Amplify Your Experience
At UChicago Presents, we aim to bring you more than a fantastic performance. With lectures and talks, pre-concert performances, and special events like film screenings and listening sessions, we nurture your curiosity and inspire an enduring passion for music.
Meet the Music Makers
Get to know the musicians on our series through in-depth interviews with UChicago Presents.
Lectures and Talks
Dive deeper into the music with pre-concert lectures, get an inside look in talks with the artists, and engage with the music further in post-concert discussions. Lectures by UChicago scholars precede all of the concerts on the Classic Concerts Series and on the Howard Mayer Brown International Early Music Series, and each of the artists on the Music Without Borders series joins a UChicago scholar in a talk from the stage before their performance. Vijay Iyer also joins in a pre-concert talk, and UChicago scholars lead post-concert discussions following unique performances by the the JACK Quartet and The Boston Camerata.
Chicago Stage at the Logan
In partnership with the Jazz Institute of Chicago and the Logan Center for the Arts, UChicago Presents offers Chicago Stage at the Logan, featuring local up-and-coming jazz talent performing at 6:00 pm in Café Logan before select Jazz at the Logan concerts. This season features performances before concerts by Julian Lage and Fred Hersch, Craig Taborn and Kris Davis, the Aaron Diehl Trio with Warren Wolf, and Vijay Iyer.
Friday, October 18 – Cole DeGenova
Friday, November 22 – The Alejandro Salazar Quartet
Friday, February 21 – the Carmani Edwards Trio
Friday, May 15 – Isaiah Collier and The Chosen Few
Additional Special Events
Engage beyond the stage with a film screening and talkback, jazz listening session, and a medieval- inspired French dinner at La Petite Folie.
Screening and Discussion of Discovering a Musical Heartland: Wu Man's Return to China
Wu Man explores ancient Chinese musical traditions in her documentary Discovering a Musical Heartland: Wu Man’s Return to China. The film documents Wu Man’s expeditions through China’s remote regions as she unearths ancient musical traditions that are in danger of being lost among the more popular musical trends in the country today. Over the course of this independent project Wu Man interviewed family bands including the Hua Family Shawm Band, the Li Family Taoist Yin Yang Band, and the Zhang Family Shadow Puppetry Band to expose musical rituals and lifestyles to audiences outside of China.
Listening Session with Aaron Diehl
The remarkably versatile pianist who is equally at home with classical and jazz shares some of his favorite recordings and discusses his own music in a casual setting, moderated by University of Chicago Assistant Professor Jennifer Iverson.
Medieval-inspired dinner at La Petite Folie
Before The Boston Camerata's performance of A Night's Tale, based on an eight-centuries-old epic poem, join us for a special medieval-inspired French dinner prepared by chef Mary Mastricola at Hyde Park's own Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognized La Petite Folie.