RECOMMENDED Not since the dismantling of City Musick back in the early 1990s over money, not art, has Chicago had a regular period-instrument orchestra. Music of the Baroque has always been a modern-instrument ensemble and since its board ungratefully tossed out its innovative founder Thomas Wikman, should be re-named Music of the Classic Era rather than Baroque with Mozart and Haydn having become the cornerstone repertoire. That left a wide-open field for another Baroque ensemble to emerge, and emerge it has: Baroque Band is midway through its first regular season under the direction of British violinist Garry Clarke (part of a millennial British Invasion of local music organizations that includes Jane Glover over at Music of the Baroque, Sir Andrew Davis at Lyric Opera, Brian Dickie at Chicago Opera Theater, et al) and has maintained a steady presence as the back-up band for Hyde Park’s Rockefeller Chapel Chorus and ensemble-in-residence at the Music Institute of Chicago as well as inaugurating its own concert series. This special appearance as part of the City of Chicago’s Sunday Salon Series gives audiences a chance to sample the wares, as it were, free of charge as Baroque Band performs music of Corelli, Albinoni and Vivaldi. (Dennis Polkow) Sunday, February 3 at Preston Bradley Hall, 78 E. Washington, (312)744-6630. 3pm. Free.
In Praise of Pegboy: A Chicago Punk Band, Thirty Years On What stands out on the debut EP is the quality of the songs and Larry Damore’s vocals, blunt to the point of sounding almost bone-headed but never diminishing his bleeding-heart passion.
