Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Local Classical Music Concerts (January 3-9 2016)




The Classical music scene kicks off the New Year with a wonderful selection of music.



Sunday, January 3

Mabel Kwan, piano/clavichord (8:30 pm) Constellation, Chicago

Tuesday, January 5

Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lopez: Bel Canto (7:30 pm) Civic Opera House, Chicago

Wednesday, January 6

Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Afterwork Masterworks - Jonathan Nott, conductor/Johannes Moser, cello (6:30 pm) - Symphony Center, Chicago

Julliard Orchestra - Itzhak Perlman, conductor (7:30 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Thursday, January 7

Chicago Symphony Orchestre - Afterwork Masterworks - Jonathan Nott, conductor/Johannes Moser, cello (8:00 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Friday, January 8

Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Afterwork Masterworks - Jonathan Nott, conductor/Johannes Moser, cello (1:30 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Lincoln String Quartet - Winter Chamber Music Festival (7:30 pm) Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston

Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lopez: Bel Canto (2:00 pm) Civic Opera House, Chicago

Newberry Consort - Le Roman de Fauvel (8:00 pm) Newberry Library, Chicago

Saturday, January 9

Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Afterwork Masterworks - Jonathan Nott, conductor/Johannes Moser, cello (8:00 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Lyric Opera Orchestra - Placido Domingo & Ana Martinez with Sir Andrew Davis (7:30 pm) Civic Opera House, Chicago

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Get Cozy with Hoopla!


Is the gloomy winter weather getting you down? If you don't feel like braving the elements to come sit by our cozy fireplace with a great book, why not curl up at home with a movie on your computer, iOS, or Android device, accessible through one of our downloadable services - Hoopla!

Here are just a few of the titles available on hoopla (and on DVD at the Library):


Holiday Inn / Bing Crosby
Holiday Inn: This 1941 holiday classic features Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and plenty of musical numbers!
On DVD










Cover image for Django unchained [videorecording (DVD)]Django Unchained In this violent 2013 Academy Award Winner, a slave turned bounty hunter seeks to free his wife. Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson. On DVD


Cover image for Kindergarten cop [videorecording (DVD)]
Cover image for Double indemnity [videorecording (DVD)]Kindergarten Cop Arnold Schwarzenegger goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a dangerous criminal in this 1990 comedy.
On DVD










Double Indemnity: This 1944 film stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, and is one of the all time film noir greats!
On DVD










Cover image for Blackfish [videorecording (DVD)]
Blackfish: This critically acclaimed 2013 documentary explores the dangers of keeping orca whales in captivity.
On DVD








The Tale of Despereaux : Based on the children's novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, this animated fantasy adventure for children features a cast full of recognizable voices.











There's something for everyone!

Need help with Hoopla? Make sure to check out our PDF instructions here

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Kennedy Center Honors - 2015


The Kennedy Center Honors took place at the White House on December 9, 2015 and will broadcast on CBS on December 29, 2015.


EaglesAmerican rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971) (Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner)

The band has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide.  They have been awards six Grammy Awards, five #1 albums and topped the single charts five times.  They were also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Initially they were only together from 1971-1980.  They reunited in 1994 for an MTV concert special. A live recording, Hell Freezes Over, sold million of copies and launched a tour which ended in August 1996.

Carole King (Born Carol Joan Klein on February 9, 1942 in Manhattan, New York City) (Singer-songwriter)

King and her then husband Gerry Goffin began writing songs for various artists in the 1960s.  She made her breakthrough album Tapestry in 1971 which topped the U.S. charts for 15 weeks in 1971. She has made 25 solo albums.

King has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987. She and Goffin were awarded the National Academy of Songwriters' Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988 and in 1990, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  King was honored with the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and in 2004, Goffin and King received the Trustees Award from The Recording Academy.  In December, 2012, King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  She was the first woman to be the recipient of the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

George Lucas (Born on May 14, 1944 in Modesto, California) (Filmmaker, entrepreneur)

Lucas is best known for creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones.  In 1973 he was the writer-director of the film American Graffiti.  It was inspired by his teen years in Modesto, California and received five Academy Awards nominations including Best Picture.

