Organization

Conductor

Mark Bilyeu

Stage director

Ross Matsuda

Dramaturge

Kirsten C. Kunkle

Lighting designer

Brenden Marble

Video designer

Patrick Starner

Singer

Soprano

Hillary Esqueda

Tenor

Jonathan Zeng

Pianist

Ethan Valentin

Chicago Fringe Opera

Chicago Currents

Chicago

United States

Concert Various

Public

Concert

Approved

Accordionist

Instrumentalist

Archlutenist

Baroque Flutist

Baroque Oboist

Baroque Trumpetist

Bassist

Bassoonist

Cellist

Clarinetist

Contrabassist

Cornettist

Flutist

Guitarist

Harper

Harpsichordist

Hornist

Lutenist

Mandoline Player

Musette de cour Player

Oboist

Organist

Percussionist

Recorder Player

Saxophonist

Tenor Violinist

Timpani

Trombonist

Trumpeter

Tuba Player

Vibraphonist

Viola Pomposa Player

Viola da gamba

Viola d’amore Player

Violinist

Violino Piccolo Player

Violist

Actor

Broadcasting

Chefdirigent Musiktheater

Choir

Choreographer

Chorus Director

Chorus master

Composer

Costume designer

Dancer

Executive producer

Extra

Hairstylist

Illustrator

Librettist

Makeup artist

Orchestra

Orchestra Operations

Other

Photographer

Poet

Repetiteur

Set designer

Sound designer

Stage Manager

Teacher

Translator

Vocal coach

Wig & Makeup Designer

Writer

Writing and performance

Bass-baritone

Countertenor

Contralto

Bass

Baritone

Mezzo-soprano

Alto

Child vocalist

Continuo

Silent

Spoken

Join us for a staged art song concert that draws inspiration from the land and water that Chicago is built on, featuring an ensemble of five singers, piano and violin.  CFO welcomes Kirsten C. Kunkle, soprano, and citizen of the Mvskoke (Muscogee Creek) Nation, to perform several art songs set to the poetry of her own Native ancestor, Alex Posey, as well as songs that honor the Indigenous tribes of Chicago.

The show also explores the legacy of Jean-Baptiste Point DuSable, the first permanent non-Indigenous settler of the city of Chicago; a Black man who built his house and trading settlement at the mouth of the Chicago river in 1790.  The concert tracks the rise of industrialism in Chicago’s waterways during the 1800s; the reshaping of the city’s waterfront following the Great Chicago Fire; and ushers in the 1900’s with songs of the Great Migration, as Black Americans follow the Mississippi River up to Chicago in search of financial opportunity and social progress.

The event concludes with songs that reflect on our current time, calling audiences to connect with Chicago’s vibrant landscape, the rewilding movement, and conservation efforts that nurture our home for generations to come.

The program repertoire includes works by Indigenous composers Kirsten Kunkle, Ian Cusson, and Andrew Balfour; Haitian composer Justin Elie; gems by prominent African-American composers Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Harry T. Burleigh, and H. Leslie Adams; settings of American folk songs by Steven Mark Kohn; as well as works from the catalog of Chicago composers Stacy Garrop, John Alden Carpenter, Eric Malmquist, and Ernst Bacon.

English

Chicago Currents by Various, From (2023/2023), Directed by Ross Matsuda,, Conductor Mark Bilyeu

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Programme, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues