CPC Concert Series
The CPC Concert Series was established in 2019 as a ministry of CPC to bring top quality music to the community. We offer three concerts per year covering a wide range of musical styles from classical to modern, both instrumental and vocal, and featuring musicians from our area. The Concert Series Committee recognizes the capacity of music to calm, uplift, delight, solace, unify and much more, thereby enriching our community through these gifts of music.
Sunday, January 29, 2023
3:00 pm
CHAI Collaborative Ensemble
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Trumpet: Ryan Berndt
Soprano: Alicia Berneche
Violin: Emelinda Escobar
Piano: Talar Khosdeghian
CHAI Collaborative Ensemble is a Chicago-based collective dedicated to honoring history, advocating for new works, and engaging with communities through performances of mixed vocal and instrumental chamber music. The ensemble offers beloved classics in the chamber music canon alongside underperformed works from the past and present. Artists with us for this concert are trumpeter Ryan Berndt, violinist Emelinda Escobar, soprano Alicia Berneche, and pianist Talar Khosdeghian. Click here to find more information about CHAI. Expect to be inspired by the experience!
We hope you will join us in the Sanctuary at Community Presbyterian Church for this exceptional concert, and we encourage you to help us spread the word and invite your friends and neighbors to join us! You may download a version of the graphic shown above by clicking here.
The performance will last about 75 minutes with no intermission. Admission is free; however, donations will be appreciated.
The concert will also be livestreamed at chcpc.online.church
These concerts could not happen without the support of sponsors. If you renewed to be a sponsor of the 2022-2023 CPC Concert Series, we thank you wholeheartedly for your generosity. If you haven’t renewed yet or wish to become a sponsor for the upcoming season, click the button below to donate. To see information on all levels of sponsorship, click the button below for a Sponsorship Card that you can download, print, fill out, and mail. Your gift will be acknowledged as a tax-deductible donation to Community Presbyterian Church.
Want to be the first to know about the new season?
Email concerts.chcpc@gmail.com to be added to the Concert Series email list.
Announcing the 2022-2023 Concert Series!
Sunday, November 6, featuring the Wayne Messmer Quartet
We are thrilled to announce that our fifth season will open on Sunday, November 6, featuring the Wayne Messmer Quartet with special guest artist, Angel Spiccia. Wayne Messmer is the voice most often associated with the National Anthem, having performed for all of Chicago’s professional and college teams. From selections of the Great American Songbook to unforgettable classics that have stood the test of time, this program will take the audience on a sentimental journey of song.
Sunday, January 29, CHAI Collaborative Ensemble
On Sunday, January 29, we will welcome CHAI Collaborative Ensemble, featuring piano, trumpet, violin, and voice. CHAI Collaborative Ensemble is a Chicago-based collective dedicated to honoring history, advocating for new works, and engaging with communities through performances of mixed vocal and instrumental chamber music. The ensemble offers beloved classics in the chamber music canon alongside underperformed works from the past and present. Expect to be inspired by the experience!
Sunday, March 5, The Wind Ensemble, Quarantet
The season will conclude on Sunday, March 5, with the wind ensemble, Quarantet, featuring flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn musicians affiliated locally with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Grant Park Orchestra, and more. This refreshing ensemble will perform a variety of music featuring both classic and contemporary composers along with arrangements of popular songs from operas, movies, and musicals.
Each of these concerts is a rare opportunity that you won’t want to miss! To download the image of the concert season schedule above, you may click here.
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These concerts could not happen without the support of sponsors. If you renewed to be a sponsor of the 2022-2023 CPC Concert Series, we thank you wholeheartedly for your generosity. If you haven’t renewed yet or wish to become a sponsor for the upcoming season, click the button below to donate. To see information on all levels of sponsorship, click the button below for a Sponsorship Card that you can download, print, fill out, and mail. Your gift will be acknowledged as a tax-deductible donation to Community Presbyterian Church.
Want to be the first to know about the new season?
Email concerts.chcpc@gmail.com to be added to the Concert Series email list.
Sunday, November 6, 2022
3:00 pm
Wayne Messmer Quartet with special guest artist, Angel Spiccia
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Vocalist: Wayne Messmer
Vocalist: Angel Spiccia
Pianist: Chris White
Bass: Sean Jacobi
Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Dave Katz
From selections of the Great American Songbook, to unforgettable standards and classics that have stood the test of time, this program will take the audience on a sentimental journey of song. This concert will feature songs made popular by artists like Nat King Cole to Tony Bennett to James Taylor and the music of composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rogers and Hart, Michelle Legrand, and more.
