After grieving the loss, there can be the celebration of life.
Thoughts of loved ones, past memories and traditions will fill the house when the Chicago Sinfonietta presents “Regresar/Revisit,” a Dia de los Muertos celebration. The concert, performed at 8 p.m. Nov. 4 at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville, and again at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Symphony Center in Chicago.
“I think this is likely to be the coolest Dia de los Muertos concert we’ve ever put on stage,” said Jim Hirsch, chief executive officer of the Sinfonietta said. “Not only bringing back the amazing Mozart treatment, but having the folk group there to play. What a great melding of traditional Mexican folk music with symphonic music. That’s one of the things I love about the way we program here at Sinfonietta — the very unusual and unique experiences that we provide to audiences.”
While Dia de los Muertos celebrates lost loved ones and is a somber occasion, it is also one where you celebrate the lives of those you were close to, he said.
The annual Day of the Dead celebration, now in its seventh year, will feature the return of special guests and some musical selections from previous performances in honor of the Sinfonietta’s 30th anniversary.
The Sinfonietta will revisit a work it previously performed for the annual Dia de los Muertos concert, he said. Together with Roosevelt University’s Conservatory Choir and NewMoon Chicago, they will perform six movements from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem.”
“It was the final piece that he ever composed,” Hirsch said. “He actually died in the middle of composing this.”
NewMoon Chicago will dress the choir members in costumes and masks for the performance.
“We did this about four/five years ago, and it instantaneously became one of the audience’s favorite things that we’ve ever done. So we’re going to be closing the first half by performing these six movements with the choir in these costumes and masks. It’s a stunning visual as well as sound landscape that we create with. It’s kind of an unforgettable part of the evening.”
During the intermission, there will be several activities related to the concert theme available in the lobby. Among those is the creation of an ofrenda — a traditional alter created for the deceased.
“We will be creating an ofrenda in the lobby of our venues and inviting our audience members to put the name of a lost loved one on a ribbon that we will be providing,” Hirsch said.
“When people come to a Sinfonietta concert we always invite active participation, so this concert will be no exception to that,” Hirsch said.
Prior to the Nov. 4 concert at Wentz Concert Hall, the West Suburban Friends of Chicago Sinfonietta will be hosting its annual Dia de los Muertos reception/fundraiser. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the lower level of the concert hall, includes a Mexican-inspired buffet dinner provided by Geneva-based Altiro Latin Fusion, open bar, entertainment and costume contest.
“We really kind of delve deep into the tradition of the holiday,” Hirsch said.
Tickets to the fundraiser and Sinfonietta concert are $100, or $50 for just the fundraiser. Family packs (two adults, two children) are also available for $175 for just the reception or $250 for the reception and concert. Funds raised help support the Sinfonietta’s programming in the suburbs. Reservations can be made by calling 312-284-1559.
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Chicago Sinfonietta: “Regresar/Revisit” A Dia de los Muertos Celebration
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 4
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Where: Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $10-$62
Information: 312-284-1554; www.chicagosinfonietta.org