In 1977 Star Wars became the highest-grossing film at the time and the winner of six Academy Awards.  Following Star Wards, he produced The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).  With Steven Spielberg, he co-created and wrote the Indiana Jones firlms Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Temple of Doom (1984), and The Last Crusade (1989).  In 1999, Lucas wrote a Star Wars prequel trilogy - Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005).  He also wrote the Indian Jones sequel Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Rita Moreno (Born Rosa Dolores Alverio on December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico) (Actress, Singer, Dancer)

Moreno is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers to have won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy for The Electric Company Album in 1972, and a Tony for Googie Gomez in Broadway's The Ritz.  She was the second Puerto Rican to win an Oscar in 1962 for her role as Anita is the film version of West Side Story and The Golden Globe.

In film, she has performed in The King and I as Tuptim and Singin' in the Rain starring Gene Kelly.  Other films habe been The Night of the Following Day, Marlowe, Carnal Knowledge, The Ritz, The Four Seasons, I Like it Like That, Angus, Carlo's Wake, Blue Moon, Pinero and Casa de los Babys.

Her theater roles include Lola in Damn Yankees, Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, Doris in The Owl and the Pussycat, and Mama Rose in Gypsy.  This past January, Rita was honors as the 50th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

Seiji Ozawa (Born on September 1, 1935 to Japanese parents in Makden, Manchukuo) (Conductor)

Ozawa is known for his advocacy of modern composers and his work with the San Francisco Symphony and the Boston Symphony.  He began his career in piano, but because of an rugby accident shifted his musical focus from piano performance to conducting.

In 1959, he won first prize at the International Competetion of Orchestra Conductors held in Besancon, France.  He studied under Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.  He served as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Ravinia Festival, Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony.  In 1973, he became the Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Cicely L. Tyson (Born on December 18, 1924 in New York City, New York) (Actress)

Cicely was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Award for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972).  She starred in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), and won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA Award.

She has been nominated for twelve Primetime Emmy Awards and won three. In 2011, she appeared in the film The Help.  Others films include The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (Emmy), Roots, King, Sweet Justice, The Marva Collins Story, and A Lesson Before Dying.  Also, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, fried Green Tomatoes, Because of Winn-Dixie, Hoodlu, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea's Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married Too?, and Alex Cross.

Tyson has won many awards including many NAACP Image Awards.  She has a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame and is the recipient of the NAACP's highest honor, the Spingarn Award.


Monday, December 21, 2015

Happy Holidays....shopping and relaxation!

"Christmas, Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you love to hear
Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping! Shopping! Shopping!" As sung by the group Straight no Chaser in their album  Christmas Cheer.

Are you done with your shopping? If you are, good for you, but some of us wait until the last minute, perhaps for a better deal or just procrastinating.  If you are one of these people, then you are starting to get stressed out with the hustle and bustle!
So how do we get the joy and the spirit of the holidays back into our life? The following DVDs should help relieve some of the

stress:
Element. Yoga for stress relief & flexibility - helps to undo the physical and mental effects of tension.
Guided Relaxation for Sleep - uses simple breathing, meditation and yoga techniques
 Yoga for Energy & Stress Relief - promises to revitalize mind & body
Yoga for Stress Relief - features poses to help regulate breathing and soothe frayed nerves.
Daily Yoga - gets you ready in the morning and calms you in the evening

Perhaps you would rather just sit back, put your feet up, close your eyes and enjoy some quiet moments. If that's you, then here's some CDs that will help:
Mozart for morning meditationMusic for Zen meditation and Awakenings .

There are many more to choose from at the Library, so relax and happy shopping!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Local Classical Music Events - December 20-29




Celebrate the joyous holiday season by attending a local classical music event.



