Our Bureau
Chicago, IL
Chicago Sinfonietta presents IGNITE, a bold, dynamic 2025-26 season fueled by passion, creativity and expression, celebrating the power of music, the culture of Chicago, paying tribute to those who have and continue to inspire change, and lighting the way to deeper connections. The season offers a diverse, colorful, curated selection of contemporary and established music from around the globe and closer to home, genre-defying collaborations, and powerful premieres, featuring symphonic music, reimagined, for all.
Opening the season is Bollywood & Beyond, a celebration overflowing with joy, color, energy, light, and sound – a journey that pays homage to global creativity and human and cultural connections. Let the Chicago premiere of the first-ever symphonic orchestral arrangements of irresistible Bollywood gems transport you across the world with renowned, North American Bollywood sensation, award-winning vocalist Anuradha “Juju” Palakurthi, and former Chicago Sinfonietta Freeman Conducting Fellow, Indian American conductor Roger Kalia. Return to the West during the concert’s second half with Taiwanese American Music Director Mei-Ann Chen leading selections from past concerts, including her first guest appearance, the concert in which Sinfonietta Founder Paul Freeman passed her the baton, and Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2018 incredibly popular “Sea of Light” Diwali program featuring the Sinfonietta debut of a work by Indian American composer Reena Esmail. Feel the rhythm of the music light the way as you cross the world in one night.
Event details:
Chicago Sinfonietta
Bollywood & Beyond – Season Opening Concert
Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director
Guest Artists
Roger Kalia, conductor
Anuradha “Juju” Palakurthi, vocalist
Friday, October 17, 2025 – Wentz Concert Hall, Naperville – 7 PM
171 E Chicago Ave, Naperville, IL
&
Saturday, October 18, 2025 – Studebaker Theater – 7 PM
410 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
Program
First Half
Selections from “Symphony Masala” (Chicago Premiere) featuring iconic songs of the last 70 years of Indian film music.
Roger Kalia, conductor; Anuradha “Juju” Palakurthi, vocalist
Second Half
Tyzen HSIAO The Angel from Formosa
Reena ESMAIL Teen Murti (Indian American composer)
Maurice RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
An-Lun HUANG Saibei Suite No. 2, Op. 21: Saibei Dance
Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Chicago Sinfonietta (CS) is a modern 21st century orchestra that is redefining symphonic music, and the way it is performed. Visit the Sinfonietta’s website for more details on education, community and intermission events chicagosinfonietta.org.
