<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n \n\t12\/1 at 2<\/strong> The new-music group fills the jazz venue for the third time. The program features A\/B Duo, a multi-instrumentalist combo whose primary instruments are flute and percussion. $5. Green Mill, 4802 N Broadway. anaphoraensemble.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/7, 21 at 3<\/strong> Things that have happened during Apollo\u2019s 135-year-long Messiah<\/em> streak: a Republican became Chicago\u2019s mayor, North Dakota became a state, and sliced bread was invented. Back at Symphony Center this year, the very large volunteer chorus performs the director\u2019s cut of Messiah,<\/em> with almost all of Part the First sung by heart. $18\u2013$75. 12\/7: Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan. 12\/21: Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph. apollochorus.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/21 at 7:30, 12\/22 at 3:30<\/strong> The local chamber choir does its choral duty and puts on a holiday concert. Past years have combined holiday chestnuts with new finds. $15\u2013$38. 12\/21: St Procopius Abbey, 5601 College, Lisle. 12\/22: St Luke\u2019s Episcopal Church, 939 Hinman, Evanston. bellavoce.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tCHILD FRIENDLY<\/p>\n \n\t12\/14 at 7:30, 12\/15 at 2<\/strong> Gian Carlo Menotti\u2019s operetta Amahl and the Night Visitors<\/em> had its genesis as the first television opera. The story of the crippled shepherd boy who meets the three kings has even more charm in person. $10\u2013$25. Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Harold Washington Library, 400 S State. chamberoperachicago.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tCRITIC\u2019S PICK<\/p>\n \n\t12\/4\u20135 at 7:30<\/strong> Fans of choral music know this group well\u2014the professional San Francisco\u2013based allmale chamber singers wow audiences with the breadth of their repertoire and the astounding clarity of their countertenors. Their annual holiday concerts fill up a Christmasy Fourth Pres on a sparkly Michigan Avenue, making for a picturebook experience. $39\u2013$56. Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut. cso.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/1, 6\u20138, 14<\/strong> Anne Heider, the former music director of Bella Voce, leads the small vocal group in holiday rarities and settings of classics such as \u201cIn the Bleak Midwinter\u201d and \u201cThe Coventry Carol,\u201d as well as Heider\u2019s own take on the shape-note tune \u201cSplendid Shines the Morning Star.\u201d $12\u2013$38. Times, locations: chicagoacappella.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tFREE!<\/p>\n \n\t12\/2 at 12<\/strong> The 16-member ensemble Chicago Chamber Musicians performs at its monthly First Monday Series. \n\tCHILD FRIENDLY<\/p>\n \n\t12\/6\u20138<\/strong> Since its premiere here 110 years ago, Babes in Toyland<\/em> has had parts amputated, songs sutured, and new characters inserted to create Frankenstein\u2019s monsters such as a 1986 TV movie with Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Pat Morita. Here, the studious stewards of CFO have reconstructed a show that rekindles the spirit of the original. $10\u2013$20. 19th Century Club, 178 Forest, Oak Park. chicagofolksoperetta.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/13 at 7:30, 12\/15 at 7:00<\/strong> John Rutter\u2019s well-known Gloria<\/em> and Daniel Pinkham\u2019s grand, modal Christmas Cantata<\/em> highlight the suburban choir\u2019s Christmas program. $15\u2013$48. Divine Word Chapel, 2001 Waukegan, Techny. chicagomastersingers.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/5, 7, 10 at 8<\/strong> Hector Berlioz\u2019s fever dream, the Symphonie Fantastique,<\/em> headlines a program with Shostakovich\u2019s Violin Concerto No. 1, played by the nonchalantly passionate James Ehnes, who last joined the CSO in performance in July at Ravinia. $32\u2013$241.<\/em> \n\t12\/8 at 8<\/strong> Third Coast Percussion plays new music, including Dark Rooms,<\/em> a piece the group commissioned from the local composer Marcos Balter. $10\u2013$20. Constellation, 3111 N Western. constellation-chicago.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/18 at 7:30<\/strong> The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center\u2019s latest Harris installment\u2014the complete Brandenburg Concertos of J. S. Bach\u2014is already a holiday tradition in New York. The connection to the holiday season is tenuous at best, but, hey, Messiah<\/em> was originally for Easter. $12\u2013$50.<\/em> \n\t12\/10\u20131\/18<\/strong> Die Fledermaus.<\/em> Hunky baritone Bo Skovhus plays a wealthy philanderer in this famous operetta about a practical joke gone wrong. \n\t12\/16 at 7<\/strong> One of the CSO\u2019s composers in residence, Mason Bates, specializes in blending electronica with symphony orchestra sounds. He premieres a new work, Carbide & Carbon. $10\u2013$25. Harris Theater, 205 E Randolph. cso.org\/musicnow<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/19\u201320 at 8, 12\/21\u201322 at 3<\/strong> The tenor Paul Agnew, who has sung the role of the Evangelist in both major Bach passions with MOB, conducts the group\u2019s holiday assortment of chants, carols, and other Christmas tidings. $27\u2013$75. Locations: baroque.