Mayor Proclaims Rush Hour Series Awesome

Hear ye, hear ye! The honorable Richard M. Daley has declared today Rush Hour Concerts Day in Chicago! All his subjects are required by law to submit to his will and attend the opening concert of the tenth Rush Hour season tonight!

O.K., histrionics aside, Daley actually did declare today Rush Hour Concerts Day in Chicago, and although we made up the part about mandatory attendance, we do strongly urge you to go.

Rush Hour is a series of free events that take place every Tuesday through the end of August at the St. James Cathedral in River North. The evenings start at 5:15 p.m. with refreshments from the sweet food group, the savory food group, and the wine food group, followed by a thirty minute concert by some of the area's top musicians, including current and former members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Chicago Chamber Musicians.

Tonight's concert is most of Mozart's "Gran Partita" (certain movements won't be performed to keep the show under a half hour). You can read about the serenade for twelve winds and string bass on Rush Hour's blog, which, along with their podcast series, Flickr photostream, YouTube channel, and flash drives with the evening's concert available for purchase right after it ends, makes them one of the most technologically savvy classical organizations. They probably didn't need anything more than free food and music to attract a younger audience, but it's nice to see that embracing new trends and old music is not incompatible.

The full season schedule can be seen here.

65 E. Huron, tonight, June 2, 5:15 p.m. reception, 5:45 p.m. concert, FREE