Pocket Philharmonic
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07/24/2025
🚨 LAST CALL! 🚨
Tomorrow is the final day to apply for the NEXUS Chamber Music Internship!
Are you (or someone you know, age 19–22) passionate about music and curious about what it takes to run a festival or work in arts administration? This is your chance to gain hands-on experience with a world-class music organization.
📩 Send your application materials to [email protected] today!
10/17/2024
The reviews are in… Check out these student reflections from our October 4th concert.
10/07/2024
What an unforgettable day! On Friday, over 350 Chicago school children blew us away with their energy and enthusiasm during our “Old School, New Faces” program! Hosting such a massive event would not have been possible without our sponsor or the incredible help of Raul Fernandez and the volunteers at . 🎵 Stay tuned for exciting content coming up!
10/03/2024
☀️ Meet Susi ☀️
❓What is one of your favorite pieces to play and how do you feel when playing it?
☀️My favorite piece is Mahler 1 and it is always interesting experience to play. The large scale of the orchestra creates a powerful sound and the emotional range of the work is immense, demanding a lot from the musicians technically and dynamically. It is a staple of the repertoire and always a challenge.
Meet Susi tomorrow at Old Town School of Folk music!
❓What draws you to playing chamber music?
☀️I love playing chamber music because it’s a fun challenge that lets me connect with other musicians on a deeper level. When you’re playing in a small group, everyone’s part is important and you really have to listen to each other to make the music work. It’s also really rewarding to work together to create something beautiful and moving. Plus, chamber music concerts are usually in smaller, more intimate venues, which I enjoy.
Meet Susi TOMORROW at Old Town School Of Folk Music!
10/03/2024
♦️ Meet Charlene ♦️
💬What draws you to playing chamber music?
🎻I feel alive when I play chamber music. Chamber music is the perfect blend of individual voices functioning together as collective. Since there is no “boss”or constant leader, we all have to work together, making decisions democratically and sharing leadership responsibilities. In great chamber music playing, it is true magic when the voices work together to create a piece of art that is greater than the individual part.
💬What helps you connect to the music you are playing?
🎻I always start with the score - looking at the notes, harmonies, melodies, expressive marks. All of these things give me clues for how the music can be shaped into sentences and paragraphs and ideas to express the music’s characters or feelings. Then finding out what the composer was thinking about or going through when they were writing the music gives me the context for what I think and feel about the music. When it comes time to play the music, I put my energy into expressing all these feelings and thoughts through my violin.
Hear Charlene play with the Pocket Philharmonic TOMORROW at Old Town School of Folk Music!
10/02/2024
We are so excited to feature our new partner Nova Linea Musica at Old Town School of Folk Music this Friday!
🎻 🎶 Get ready for a musical journey with the Pocket Philharmonic’s "Old School-New Faces" on October 4! 🎉 In collaboration with Guarneri Hall and Nova Linea Musica, this concert features the brilliant Rabia Brooke and Alexander Hersh as soloists along with a stunning ensemble of local Chicago musicians! 🌟 Don’t miss this blend of classic and contemporary October 4 at Old Town School of Folk Music !
10/02/2024
💭What is one of your favorite pieces to play and how do you feel when playing it?
⭐️One reason why I am attracted to my instrument is because of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. I feel that I can create a magical and distant sound-world that captures the listener from the opening theme. I love that I am able to express a wide variety of dynamic ranges in the movements, portraying fire and ice.
💭 What draws you to playing chamber music?
⭐️Chamber music is an essential component of my life as a violinist and violist. I’m inspired by the repertoire, especially late Beethoven and Bartók and Quartets, and I’m attracted by the collaborative nature of rehearsals – the exchange of ideas with fellow musicians as we bring old masterpieces and new works to life.
You’ll have two chances to catch Rabia of Nova Linea Musica with a double feature at Old Town School of Folk Music THIS FRIDAY, October 4 at 10:30AM and 12:30PM!
10/01/2024
🎼 Meet Alex
💭What draws you to playing chamber music?
🎤For me chamber music has always been something held in the highest regard. I’m the 4th generation string player in my family and much of the conversation growing up, centered around chamber music. From the music itself to the relationships forged along the way, chamber music has remained one of the most vital things in my life.
💭How has music impacted your relationships with others?
🎤Most of my closest friendships formed through music. People who I first met at music camp when I was 14 years old remain today some of my closest friends. It’s amazing how many friendships one can make through this craft and how much joy and meaning this box of wood can give others and ourselves.
You are just five days away from meeting Alex in-person at Old Town School of Folk Music (Friday, October 4, 2024).
09/29/2024
Meet Momo 📯
❔Describe a musical experience when the collaboration went well.
🎵I’ve just released my second album with a jazz guitarist, as a classical French hornist. I would say that the collaboration went well on the basis that the finished product resonates with us both of us, and because we continue to work together. I think we were successful in our goal of playing meaningfully together through authenticity, openness, and a playful attitude- mainly, being willing to explore the possibilities and ambiguities of an unusual instrument pairing.
❔How do you connect with the music you are playing?
🎵I connect to the music I’m playing by relating similarities and differences to the music that I enjoy listening to/have heard before, as well as learning or imagining what the composer meant by their composition.
You’ll have two chances to meet Momo at Old Town School of Folk Music Friday, October 4 at 10:30AM and 12:30PM!
09/29/2024
🎶 Meet Vincent 🎶
❓How has music impacted your relationships with others?
⭐️I find that music has helped me learn how to have fun while getting good work done! Playing music is a uniquely diligent and expressive field, and I learn so much from my peers while also seeing a goofier side of them.
❓What draws you to playing chamber music?
⭐️Chamber music is the best! In my opinion, it is the most collaborative form of music, and is quite easily accessible to the public, as opposed to full orchestras that require lots of organization. I am definitely an advocate for making music more accessible, and to have a chance to elevate chamber music with the Pocket Philharmonic is very exciting.
Meet Vincent on Friday, October 4 at Old Town School of Folk Music!
09/24/2024
🎶 Meet Christian 🎶
What draws you to playing chamber music?
I love the intimacy of chamber music. There is a lot of opportunity to connect deeply with other musicians and the audience when the ensemble is paired down. It can feel more personal than a larger ensemble.
What helps you connect to the music you’re playing?
For me it is a feeling. It is hard for me to feel connected to a piece if it does not make me feel anything. It doesn’t always have to be a good feeling, but hopefully I can feel something.
09/19/2024
Meet Lidanys 🎻
How has music impacted your relationships with others?
Music has taken me to places where I meet people from different parts of the world. It’s interesting to get to know their culture, having them share their stories, and find out how different we can be, in terms of language, beliefs, and ways to look at things. Music puts us together where we can communicate in one unique way.
What draws you to playing chamber music?
As a cellist, I enjoy playing chamber because having the job of being the bass of the group it’s very important and fun! I also like how we communicate by just breathing, eye contact, and body movement- we are all leaders!
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11 East Adams Street Suite 350A
Chicago, IL
60603