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/21 at 8<\/strong> Other than choral voices, the sound people most associate with Christmas is brass. Boston Brass, one of the top quintets, performs at Ravinia with a pan-idiomatic program, including many arrangements from the Stan Kenton Orchestra. $10. Lake-Cook and Green Bay, Highland Park. ravinia.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/6\u20137 at 7:30, 12\/8 at 3<\/strong> The suburban-based vocal group sings a holiday program. $10\u2013$30. 12\/6: Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut. 12\/7\u20138: Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar, St. Charles. stcharlessingers.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t12\/4 at 7:30<\/strong> For lieder lovers, Franz Schubert\u2019s Winterreise<\/em> has the same inner-circle classic status that Beethoven\u2019s Ninth has to symphony lovers\u2014but without the overplaying baggage. For this intimate performance, the first in a winter and spring celebration of Schubert, some audience members will sit on stage with the baritone and pianist. $55\u2013$99. Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan. cso.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\tRelated Content<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tAnaphora<\/h2>\n
\n\tApollo Chorus<\/h2>\n
\n\tBella Voce<\/h2>\n
\n\tChamber Opera Chicago<\/h2>\n
\n\tChanticleer<\/h2>\n
\n\tChicago A Cappella<\/h2>\n
\n\tChicago Cultural Center<\/h2>\n
12\/4 at 12:15<\/strong> Rachel Schutz, soprano, and Jonathan Korth, piano.
12\/9 at 12<\/strong> Under the banner of the Latino Music Festival, a chamber group of Chicago Sinfonietta musicians plays music by Mexican and local Latino composers.
12\/11 at 12:15<\/strong> The adventurous brass quintet Gaudete Brass.
12\/18 at 12:15<\/strong> The straightforwardly named piano trio Bowlin-Li-Myer Trio.
78 E Washington. choosechicago.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tChicago Folks Operetta<\/h2>\n
\n\tChicago Master Singers<\/h2>\n
\n\tChicago Symphony Orchestra<\/h2>\n
12\/6 at 7:30, 12\/8 at 3<\/strong> The educational series Beyond the Score explores the Symphonie Fantastique,<\/em> a work telling the transparently autobiographical story of an artist and his unrequited love. $24\u2013$130.<\/em>
12\/10 at 7:30<\/strong> It\u2019s a repeat of the Symphonie Fantastique<\/em> program, with the 22-year-old native Chicagoan Gabriel Cabezas performing Shostakovich\u2019s Cello Concerto No. 1 instead of the violin concerto. $31\u2013$234.<\/em>
12\/12, 14 at 8; 12\/13 at 1:30, 12\/17 at 7:30<\/strong> The local pianist Jorge Federico Osorio tackles Carlos Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s percussive piano concerto. Ravel\u2019s well-known orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky\u2019s Pictures at an Exhibition<\/em> gets top billing, but Osorio\u2019s Ch\u00e1vez is the news. $39\u2013$255.<\/em>
12\/14\u201323<\/strong> Child Friendly.<\/em> The annual Welcome Yule! event combines sing-alongs, storytelling, dance, and \u201cbeloved holiday characters.\u201d $35\u2013$120.<\/em>
12\/19 at 3<\/strong> Somewhat buried on a Thursday afternoon, the CSO Brass\u2014the backbone of the orchestra\u2019s sound and arguably still the world\u2019s best\u2014performs brass repertoire and arrangements of symphonic works that edit out the strings, winds, and percussion. $33\u2013$122.<\/em>
12\/19, 21 at 8; 12\/20 at 1:30<\/strong> Christoph Eschenbach, no stranger to the CSO, having led it at Ravinia, conducts Beethoven\u2019s Egmont<\/em> Overture and Bruckner\u2019s Ninth Symphony, which he left unfinished at his death, forcing conductors to choose among scholars\u2019 completions. In between these two, the orchestra performs the contemporary composer Bernard Rands\u2019s . . . where the murmurs die . . . $31\u2013$217.<\/em>
Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan. cso.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tFrequency<\/h2>\n
\n\tHarris Theater<\/h2>\n
12\/19\u201320 at 7<\/strong> Speaking of Messiah,<\/em> the do-it-yourself version returns so choristers can flaunt their melismas. Remember there are only four hallelujahs before the grand pause. $15.<\/em>
205 E Randolph. harristheaterchicago.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tLyric Opera<\/h2>\n
Through 12\/20<\/strong> La Traviata.<\/em> The trending New York director Arin Arbus helms this production, which features the Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka as Violetta. $44\u2013$264.<\/em>
Civic Opera House, 20 N Wacker. lyricopera.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tMusicNOW<\/h2>\n
\n\tMusic of the Baroque<\/h2>\n
\n\tRavinia<\/h2>\n
\n\tSt. Charles Singers<\/h2>\n
\n\tSymphony Center<\/h2>\n
\n\tWilliam Ferris Chorale<\/h2>\n