The vocal group Chicago a cappella will feature some music from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in a concert titled “Chicago, Chicago with Geoffrey Baer.”
The concert includes the patriotic song “America the Beautiful” with music by Samuel Ward and lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates (arr. Deke Sharon). During the summer of 1893, Bates traveled from her home in Boston to Colorado. The English professor and writer was so moved by the scenes along the way that she preserved the “amber waves of grain” and “purple mountain majesties” in her most famous poem. “Thine alabaster cities gleam / Undimmed by human tears!” from her fourth verse references the White City of the World’s Fair in Chicago.
Chicago a cappella will also perform “Song of the Ferris Wheel” with music by George Schleiffarth and lyrics by M. A. Sturges (arranged by Jonathan Miller, founder and artistic director of the ensemble). George Ferris’s mammoth rotating wheel was the hit of the Midway and inspired many songs of the era.
Geoffrey Baer of WTTW serves as Guest Narrator for the concert, which includes many other works about Chicago and its rich history.
The concerts are offered on:
• Saturday, October 6 at 8 pm at the Stage of the Pritzker Pavilion (201 E. Randolph St. in Chicago)
• Sunday, October 7 at 4 pm at Pilgrim Congregational Church (460 Lake Street in Oak Park IL)
• Saturday, October 20 at 8 pm in Nichols Concert Hall (1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston IL)
• and Sunday, October 21 at 4 pm in Wentz Concert Hall (171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville IL)
Tickets range from $35 to $65 and can be purchased here.