Sunday, December 20

Apollo Chorus - Handel's Messiah (2:00 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (3:00 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Music of the Baroque - Holiday Brass and Choral Concert (3:00 pm) Divine Word Chapel, Northbrook

Monday, December 21

Merry Merry Chicago with the Von Trapps (3:00 pm) Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago

Do-It-Yourself Messiah (7:00 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Tuesday, December 22

Merry Merry Chicago with the Von Trapps (3:00 pm) Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago

Do-It-Yourself Messiah (7:00 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Wednesday, December 23

Naria Kim & Evan Solomon (12:15 pm) Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago

Merry Merry Chicago with the Von Trapps (3:00 pm) Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago

Sunday, December 13, 2015

National Book Award for Fiction: We Have a Winner!

The 66th National Book Awards were announced November 18 on NPR. From a short list of five books (blog of October 14, 2015), one was chosen:
Adam Johnson’s Fortune Smiles: Stories. The six stories in this collection delve into love, loss, natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina), the influence of technology, and life in North Korea. Johnson has been compared to George Saunders, Kurt Vonnegut, and David Mitchell (reason enough to pick up this book and give it a try!), but most say Johnson is an American original who offers his own unique perspective on the world.




Another winner: Non-fiction


Ta-Nehesi Coates won for best non-fiction book of 2015 with his book Between the World and Me in which "Coates takes readers along on his journey through America's history of race and its contemporary resonances through a series of awakenings..." (Publisher).




The National Book Foundation's mission is to celebrate the best of American literature. Starting in 1950, the National Book Award has been the first to find and reward quality writers like poet William Carlos Williams, William Faulkner, Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Jonathan Franzen, James McBride, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jesmyn Ward.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Picture This: Romantic Photographers

There is something alluring about a photographer taking aim with his or her camera and capturing the beauty and mystery of the subject. The intensity of focus and the dramatic poses can capture the heart of readers and take them on a developing story. Here are a couple of snapshots of books you won’t want to miss.

Sophie is a successful photographer when Josh Strachan returns to town to run his family business. He is smitten, but Sophie doesn’t return the feeling but Josh doesn’t give up.

Where You Belong by Barbara Taylor Bradford 
Valentine Dennigan is an American photojournalist covering the Kosovo war. She is traveling with her lover, Tony Hampton. Tragedy strikes when he is killed in an ambush, and Val’s grief turns to shock when she meets Tony’s widow at the funeral.

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller 
When a National Geographic photographer shows up at the door of Francesca Johnson’s farm asking for directions, their worlds are turned upside down with a romantic interlude that changes both their lives forever.

Laughing At The Thunder by Amanda Harte 
Tom Fleming has promised his editor a pictorial of the perfect Fourth of July woman and considers himself lucky when he meets the Martha Wentworth York in small-town Texas. But Martha isn’t interested in being his subject and the more she resists, the more Tom is convinced he has met the woman of his dreams.


-KF

Friday, December 11, 2015

Local Classical Music Events (December 13-19)





Get into the holiday spirit by attending a local classical music concert.


Sunday, December 13
Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lehar: The Merry Widow (2:00 pm) Civic Opera House, Chicago

Glenview Concert Band - Holiday Concert (3:00 pm) Glenbrook South High School, Glenview

Monday, December 14
Renee Fleming sings music of Patricia Barber (7:30 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Tuesday, December 15
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus - Messiah (7:30 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Wednesday, December 16
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass (8:00 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Friday, December 17
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (7:30 pm) Harris Theater, Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (8:00 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Saturday, December 18
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1:30 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Music of the Baroque - Holiday Brass and Choral Concert (8:00 pm) St. Michael's Church, Old Town, Chicago

Sunday, December 19
Music of the Baroque - Holiday Brass and Choral Concert (3:00 pm) Divine Word Chapel, Northbrook

Lake Forest Symphony - "Sounds of the Season" (4:00 pm) Lumber Center, Grayslake

Apollo Chorus - Messiah (7:00 pm) - Harris Theater, Chicago

Glenview Concert Band - Toys for Tots Holiday Concert (7:00 pm) Glenview Community Church, Glenview

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (8:00 pm) Symphony Center, Chicago

Chicago a cappella - Holiday Program (8:00 pm) Nicols Concert Hall, Evanston

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Not Just for Teens: Horror

Check out these spine-chilling novels that are not only great for teens, but for adults as well.

