Author: Chicago Folklore Ensemble

Performance at Old Town School of Folk Music

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Click here to reserve tickets for Chicago Folklore Ensemble’s upcoming performance on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at 8:30PM as part of Old Town School of Folk Music’s World Music Wednesday series!

Chicago Folklore Ensemble will present Tagore’s Gitanjali: Our Song Offerings, a show that takes audiences on a spiritual journey via the music and poetry of legendary Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore. Vocals by Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee will be accompanied by sweeping strings , accordion harmonies, and a variety of traditional instruments, interweaving Hindustani ragas, jazz, and Western classical arrangements with Tagore’s original compositions. Chicago Folklore Ensemble is preparing to release Praner Alap, an album of songs from Tagore’s poetry collection Gitanjali, accompanied by a booklet of paintings and original translations of Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali lyrics.

Bengali Music at Skokie Library and Album Preview

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Chicago Folklore Ensemble will be performing a free concert of songs from Rabindranath Tagore’s poem collection Gitanjali. We will also be releasing a few tracks from an upcoming album! Please join us!

Our Gitanjali
Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton St, Skokie, IL
Saturday, September 21, 1 pm
Free Admission

Our Gitanjali is a show that takes audiences on a spiritual journey via the music and poetry of legendary Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore. In 1912, Tagore published a book of devotional poems called Gitanjali, and the work was so impactful in Europe that he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. However, Western readers of Tagore don’t always know that many of the poems in Gitanjali were originally lyrics of songs that Tagore composed, songs which are still known and beloved in Bengal today.

Our Gitanjali presents English translations of several poems from Gitanjali paired with the songs sung in the original Bengali and improvisations in the songs’ corresponding ragas, intertwining Tagore’s exquisite verses with the music that brings the poetry its full emotional resonance. In this show, vocals and narration by Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee, both originally from Kolkata, India, are accompanied by sweeping strings and accordion harmonies. Over the course of the show, the performers share stories and personal experiences that illustrate the enduring power and relevance of Tagore’s creative work.

New Show for Kids in Chicago Parks!

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Chicago Folklore Ensemble’s new show, Lift Every Voice, premieres this month with three free performances hosted by Night Out in the Parks!

Lift Every Voice uses the power of music to engage children and families in celebrating African-American and Latin-American freedom movements in Chicago. Guided by storytellers Sojourner Zenobia and Mercedes Inez Martinez, kids will sing along with classic freedom songs, clap rhythms, learn movements, and absorb important lessons of local history through theater and music. Chicago Folklore Ensemble’s fun performance will inspire kids with a love of music and a desire to make a difference in the world.

Locations:

Saturday, July 13, 11:00AM Gwendolyn Brooks Park
4542 S Greenwood Ave., Chicago RESCHEDULED for July 21

Wednesday, July 17, 5:00PM Riis Park
6100 W Fullerton Ave., Chicago

Friday, July 19, 6:00PM Meyering Park
7140 S Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago

Sunday, July 21, 1:00PM Gwendolyn Brooks Park
4542 S Greenwood Ave., Chicago

Upcoming Performance of Indian Music and Poetry at University of Chicago

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Chicago Folklore Ensemble will perform Our Gitanjali: Song Offerings of Rabindranath Tagore on May 16th, 7:00pm, at the Assembly Hall in the International House at University of Chicago, 1414 E 59th St. Chicago.

Our Gitanjali presents English translations of several poems from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali paired with the songs sung in the original Bengali and improvisations in the songs’ corresponding ragas, intertwining Tagore’s exquisite verses with the music that brings the poetry its full emotional resonance. In this show, vocals and narration by Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee, both originally from Kolkata, India, are accompanied by sweeping strings and accordion harmonies. Over the course of the show, the performers share stories and personal experiences that illustrate the enduring power and relevance of Tagore’s creation.

Our Gitanjali is a two-hour show that takes audiences on a spiritual journey via the music and poetry of legendary Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore. In 1912, Tagore published a book of devotional poems called Gitanjali, and the work was so impactful in Europe that he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. However, Western readers of Tagore don’t always know that many of the poems in Gitanjali were originally lyrics of songs that Tagore composed, songs which are still known and beloved in Bengal today.

Our Gitanjali presents English translations of several poems from Gitanjali paired with the songs sung in the original Bengali and improvisations in the songs’ corresponding ragas, intertwining Tagore’s exquisite verses with the music that brings the poetry its full emotional resonance. In this show, vocals and narration by Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee, both originally from Kolkata, India, are accompanied by sweeping strings and accordion harmonies. Over the course of the show, the performers share stories and personal experiences that illustrate the enduring power and relevance of Tagore’s creation.

Upcoming Arabic Performance at Chicago Cultural Center

Posted on by Chicago Folklore Ensemble

Along the banks of a river, people wash clothes, sing songs, and tell stories. Spices, fabrics, and melodies are carried downstream, and villages are woven together by the current. The Shatt Al-Arab, the Nile, and the Jordan converge at Lake Michigan as Chicago Folklore Ensembles explores the music and stories of master musicians from Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine.

