May Performances at Harold Washington Library Center

Spring is in the air! Join us for an entertaining springtime break at the library!

This month the Harold Washington Library Center Visual and Performing Arts section host a series of performances in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium featuring local musicians, singers and dancers.

The Columbia College Chamber Choir
12:15 p.m. Thursday, May 7
The music moves from early vocal polyphony to contemporary a cappella in this concert by The Columbia College Chamber Choir, under the direction of Philip L. Seward. "We have a variety of music prepared, so there should be something for everyone!," Seward says. "We have music by Asola, Bernstein, Desprez, Gesualdo, Janczak, Kilar, Tchesnokov and others." This program is presented in cooperation with Columbia College Chicago.

Joy Qu, Pianist
12:15 p.m. Friday, May 8
Eleven-year-old Joy Qu, a fifth-grader at Kildeer Countryside Elementary School in Long Grove, Ill., plays classical piano works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt and Rachmaninoff. She started learning the instrument at age 5 with Brenda Huang. This program is presented in cooperation with The Emilio del Rosario Music Foundation, which fosters artistic excellence in gifted young pianists and composers.

Speakin' of the Blues
12:15 p.m. Thursday, May 14
It's blues season again in Chicago! Join us as we are "Speakin' of the Blues: Celebrating the Willie Dixon Centennial," the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dixon (1915-1992), an American blues legend. Award-winning harmonica player Billy Branch will perform with special guests Jacqueline and Keisha Dixon, who are members of Dixon's family. This program is presented in cooperation with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Haoming Song, Pianist
12:15 p.m. Friday, May 15
Eleven-year-old Haoming Song, a sixth-grader at Daniel Wright Junior High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., plays classical piano works by Bach, Hayden, Barber and Chopin. He has played piano since he was 5. This program is presented in cooperation with The Emilio del Rosario Music Foundation.

Missouri State University's Inertia Dance Company
6 p.m. Thursday, May 21
Inertia Dance Company, the resident student dance ensemble of Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance, performs its fourth annual concert showcase at CPL with Faculty Director Darryl Kent Clark. This year, Clark is taking the company in a new direction—the bulk of the work on the program has either been created or restaged for this concert, and the result is, according to him, "a bouquet of dance pieces that are alternately thought-provoking, visually stimulating and kinetically delicious."

Noumenon Dance Experience
12:15 p.m. Thursday, May 28
Noumenon Dance Experience, a Chicago-based contemporary jazz dance company, presents the 60-minute concert "Invictus." Kristi Mosbey serves as the artistic director and Alia Simon Mintijo as project leader for this program. Noumenon Dance Experience "encourages creative expression and development through unique choreographic exploration that is derived from diverse perspectives to bring life and relevance to social and historical phenomenon."