Chicago Sinfonietta Ball on June 4 Celebrates the Legacy of Its Founder, Maestro Paul Freeman

    CHICAGO, IL, April 06, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Chicago Sinfonietta will host its annual Ball on Saturday, June 4 at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel. This year's theme is "Maestro's Legacy...Today. Tomorrow. Forever." The event will celebrate the legacy of the Sinfonietta's late founder and true pioneer, Maestro Paul Freeman, who founded the Sinfonietta in 1987, retired in 2011 and passed away in 2015 at the age of 79. The event's Corporate Chair is Linda Boasmond of Cedar Concepts Corporation and the Civic Chair is Dr. Greta Pope Wimp. The Honorary Chairs are the Betty and Edward Gardner Family. Cedar Concepts Corporation is the Title Sponsor of the Chicago Sinfonietta Ball.

Each year Chicago Sinfonietta hosts more than 550 guests from among Chicago's top corporations and private supporters to raise much needed critical support for the Sinfonietta's innovative concert season and expansive education outreach programs. Individual reservations for the Ball are $400 per person; sponsorship opportunities range from $1,250 to $75,000.

The ball will feature a cocktail reception, three-course gourmet dinner, a $10,000 raffle, live auction and paddle raise to support education programs and a signature performance by the full orchestra, under the baton of three Freeman Conducting Fellows, with surprise guest artists. The evening will conclude with a post-performance cocktail celebration and dance party.

"We are proud to dedicate this year's annual ball to the life and legacy of Maestro Freeman," said Sinfonietta Ball Civic Chair, Dr. Greta Pope Wimp. "He was a true visionary who changed the landscape of classical music in the United States and beyond. He offered opportunity for a diverse community of musicians and composers to contribute their immense talents to one of the finest and most creative orchestras in the world."

Under the direction of Music Director Maestro Mei-Ann Chen and Executive Director Jim Hirsch, Chicago Sinfonietta has continued Maestro Freeman's mission of providing exciting opportunities for minority musicians while showcasing the range of musical expression that is present in the many symphonic musical traditions of the world.

For more information about the Chicago Sinfonietta Ball and to make reservations or arrange sponsorship, please contact Courtney Perkins, Director of Development and Operations for Chicago Sinfonietta at (312) 284-1559 or by email at [email protected]. For more information, please visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org/2016ball.

About the Sinfonietta
Entering its 29th season, Chicago Sinfonietta has pushed artistic and social boundaries to provide an alternative way of hearing, seeing and thinking about a symphony orchestra. Each concert experience blends inventive new works with classical masterworks, each from a diverse array of voices, to entertain, transform and inspire. Learn more at www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

Chicago Sinfonietta is grateful to its season supporters including: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Nicor, Pritzker Foundation, Chicago Magazine, Southwest Airlines, the Hotel Arista, the Fairmont Hotel, WXRT 93.1, Chicago Reader, Naperville's SECA fund, Naperville Magazine, the Illinois Arts Council and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Chicago Sinfonietta is also grateful to its event sponsors Exelon, PWC, Aon, Hyatt, Macy's, Molex, ABC7, and Telemundo.

About Mei-Ann Chen
Innovation, passion and dynamism are the hallmarks of American conductor Mei-Ann Chen. Music Director of the Memphis Symphony since 2010 and of Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, she has infused both orchestras with energy, enthusiasm and high-level music-making, galvanizing their audiences and communities alike. A sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Chen's reputation as a compelling communicator has resulted in growing popularity with orchestras both nationally and internationally.

Distinguished orchestras and opera companies with whom she has guested internationally include Sweden's Gothenburg Symphony and Norrlands Opera, the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Austria's Grosses Orchester Graz, and Brazil's Sao Paulo Symphony and Minas Gerais Philharmonic, Denmark's Danish National Symphony and other principal orchestras, Germany's Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, Finland's Tampere Philharmonic the Netherlands Philharmonic, Norway's Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Trondheim Symphony, and Taiwan's National Symphony. North American guest engagements include the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Colorado, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Nashville, Oregon, Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., among others.

For more information on Chicago Sinfonietta, please visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

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