Eugenia Jeong, piano

Schubert: Selection of Lieder
Anne Slovin, soprano
Eugenia Jeong, piano

(Intermission)

Carl Frühling: Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 40
Steven Gooden, clarinet
Mira Luxion, cello
Andy Costello, piano

TICKETS AND QUESTIONS
Those attending are asked to bring a monetary donation (cash or check made out to Music for
Food) or non-perishable food items. Questions about the concert may be directed to Mira Luxion:
miracello@gmail.com, or 312-513-6422.