The Chicago Sinfonietta rounds out its season on May 21 and 23 with its “Cosmic Convergence” program, which features the music of two Subito composers: Michael Abels’ Global Warming and Roberto Sierra’s Jubilo.
Chicago Sinfonietta music director Mei-Ann Chen
Music director Mei-Ann Chen offers some insight into the ensemble’s season finale. “[This last performance] of our season is entitled ‘Cosmic Convergence’ because the music on the first half showcases the convergence of Latin, 
African American and European musical influences and culture…Our final concert begins just as our first concert of the season did with the music of Roberto Sierra. Jubilo kicks off the evening with music that is not surprisingly filled with a sense of jubilation and occasion. This work was instrumental in bringing Sierra to the attention of orchestras worldwide and has since become a stable of orchestra repertoire since its premiere in 1985.
“Following our theme of ‘convergence,’ Michael Abels weaves together rhythmically complicated melodic lines drawn from a multitude of cultural influences in his prophetic work entitled Global Warming. Written around the time of the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, Global Warming was originally conceived as a piece that reflects the many similarities between folk music of divergent immigra
nt cultures and celebrates these common threads as well as the sudden improvement in international relations that occurred at the time. The work has taken on new meaning in the last few years with the growing concerns around global climate change.”
More in May: on the 20th, violist Christian Colberg performs Sierra’s Concerto for Viola with The Musica de Camera Orchestra at El Museo del Barrio in New York City.
