We’re keeping it classical, today. Jim Hirsch, Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Sinfonietta, has assembled a smart, sophisticated art and music ensemble for our Art Mixtape series. Put your pinky away—these matches are free-flowing and fun, like word association for the musically-minded. Though he’s a seasoned professional with decades of executive experience in the music and performing arts worlds, this “recovering folkie” doesn’t take himself too seriously. What he is serious about, is directing the nation’s most diverse orchestra. Hirsch has overseen impressive expansion and growth at the Chicago Sinfonietta, including incredible new initiatives like Project Inclusion, a program dedicated to addressing the dearth of minority musicians playing in American orchestras. His role at the Sinfonietta brings together his love of music with his passion for social justice and social change. It’s an awfully harmonious meet up.
The Chicago Sinfonietta’s season opens today in Naperville, IL, and at the Symphony Center in downtown Chicago on 9/24, but if you can’t make it to a concert you can still show your support or get involved. BTW, the Chicago Sinfonietta has an exclusive offer for 20x200 readers: 20% off a ticket to any concert in their 2018/19 season with code MIXTAPE. Scroll down for deets.
In the meantime, peep Hirsch’s Art Mixtape, in which 20x200 editions and various orchestral pieces put on a concert of their own. These pairings are perfectly in tune, and a total delight to look at and listen to. — Jen Bekman + Team 20x200
Hi, and welcome to my Mixtape! The powers that be want me to explain what's great about pairing artworks and music, and for me the best thing is making my artsy friends either jealous or mad. But beyond that delicious benefit, it's fun to combine two of my favorite things in the world and share it with a bunch of people I don't know, but would like to. Music and art (along with golf, my friends, and full-bodied Italian wine) have helped keep me "sane" in these insane times. And in full disclosure, most of these links are from my favorite orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta! Hope you enjoy the ride. — Jim Hirsch
1. La Mer by Claude Debussy // Hatō zu 1 by Uehara Konen
2. Delights and Dances as performed by Chicago Sinfonietta // Juke Joint, Melrose, Lousiana by Marion Post Wolcott
3. Daphnis et Chloé by Maurice Ravel // Earthrise, a 20x200 Space Edition
4. Symphony No. 1 as performed by Chicago Sinfonietta // nobody's free until everybody's free by rayo & honey
5. Saibei Dance as performed by Chicago Sinfonietta // Asakusa ricefields and Torinomachi Festival by Ando Hiroshige
6. Concerto for Orchestra #1 as performed by Chicago Sinfonietta // Ventanas (Desert) by Carolyn Castaño
7. Concerto #2 as performed by Chicago Sinfonietta // Immanence by Corey Drieth
9. West Side Story, Mambo as performed by Chicago Sinfonietta // New York skyline, a 20x200 Vintage Edition
10. West Side Story, Tonight as performed by Chicago Sinfoniette // Black on Blue by Giovanni Garcia Fenech
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The 411 on Jim Hirsch
 A recovering guitarist/folkie, Jim is now the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Sinfonietta, our nation's most diverse orchestra. In this job he gets to combine his love of music with his passion for social justice and social change through the arts. |
