February Highlights

	Rockefeller Chapel Choir

Rockefeller Chapel Choir & Metropolis Baroque Orchestra
J.S. Bach: St. John Passion
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.

Conducted by James Kallembach, Rockefeller Chapel Choir and the Metropolis Baroque Orchestra will perform a seldom-heard 1749 version of Bach’s masterpiece. The first of Bach’s two Passion settings, the St. John Passion comprises words and music from many sources. The core of the libretto is chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel According to Saint John; the hymns and chorales come from several 16th- and 17th-century hymnals. Michael Marissen, Bach historian, will give a lecture before the concert at 7 p.m.

The concert is co-sponsored by the Doris Taub Memorial Fund. Tickets may be purchased by cash or check through the Rockefeller Chapel Office, (773) 702-7059. Tickets may also be purchased by credit card after Feb. 19, through the Department of Music ticket hotline, (773) 702-9075. Tickets are $30 for chancel seating, $20 for the general public and $10 for seniors and students.

	A still from Rabbit by Run Wrake

Film Studies Center
Contemporary Short Work Animation Screening
9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 16
5811 S. Ellis Ave. Cobb Hall, Room 307, (773) 702-8596
http://filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu/

From hand-drawn, two-dimensional puppetry to computer-generated images, the screening will feature short narrative works. Daniel Sousa’s The Fable, a story where people transform into beasts of mythic proportion, will be featured, as well as Igor Kovalyov’s Milch, a snapshot of one day in a family’s life, and Ruth Lingford’s Pleasures of War. Additionally, featured animations are Jim Trainor’s Harmony, where animals are bestowed with the gift of self knowledge, and works by Run Wrake, Lily Carre and others.

	Durs Grünbein

Poem Present Reading and Lecture Series
Reading by Durs Grünbein
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15
Rosenwald Hall, 1101 E. 58th St., Room 405

A reading will be given by Durs Grünbein, author of seven volumes of poetry, most recently Ashes for Breakfast, and a collection of essays. His work has been awarded many major German literary prizes, including the Georg-Büchner-Preis. Grünbein’s collections of poetry include Grauzone morgens and Schädelbasislektion.

Grünbein has received the Peter Huchel Prize for Poetry and has published several essay collections and new translations of plays from antiquity, among them Aeschylus’ The Persians and Seneca’s Thyestes. His work, which also includes contributions to catalogues and a libretto for opera, has been translated into many languages. Grünbein also will give a lecture at 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 16, in Stuart Hall, 5835 S. Greenwood Ave., Room 101.

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Germanic Studies Center for Interdisciplinary Research on German Literature and Culture.

	China Magpie

International House
Silk Road Ensemble and Beijing-based China Magpie performance
7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23
1414 E. 59th St., Assembly Hall.

Wu Tong, a famous Chinese rock star, and the Silk Road Project have combined forces with China Magpie, Wu Tong’s four-member band of traditional instruments. China Magpie musicians, who play a mix of ancient and modern music, will perform in Assembly Hall in I-House at 7:30 p.m. The China Magpie performance is part of “Silk Road Chicago,” a yearlong partnership among the Silk Road Project, an international music ensemble founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the Art Institute of Chicago; and other cultural and educational institutions in the city. Several members of the Silk Road Project will accompany China Magpie during the I-House performance.

Earlier that day, China Magpie also will play a work-in-progress titled “Blue and White” in a workshop at 4 p.m in I-House, followed by a question-and-answer session. Additionally, at 10 a.m. the same day, China Magpie will present another workshop on music and composition in Fulton Recital Hall, 1010 E. 59th St. These events are free.