Wayne Messmer is the voice most often associated with the National Anthem, having performed for all of Chicago’s professional and college teams, most notably, the Cubs, Chicago Wolves Hockey, The Blackhawks, Bulls, Bears, Northwestern and Loyola Universities. Messmer’s performances at the NHL All-Star Game and the 2016 World Series are considered among the most memorable.
His album, So Luck to Be Loving You with Pianist Judy Roberts has been critically acclaimed.
Supported by world-class musicians, The Wayne Messmer Quartet is enriched by the voice of one of Chicago’s most celebrated female vocalists, Angel Spiccia, who has appeared as a headline performer at leading venues in Chicago and across the country. Chicago-based Angel Spiccia is an extremely versatile performer and recording artist, equally comfortable with the classics, jazz and pop idioms. Her latest album is entitled, One Day All Too Soon.
The instrumentalists are among the most respected musicians working today. Pianist Chris White is a recording artist and professor of piano at the university level. Bassist Sean Jacobi is considered one of the finest double bass artists on the jazz scene today. Master of the trumpet/flugelhorn Dave Katz is in high demand as a soloist, recording artist and featured member of a number of big bands.
Past Concert Series
2021-22 Concert Series
March 20, 2022
Artemisia Vocal Trio
Artemesia, the female vocal trio, presents an engaging, multi-media performance titled “She Was.”
She Was revives past and little-known stories of women, and celebrates the storytellers among us today who are keeping their legacies and influences alive. These stories are sung to life with a mix of folkloric vocal traditions, and arranged/composed music created by the group and five newly commissioned works by living female composers: Kyong Mee Choi, Hope Littwin, Rochelle Rice, Jess Godwin, and Jori Pilcher. To creatively accentuate the power of voice in multiple respects, we pair the group’s live music performance with elements of sound design using recorded interviews, archival footage, and devised writing. They blend this with a theatrical and staged narrative, featuring animations from Anne Beal, in a visceral inquiry into our past, present, and future. Learn more at the Artemisia web site.
Download concert program HERE
February 6, 2022
Robert Chen, Violinist,
in concert with Matthew Hagle, Pianist
The concert will feature Robert Chen, Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and pianist Matthew Hagle, faculty member and Musicianship Program Director at the Music Institute of Chicago.
Robert Chen and Matthew Hagle will present sonatas for violin and piano by Claude Debussy and Serge Prokofiev. In addition, Mr. Chen will play solo sonatas for violin by J.S. Bach and Eugène Ysaÿe.
Download concert program HERE
November 14, 2021
Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble
The Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble is known for its fun and entertaining performances that offer an unexpected array of musical offerings. From Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue to Leonard Bernstein’s Suite from ‘West Side Story’ and many other beautiful and inspiring pieces, you won’t want to miss a note!
The concert will feature five brass players on trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba and an organist playing CPC’s Martin Ott tracker organ.
Download concert program HERE
2020-21 Concert Series
April 11, 2021: Chicago Strings
featuring members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera playing the music of Schubert, Boccherini and Beethoven
Download concert program HERE
February 14, 2021: Heart Strings featuring Gail Gillispie, lutenist
November 1, 2020: The MBC Ensemble in Concert
featuring Mike Brozick, trumpet, Betsy Waldon, organ and piano, Craig Felde, timpani playing works by Dvorak, Sibelius, J. S. Bach, and more.
Download concert program HERE
2019-20 Concert Series
October 20, 2019: Oriana Singers
A premier Chicago a cappella chamber choir. The Book of Love. Featuring songs by Imogen Heap, folksongs from Britain and Finland, and Renaissance madrigals.
February 9, 2020: Julian Chin Trio
Piano, bass, drums. Jazz on Broadway! Fresh variations on Broadway musical numbers.
February 24, 2019: Kevin Chunko, organ concert
Kevin was the CPC organist at the time. Sound Remembrances: Journeying from the Musical Past to Now
March 17, 2019: Agape Ringers
Chicago’s premier handbell ensemble.
2019 Concert Series
The CPC Concert Series relies on financial support from sponsors and free will offerings. Click here to make a donation to support the CPC Concert Series. Gifts of $25 or higher qualify as a sponsorship. Your gift will be acknowledged as a tax-deductible donation to Community Presbyterian Church.