February includes both milestones and celebrations.
On the international scene, it was seventy years ago in 1956 when Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, hosted the Winter Olympics. The XXV Winter Olympic Games will be held in Milan and Cortina, February 6-22. My Italian relatives, who visited Chicago for the first time this past summer and loved it, live about thirty miles east of Cortina and are excited about the upcoming games. On the national scene, the Chicago Bears got so close, but didn't make it to Superbowl LX, which is February 8 at the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Closer to home…. Celebrate the centennial of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Coltrane, a jazz saxophonist, and Davis, a jazz trumpeter, were also band leaders, composers and are considered among the most significant jazz musicians of the 20th century. Pianist Emmet Cohen and his ensemble honor their legacies in a concert at SPACE in Evanston entitled "Miles and Coltrane at 100," February 24-25.
The 60th anniversary farewell tour of the Latin Grammy Award®-winning duo Sérgio and Odair Assad, comes to Northwestern University's Galvin Recital Hall on February 21. Sérgio and his wife were my guests, many years ago, at a chamber music concert and dinner at a club on Michigan Avenue. He is modest and unassuming, but given his reputation and talent, everyone wanted a selfie with him. He is married to the astro-physicist Angela Olinto, formerly of the University of Chicago and now provost of Columbia University.
The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, partners with the Lyric Opera of Chicago on February 11 for "Beyond the Aria" at the Harris Theater. The concert features some the most celebrated voices in opera today and up-and-coming singers from the Ryan Opera Center.
If you're looking for a musical event over St. Valentine's Day weekend, Chicago City Opera presents Massenet's "Cendrillon" (Cinderella) at the CheckOut, February 13-14. The Dover Quartet wraps up this year's Winter Music Festival at Northwestern University's Galvin Recital Hall on February 14. The newly appointed Organiste-Titulaire of Paris' Church of Saint-Sulpice, Karol Mossakowski, performs at St. Chrysostom's on February 13. Saint-Sulpice has been famous for centuries for its music program and brilliant organists. Free admission; no tickets are required, but donations are gratefully accepted.
The Frequency Festival, Chicago's contemporary and experimental music festival, is marking its 10th anniversary with concerts at various venues around the city, February 24-March 1. For more contemporary music and to celebrate Yoko Ono's 93rd birthday, head to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA). "A Day for Yoko Ono" on February 7 features her work "Cut Piece" (1964), and "A Night for Yoko Ono" on February 18 (Ono's birthday) features her work "Sky Piece to Jesus" (1965), which will be performed by Northwestern University's Contemporary Music Ensemble. The "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" exhibition at the MCA closes February 22.
Celebrate the Museum of Contemporary Photography's 50th anniversary at its Darkroom benefit and auction on February 26 at the Columbia College Chicago Student Center. The museum's "MoCP at 50: Collecting Through the Decades" exhibition continues through May 16.
Having lived on or just off of Lake Michigan all my life, I'm very familiar with the term 'cooler by the lake.' The Hyde Park Art Center presents the exhibition "Ann Toebbe: Cooler by the Lake," February 28-June 14.
Geared for theatergoers 5 years old and under, and adult family and friends, "Splish Splash: A Day on the Lake" runs February 28, March 1 and March 8 at the Goodman Theatre's Alice Theater. The musical is a collaboration with the Goodman, Northwestern University's Imagine U, Northwestern undergraduate students and two-to-five-year-olds from Total Child Preschool in Evanston.
Chicago Children's Theatre's all-ages 20th Birthday Bash on February 28 features story time, crafts, and a sneak peek of its upcoming production "Goodnight Moon." RSVP for free.
Thanks to my good friend Doris Timmen, I have seen some incredibly powerful productions at Steep Theatre. Directed by Jonathan Berry, "Steep 25: A Quarter-Century of Fearless Theatre" at the Bramble Arts Loft features scenes and stories from the troupe's past twenty-five years, February 26-28.
Chicago Theatre Week returns February 5-15 with value-priced tickets to a wide variety of performances across the city and suburbs.
Set fifty years ago in a music studio, the most Tony Award®-nominated play of all time and the most Tony Award®-winning show of 2024, David Adjmi's "Stereophonic" is at the CIBC Theatre through February 8.
Chloé Zhao's film "Hamnet," based on Maggie O'Farrell's novel of the same name concerning William Shakespeare's son, received eight Oscar® nominations. The Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal Street Productions present the U.S. premiere of O'Farrell's "Hamnet" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, February 10-March 8. O'Farrell tells how the death of Shakespeare's son Hamnet inspired him to write one of his most famous plays, "Hamlet." Chicago Shakespeare Theater is also presenting a condensed version "Short Shakespeare! Hamlet" through February 28.
Joffrey Ballet, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, presents "American Icons" at the Lyric Opera House, February 19-March 1, featuring the works of four influential choreographers including Martha Graham, whose dance company is celebrating its centennial. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Winter Series runs February 26-March 1 at the Harris Theater. As part of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's "On Stage" series, the museum presents "La Nuée" by Algerian-born, Paris-based choreographer Nacera Belaza, February 27-March 1.
As a sort of post-St. Valentine's Day celebration, Mandala South Asian Arts dedicates the world premiere of "Śiva Bhāva: Love, Care, and the Cosmos" at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, February 20-22, to dance and love.
And as a precursor to St. Patrick's Day (March 17), Trinity Irish Dance Company, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, performs at The Auditorium on February 28 as part of The Auditorium's "Celebrating Women Leaders in Dance" series.
Commemorate Black History Month by watching WTTW programming with a Chicago connection such as: "Bessie Coleman: Queen of the Skies" (February 16); "Chicago Stories - The Birth of Gospel" (February 20); "American Masters - Sun Ra: Do the Impossible" (February 20); "Chicago Stories - Pullman and the Railroad Rebellion" (February 21) and "Chicago Stories - House Music: A Cultural Revolution" (February 22).
After a frigid January, it's hard to fathom that fifty years ago on February 27, 1976, the temperature hit 75 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago, becoming the warmest day in Chicago's meteorological winter history.
Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.