Campanella Children’s Choir Brings Music, Poetry to Nortbrook Library

Campanella choristers sing at the Northbrook Library

There wasn’t a free seat in the house as Campanella Children’s Choir, the Chicago Trio and guitarist Mikhail Sytchev got ready for an Evening of Music and Poetry.

 

For poems, we drew upon the classical tradition as well, using poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and William Wordsworth. In a slightly more contemporary touch, we used Morning by Leonid Aronzon as a final poem.

Guitarist Mikhai Sytchev

Some pieces were performed entirely by the Chicago Trio (guitarist Natalya Chernysh, cellist Irene Schweizer and piaonist Diana Kofman). Sytchev performed some pieces solo. Some of the pieces featured individual choir members performing solo, while others had the choir perform together. And for some songs, all of the musicians and singers at the concert joined together to perform something beautiful.

The Chicago Trio

It was the notion of joining together that inspired Campanella Choir Artistic Director Marianna Kosaya and art historian Tanya Ilina to out together a concert that featured both music and poetry. Kosaya explained that poetry and music are intrinsically intertwined, informing and inspiring each other. Together, they could lead to something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.  

Parisian Salon Concert Series founder Didier Lapauw introduced Campanella Choir

The concert was part of the Parisian Salon Concerts series, which runs monthly at the Nortbrook Library. The series was founded by Didier Lepauw, a former first violinist at the Paris Symphony. Lepauw wanted to put together a concert series that took inspiration from the salons of old and showcased talented musicians from across Chicago area. The Campanella Choir was honored to be a part of it.

And, by the looks of things, the audience enjoyed it, too. There were so many people attending that some of them had to stand. And when the concert ended, the entire room erupted in thunderous applause.

Our Evening of Music and Poetry was a great event, and we have many more in store. Please visit our Facebook page to follow the latest information about our upcoming events.