Chicago AIDS Quilt Songbook Fundraiser
Saturday, October 11, 2008
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Hydrate Chicago  (Map it)
3458 N. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60657

Hydrate is excited to host the Kick-Off Fundraiser and Cocktail Party for the Chicago AIDS Quilt Songbook.

This is your chance to meet the composers and performers who will bring the December 1 concert supporting Season of Concern to life!

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Complimentary Hosted Bar featuring Stoli vodka, Bud Light and Red Bull, plus a delicious hors d’oeuvres buffet presented by Halsted’s Bar + Grill!

$10 Suggested Donation. All proceeds raised at the event will go to support the production and publicity costs for the December 1 Chicago AIDS Quilt Songbook concert benefiting Season of Concern presented by Chicago Opera Vanguard at the Court Theatre.

The first day of December has customarily been designated as "A Day Without Art". However, the concert tradition of The AIDS Quilt Songbook was started in 1992 by the late baritone William Parker, himself a 1993 casualty of AIDS related illness, for which he invited composers to add a "song panel" to a quilt of remembrance commemorating those infected or affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. Unfortunately, in recent years, the idea of presenting these concerts has largely fallen by the wayside.
In the face of this still prevalent epidemic, Chicago Opera Vanguard has asked a number of Chicago based or associated composers, including Augusta Read Thomas (Northwestern University), Josh Schmidt (“Adding Machine”), Greg Gliena (“Meet the Parents”), David Cerda (Hell in a Hadbag Productions) and playwright Lisa Dilman to create new songs as a continuation of this important artistic legacy.

The final works will be presented in a one night only concert on World AIDS Day, December 1 2008, at the Court Theatre in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

Chicago AIDS Quilt Songbook Kick-Off Party P2 Season of Concern is the Chicagoland theatre community's fundraising effort, providing compassionate care to those in our community who are experiencing the effects of catastrophic illness. This effort supports the fight against HIV and AIDS by contributing to programs that provide direct care (personal financial support, housing care, meals, medications, legal assistance, and other services) to members of the Chicago and Midwestern theatre community; and by addressing emergency needs expressed by theatre community members in their struggles against other life-threatening illnesses.

More information on Season of Concern can be found at www.seasonofconcern.org.
Chicago Opera Vanguard is Chicago’s newest, hippest opera company dedicated to exploring the delicate balance needed between performance, music, words, design and technology in order to make a truly transformative experience. COV is commited to creating accessible and exciting theatrical experiences by producing new works, giving a second voice to important or overlooked modern pieces, and completely reimagining the standard repertoire.

More information on Chicago Opera Vanguard can be found at www.ChicagoVanguard.org.
The first two incarnations of this project, The AIDS Quilt Songbook and Heartbeats: New Songs from Minnesota for the AIDS Quilt Songbook, both from 1992, featured a number of today’s most respected composers, writers and performers, including William Bolcom, Craig Carnahan, Chris DeBlasio, Melvin Dixon, Ethyl Eichelberger, Eve Ensler, Ricky Ian Gordon, John Harbison, Lee Hoiby, Aaron Jay Kernis, Libby Larsen, John Musto, Kurt Ollmann, Ned Rorem, William Sharp, Sanford Sylvan, and Donald Wheelock. A recording of The AIDS Quilt Songbook is available on Harmonium Mundi, and another of Heartbeats on the Innova label.

The AIDS Quilt Songbook is still in print in an edition by Boosey & Hawkes.

Website

Event type: Benefit/Gala, Bar/Club, Community, Dating, Cocktails, Fundraiser, Make a Difference Partner Event, Special Recreation, Health

Accessible by CTA train (5.5 blocks)

Please Note: Indicating that you are interested or going to this event does not necessarily guarantee admission. Refer to the event description for details about attending the event.

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