Mendy Benhiyoun

Cook County

Chicago Metropolitan Area

Lincoln Park

Illinois

Lakeview

Bucktown-Wicker Park

North Center-Roscoe Village

Chicago

Lincoln Square

West Side

Oak Park-River Forest

Rachel Barnes

Evanston

Skokie

Hyde Park

Fourth Presbyterian Church

Camerata Chicago, led by the chamber orchestra's founder and music director Drostan Hall, opens its 23rd concert season with a program featuring Felix Mendelssohn’s music for William Shakespeare’s <a href="https://www.cameratachicago.org/category/concert-series/2026-10-midsummer/?utm_source=patch&amp;utm_medium=event_calendar&amp;utm_campaign=2627_midsummer&amp;utm_content=season_listing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,”</a> Op. 61; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat Major, K. 297b; and the world premiere of Chicago-area composer Tony Payne’s “Fantasy on English Melodies,” commissioned by Camerata Chicago. All three are new to Camerata Chicago’s repertoire.
Mendelssohn’s music for Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Opus 61, comprises the overture Mendelssohn wrote as teenager and the incidental music he composed nearly two decades later.
The work includes the resplendent “Wedding March,” one of the most famous pieces of classical music, traditionally heard at the conclusion of the ceremony as the newlywed couple walks out in joyous celebration.
Hall, who was born in Norwich, England, and retains his “plummy” British accent, will narrate excerpts from the play, set in an enchanted forest, as well as conduct Mendelssohn’s witty and colorful, atmospheric score conjuring bird songs, buzzing insects, rustling leaves, and rippling creeks.
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat major, K. 297b, is a charming and melodious three-movement orchestral work. The soloists are four of Camerata Chicago’s principal players: Grace Hong, oboe; Elizandro Garcia Montoya, clarinet; Vincent Karamanov, bassoon; and Lee Shirer, horn.
“We are thrilled to feature our superb principal wind players for the first time with the programming of this marvelous concerto,” Hall says.
“Audiences who are used to hearing the Mendelssohn and Mozart played by a symphony orchestra can savor these more intimately scaled performances for the musical detail they reveal,” Hall says.
“Both are examples of works that were originally written for orchestras the size of Camerata Chicago,” he says, “as were many other important works in the classical repertoire we feature.”
Camerata Chicago, Hall says, “is about chamber-music intimacy on a larger stage.”
Hall describes Payne’s ““Fantasy on English Melodies” as “beautifully cast in the mold of Ralph Vaughan Williams, who turned English folk tunes into wonderful, spiritually uplifting compositions.” 
The “Fantasy,” which Payne dedicated to Hall, includes the folk ballad “Lovely Joan,” a tribute to Hall’s late mother, Joan.
Tickets and information
Single tickets are $50 adults, $40 seniors 65 and over, $10 students, $2 children 14 and under. VIP tickets are $75.
Using online code CCPR provides a 15% discount.
Tickets and information are available at CamerataChicago.org and by phone 312-799-0916. Email: andiamo@cameratachicago.org.

Local Event: Camerata Chicago — Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Camerata Chicago — Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer...

Camerata Chicago, led by the chamber orchestra's founder and music director Drostan Hall, opens its 23rd concert season with a...

Camerata Chicago — Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

1521 S. Linn White Dr., Northerly Island, Chicago, IL 60605

FEATURING ELDERBROOK LIVE AT SUNSET
The Wellness Retreat is taking over Chicago’s Northerly Island for one unforgettable day of movement, music, mindfulness and connection.
Move alongside leading instructors. Discover fresh ways to feel your best. Recharge by the lake, connect with your people and close out the day with a live sunset performance by Elderbrook.
This isn’t wellness as usual. It’s immersive, energizing and meant to be experienced out loud—together.
AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING.

For more information, <a href="https://speakeasygo.com/the-wellness-retreat/the-wellness-retreat-chicago?eid=EVE-I2830I" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">click here.&nbsp;</a>

(Photo Credit: © 2026 The Wellness Retreat. All rights reserved.)

Local Event: The Wellness Retreat: A Festival Where Mind, Body, and Music Meet

The Wellness Retreat: A Festival Where Mind,...

FEATURING ELDERBROOK LIVE AT SUNSET
The Wellness Retreat is taking over Chicago’s Northerly Island for one unforgettable day of...

The Wellness Retreat: A Festival Where Mind, Body, and Music Meet

Nearby Communities

State Edition

National Edition

Mendy Benhiyoun, Neighbor

Posting Activity

Camerata Chicago — Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The Wellness Retreat: A Festival Where Mind, Body, and Music Meet