The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has just announced its 2008 / 2009 season. Tickets are already on sale, so here are a few Chicagoist recommendations to keep in mind: Peter and the Wolf May 3, 2008 This orchestrated children’s story, complete with narration, is perfectly suitable for adults as well. You may already be familiar with the music; the “wolf” musical theme with three French horns is also used for Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story.......

Random things that we like: those who do what they love, and groups that help to foster that experience. That’s why we are kinda interested when we hear about organizations like the Chicago Cello Society which, since its inception in 1980, has strived to unite Chicago amateur and professional cellists to promote the art of playing the instrument as well as its standing in the musical world. David Sanders –- currently a cellist in......

We all know that Chicago has a little something for everybody. As far as dance classes go, there are bountiful opportunities throughout the city to try something new, develop a new skill, or just plain old embarrass yourself in front of your significant other. We went ahead and found some of the more interesting offerings in the way of dance classes: Get in the action! AMEBA is an acrobatic and aerial dance troupe that also......

It's going to be gorgeous this weekend but might rain tonight, so grab your umbrella before heading out. Just in case. The The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 1 million cribs today after a Trib investigation linked the cribs to the deaths of three children. Congressman Jerry Weller (R-Morris) won't be running for an eighth term because he wants to spend more time with his family. Not because he's been named one of the......

Here’s what we missed as we considered an Obama/Keyes rematch: Breathe a sigh of relief. In the eleventh hour, the Chicago Symphony and the Chicago Federation of Musicians reached a new multiyear contract. We can’t tell you more than that until the official announcement on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal’s Terry Teachout considers recent controversies involving Chicago theater critics reviewing (or not reviewing) “developmental” productions and wonders whether critics can or should be kept away......

Here’s what you missed while you were sneezing and burning: Guest #18, your comments are hilarious, but how do you fare with a live audience? If you think you’ve got the chops, submit a 1-2 minute video to Time Out Chicago by September 20. Best entries will be screened online for their discerning website visitors. The top four will compete live for the chance to be crowned “Chicago’s Funniest Person.” (... at least according to......

The Ravinia Festival summer schedule has been released, a consolation prize for those of us who couldn’t score cheap Lollapalooza passes. Online ticket sales begin April 19 and won’t require multiple browser windows and copious amounts of prayer. True to form, the 2007 schedule offers much to satisfy the 45-55 year old demographic: the Beach Boys, Doobie Brothers, Steve Miller, and that ABBA tribute band return. Programmers share Perry Farrell’s fondness for the 90s, booking......

Usually, the divide between the sports community and the arts community is about as wide as Lake Michigan. You're about as likely to find some Chad wearing his Illini cap in Symphony Hall as you are to find an Art Institute board member watching a game at John Barleycorn's. Until the Bears make the Super Bowl, that is — that's enough to bring everyone together. Across the city, we find evidence of arts and sports......

Stroger appointed his dad's doctor as county health bureau chief. The principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, was named the 2007 "Musician of the Year" by Musical America. Someone stole an entire trailer ($50,000 worth) of broccoli in the suburbs. The city auctioned off 50 new taxi medallions. A minimum bid of $60,000 was set for the medallions, but the lowest winning bid was $77,250. The highest bid was $81,002. $3.9......

Remember to crack a window. You don't want to die from inhaling Liquid Plumr fumes, like this guy. The Bulls are teaming up with WFP to feed hungry schoolchildren in Darfur, Sudan, with a $100,000 donation. Chicago Symphony Orchestra donated $60k worth of musical instruments to Chicago Public Schools. Jewel is closing Starbucks' in-store cafes and Dominick’s is adding them. Rivalfish shows how terribly white they are by trying to put together a remix......

Marshall Fields’ loyalists still stewing at Macy’s takeover now have another reason to boycott or reluctantly patronize the newly rebranded stores. Macy’s has taken over sponsorship of Symphony Center’s Day of Music, and the results are rather dubious. The annual event used to go overnight and into Sunday. But in recent years the mondo free celebration couldn’t even outlast a Field’s 13 Hour Sale, and today’s event is an hour shorter than last year’s. Still,......

Daniel Barenboim has left Chicago, but he hasn’t stopped thinking big. Conducting his multicultural, multi-faith West-Eastern Divan Orchestra across Europe this week, Barenboim is taking a stand against war in the Middle East and, since 1998, has provided an example of how Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs from across the region can work together. But the commendable project isn’t exactly a musical utopia. The tours have been outside the Middle East and certain musicians won’t develop......