Book Jacket

Mortal Danger
by Ann Aguirre

Agreeing to join the mysterious Kian's magical faction to exact revenge on a group of bullies who have tormented her, Edie transforms into a beautiful girl and begins to sabotage the bullies' inner circle only to discover dark truths about Kian's world.  First in Immortal Games series.



Book Jacket

The Girl From the Well
by Rin Chupeco

Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the innocent ghosts of the murdered-dead and taking the lives of killers with the vengeance they are due, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.  First in the Girl from the Well series.





The Accident Season
by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Every October Cara and her family become mysteriously and dangerously accident-prone, but this year, the year Cara, her ex-stepbrother, and her best friend are 17, is when Cara will begin to unravel the accident season's dark origins."  


Book Jacket

The Fall
by Bethany Griffin

A retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Fall of the House of Usher' in which Madeline and her twin brother, Roderick, suffer from the Usher family illness but she hears the House talking to her, filling her dreams, controlling her actions, and ensuring she never leaves the property.  

Book Jacket

The Madman's Daughter
by Megan Shepherd

Dr. Moreau's daughter, Juliet, travels to her estranged father's island, only to encounter murder, medical horrors, and a love triangle.




Sunday, December 6, 2015

Local Classical Music Events (December 6-December 12, 2015)




Here are some classical music events happening in Chicago and the northern suburbs for the upcoming week - December 6-December 12.

December 6
CSO Chamber/Oberon Ensemble (2:00 pm) - Fullerton Hall, Art Institute of Chicago

William Ferris Chorale - Christmas Concert (2:30 pm) - Madonna della Strada Chapel, Loyola University

Chicago a cappella - Holiday Program (3:30 pm) - St. Clement Church, Deming Place, Chicago

December 7
Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lopez: Bel Canto (7:30 pm) - Civic Opera House, Chicago

December 10
Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lopez: Bel Canto (7:30 pm) - Civic Opera House, Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Chicago Symphony Chorus - Handel: Messiah (8:00 pm) - Symphony Center, Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lehar: The Merry Widow (2:00 pm) - Civic Opera House, Chicago

Chicago Master Singers/Ars Viva strings - Traditional carols (7:30 pm) - Divine Word Chapel, Techny

December 12
Lyric Opera of Chicago - Lopez: Bel Canto (7:30 pm) - Civic Opera House, Chicago

William Ferris Choral - Christmas concert (7:30 pm) - Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Chicago Symphony Chorus - Handel: Messiah (8:00 pm) - Symphony Center, Chicago


Thursday, December 3, 2015

Rockinʼ around the Christmas tree!



ʻTis the season for all things merry and that includes music. If you are like me, sometimes my holiday cheer arrives a little late.  Here is a list of new holiday music to put you in the mood, find your Christmas spirit and help you spread some cheer. Happy listening!


Brian Setzer Orchestra

India.Arie

LeAnn Rimes

Sarah McLachlan

Idina Menzel


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Local Classical Music Events (November 29-December 5, 2015)






Be sure to check out these classical music events in the Chicago area for the upcoming week.

November 29
Chicago a cappella - Holiday Program (4:00 p.m.) - Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (3:00 p.m.) - Symphony Center, Chicago

Music of the Baroque - Judas Maccabaeus (3:00 p.m.) - North Shore Center, Skokie

Orion Ensemble (7:30 p.m.) - Nichols Concert Hall, Music Institute, Evanston

November 30
Music of the Baroque - Judas Maccabaeus (7:30 p.m.) - Harris Theater, Chicago

December 1
Chanticleer (7:30 p.m.) - Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Niles Metropolitan Chorus (7:00 p.m.) Messiah - St. John Brebeuf Church, Niles

December 2
Chanticleer (7:30 p.m.) - Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman (7:30 p.m.) - Constellation, Chicago

David Kaplan  (12:15 p.m.) - Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago

Lyric Opera's Bel Canto (6:00 p.m.) - Civic Opera House, Chicago

December 3
Lyric Opera's The Merry Widow (7:30 p.m.) - Civic Opera House, Chicago