A recent concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington featuring five outstanding student performers from the Northwestern University School of Music brought to mind many excellent musical performances available right here in the Chicago market.  These student performances, by the next generation of professional musicians, are often overlooked or discounted in favor of higher profile, but not necessarily higher quality, concerts. This is a plentiful and underappreciated musical resource. (Perhaps we can ignite the blogosphere to share ideas about combating the counterproductive pattern of  “celebritymusicianphobia” that motivates many patrons and inspires redundancy in arts programmers.)  

The School of Music concert at the Kennedy Center was part of the Conservatory Project that twice a year features outstanding students from the top music schools in the United States. These schools include Juilliard, Eastman, Curtis, Indiana, Manhattan, New England Conservatory, Berkley, San Francisco, and Northwestern University among others. (You can watch streaming video archives of this series by going to: http://www.kennedycenter.org/programs/millennium/conservatory.html)

If these student performances are a bellwether for the future of classical music, then we are in fine shape indeed.  Just as college sports often exceed the creativity and energy found at the professional level, so too do these inspiring young artists have that potential. Their vitality and fresh approach to familiar and new repertoire is a wonderful thing to experience.  

Most importantly, you do not have to travel out of state to find such performances.  A little online research of Chicago area music school calendars will reveal a treasure of concerts and recitals that will surprise, enlighten and entertain your musical muse. Many of them are free of charge. It is all there, just below the surface.

For the record, the five Northwestern University students who recently performed at the Kennedy Center were: Deanna Talens, cello (pictured above with Kay Kim); Ellen Huntington, flute; Jennise Hwang, violin; Karin Bliznik, trumpet; and Sergiy Komirenko, piano. Remember those names. They will be lighting up stages for many years to come.