TECH NOTE: We're not trying to silence you today or anything, we're having technical difficulties that are causing comments to not work across the entire Gothamist Network. Hopefully this will be resolved by later tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. This week's CTA news: US Cellular customers can make cell phone calls on the trains, everyone can make 911 calls, and we're now able to track buses to try to figure out why......

Ms. Oprah’s homegrown musical, The Color Purple, won a Tony Award for Leading Actress. Bad news: it failed to win in nine other nominated categories. Departing Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music Director Daniel Barenboim takes a parting shot at his audiences: “The fact remains that a great majority of the intellectuals in this world are totally oblivious to the existence of music.” League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director & CEO Deanna Shoss is resigning her......

Some arty-farty Chicago stories we’ve been checking out on the internets today: * The National Endowment for the arts awarded $1.1 million in grants to various people, places and things that make life worth living in Illinois. Recipients include some Chicago heavyweights like the Lyric Opera and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as the Mexican Fine Arts Center and Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice. To our mind, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association is putting......

It’s a bad sign when even watching the news makes you miserable. While the flood waters have started to recede along the Gulf Coast and positive stories are emerging about Katrina survivors reunited with their families, the 24/7 aftermath coverage and Oprah’s inspired but rather graphic reporting have worn us down. As we approach the anniversary of another tragedy, we will set aside time to reflect but still plan to get on with our weekend.......

Back in third grade, Chicagoist constructed a moving, baseball-themed diorama with a ball that actually sailed over a distant (all the way on the other side of the shoe box) outfield fence and an accompanying audio track. Mean Mrs. Morris gave it a "B," and Chicagoist cried in front of the whole class. In an ideal world, Mrs. Morris would have been replaced by Frances Glessner Lee, a native Chicagoan, heiress and crimefighter who spent......

We the people have been invited to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra town meeting Tuesday night to offer our input on the replacement for long-time music director Daniel Barenboim. You can join the official search committee at 5:30 in Buntrock Hall at Symphony Center for an update on their progress (Barenboim announced his departure a year ago, so we’ll assume it’s going, you know, s…l…o…w…l…y) and then share your personal likes/dislikes in an open-mic jam......

Joffrey Ballet: The Nutcracker Christmas without the Joffrey and “The Nutcracker” would be like fruitcake without the fruit. This production didn’t travel the country and sell out the Kennedy Center for nothing, and now here it is, right in your very own backyard. Go. See. Repeat. Auditorium Theatre Tickets: $15–$90 Through Dec. 26 Branford Marsalis and the CSO The CSO goes all saxophone with Branford Marsalis and works by those three stooges Shostakovich, Glazunov,......

Both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians and the City College teachers have made contract agreements. On Saturday, CSO musicans ended the threat of a strike by signing a 3-year contract that increases their base pay to $2,000 weekly or $104,000 anually with raises starting in September and continuing every 6 months. Musicians are going to have to pay for their own health-insurance, but gee.. with that kind of cash we're thinking it won't be a......

Yeh, we're actually sick of people saying "XXX is the new black" but like we said, we have Friday brain, so whatev! And it seems like striking is the new cool thing to do in Chicago. Recently there was the teachers' strike, then the threatened striking of Sun-Times workers, and now the Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians have been told that a strike is imminent. Yesterday they were told to clean out their lockers at the......

Next week kicks off The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Friday Night at the Movies series. Sadly, this does not mean the CSO will be projecting movies onto its back wall and serving brie and wine like some upper-crust Brew and View. Instead, they’ll perform musical scores from some well-known films. A logical starting point for this series would be the silent film era so Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” will kick things off on October 15th.......

Rachel Barton Pine is a violinist on a mission spread classical music. And she's doing it by going on rock stations and playing heavy metal songs on her Guarneri violin. Rachel grew up in a poor household in Irving Park/North Center. She first played the violin at age 3 and obsessed with it soon after, she began taking lessons with a rented violin. At 10 Rachel made her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony and......

We don't know about you, but Chicagoist absolutely can not wait for this long holiday weekend to begin!! We've tried to round up everything that's going on in Chicagoland, but if there's something we've missed that's sure to be a good time feel free to add it in the comments. Happy Fourth of July! � Fireworks! Fireworks! � Head up to Wrigley to see the Cubs vs. the Sox � Eat your way through the......