Half the Sky

Chicago, Ill. – Chamber Music at Bethany, presenting world-class chamber music on Chicago’s North Side, is pleased to announce its program “Half the Sky,” celebrating music by female composers who persisted, on Sunday, March 22 at 2 p.m. at Bethany United Church of Christ, 4250 N. Paulina St., Chicago, IL. Tickets are $20 general admission, $10 senior and student over 18, and free for those 18 and under. Chamber Music at Bethany is co-Artistically directed by Northwestern faculty pianist Yasuko Oura and Grammy-winning cellist Nick Photinos, who will be joined for this concert by soprano Emily Birsan, who Opera News called “Bright and Glittering,” as well as violinist Sang Mee Lee, winner of numerous competitions and faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago. Filipina activist and TED Speaker Mae Flores will also share her own story. “Half the Sky” refers to a Chinese proverb that translates to “women hold up half the sky.” But while women make up half the population, female composers are still chronically underrepresented in Classical music and face an enduring struggle to get their music performed or even to become a composer at all. This Chamber Music at Bethany concert features works by women who have overcome personal and professional battles to create works of lasting beauty. The program will include works ranging from the ninth century Byzantine abbess Kassia to turn of the century composers Alma Mahler and Pauline Viardot to Chicago’s own Stacy Garrop.