Chicago Folklore Ensemble will perform Where Rivers Meet on Sunday, April 28, 2:00-4:15pm in Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center in downtown Chicago. This show presents music and stories of master musicians who immigrated to Chicago from the Middle East, and features Amro Helmy from Cairo, Egypt; Mary Hazboun from Bethlehem, Palestine; Edward Hanna, from Basra, Iraq; and Baha’a Abu-Taha, from Jaffa, Palestine.

This show is free and open to the public, made possible by generous donations from numerous supporters after the show’s premiere last year. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed.

This is the final performance of Where Rivers Meet currently scheduled, so it’s not a performance you want to miss!

Upcoming Premiere of Show of Indian Music and Poetry

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Chicago Folklore Ensemble’s new show, Gitanjali: Song Offerings, will premier on November 3, 2018, at Second Unitarian Church, 656 W Barry Ave., Chicago, at 7pm.

Gitanjali: Song Offerings is a two-hour show that takes audiences on a spiritual journey via the music and poetry of legendary Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore. In 1912, Tagore published a book of devotional poems called Gitanjali, and the work was so impactful in Europe that he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. However, Western readers of Tagore don’t always know that the poems in Gitanjali were originally lyrics of songs that Tagore composed, songs which are still known and beloved in Bengal today. Gitanjali: Song Offerings presents several poems from Gitanjali paired with the songs sung in the original Bengali, intertwining Tagore’s exquisite verses with the music that brings the poetry its full emotional resonance.

Tagore’s songs were taught to the instrumentalists in the ensemble by Subhajit Sengupta, the founder and lead singer of Chicago’s Bengali folk band Ochin Pakhi. In this show, vocals and narration by Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee, both originally from Kolkata, India, are accompanied by sweeping strings and accordion harmonies. Over the course of the show, the performers share personal experiences that illustrate the enduring power and relevance of Tagore’s creation.

Upcoming Shows This Spring

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We will be performing our new show, Where Rivers Meet: Songs and Stories from Masters of Arabic Music, twice this June as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series! Both shows will be free and open to the public.

June 16, 2018, 2pm – Marquette Park, 6743 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL

June 22, 2018, 6pm – Gompers Park, 4222 W Foster Ave, Chicago, IL

We have a few other free performances of Where Rivers Meet this spring:

April 22, 2018, 2pm – abbreviated show at Oak Lawn Public Library, 9427 Raymond Ave, Oak Lawn, IL

April 28, 2018, 1:30pm – Manchester University, Wine Recital Hall, Winger Arts Building, Manchester, IN

Thanks to several generous small donations from our supporters, we will also be organizing additional free performances of Where Rivers Meet this summer, so stay tuned!

In addition, we have been continuing to perform our kids’ show, Follow the Butterfly, at various Chicago area public schools through our collaboration with Urban Gateways, and we have a few performances of Follow the Butterfly coming up:

April 20, 2018, 10am – Earth Day performance at Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL. Contact Old Town School for ticketing information.

May 6, 2018, 2pm – Northbrook Celebration of Cultures, North Suburban YMCA, 2705 Techny Rd, Northbrook, IL

June 21, 2018, 7pm – Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S Roselle Rd, Schaumburg, IL

June 23, 2018, 2pm – Warren-Newport Public Library, 224 O’Plaine Rd, Gurnee, IL

Where Rivers Meet: Stories and Songs from Masters of Arabic Music

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Chicago Folklore Ensemble is proud to announce the premier of our new show, Where Rivers Meet.

Join us for two free shows:

December 10, 2017, 3pm at Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.

December 17, 2017, 3pm at Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton St.

Where Rivers Meet is a show of Arabic music and storytelling that takes listeners down the rivers of the Middle East. String ensemble and storyteller accompany master musicians from Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine who share melodies and memories passed down in song and story.

This show features three artists who live in the Chicago area:

Amro Hosny Helmy, oud player and singer from Cairo, Egypt
Mary Hazboun, singer from Bethlehem, Palestine
Edward Hanna, percussionist from Basra, Iraq

Two Free Shows in June for Night Out in the Parks!

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The Chicago Park District is offering dozens of free programs this summer for their Night Out in the Parks series. Chicago Folklore Ensemble will be performing twice!

Follow The Butterfly, Revere Park
Traditional music and folktales about respecting the earth; for kids and families.
2509 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago
Friday, June 16, 2017
6-7 PM
Free!

The World In Chicago, Elm Park
Music and stories of Chicago immigrant musicians
5215 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago
Friday, June 23, 2017
5-6 PM
Free!

Also, we have another free show coming up as part of Old Town School of Folk Music’s World Music Wednesday series!

The World In Chicago, Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N Lincoln Ave · Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
8:30 PM
Free!