Now a beloved Summer tradition, the series brings free, world- class chamber music to Chicago, on Tuesdays, June through August during the evening rush hour at St James Cathedral.
Rush Hour Concerts
When: Tuesdays June 3 - August 19, 2025, 5:45 - 6:30 pm Where: St. James Cathedral – 65 E Huron Street, Chicago Cost: Free
Make summer nights classic with concerts featuring Chicago’s best classical musicians and ensembles. Founded by Deborah Sobol in 2000, Rush Hour Concerts are the perfect way to relax after a workday and soak up some beautiful music in a short but lovely format. The best ensembles in the city perform programs designed to enliven commuters and make the most of summer. Each concert is live streamed through the CMC website and excerpted performances are often broadcast on 98.7 WFMT radio.
RUSH HOUR CONCERTS
2025 Season
June 3, 2025 - 26th Season Opener
Reena Esmail - Piano Quintet Antonin Dvorak - Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81
Stephanie Jeong and Matous Michal, violins Danny Lai, viola Alexander Hersh, cello Victor Santiago Asunción, piano
June 10, 2025 - Kontras Quartet
Terry Riley - G Song Charles Ives - String Quartet 1 Daniel Bernard Roumain - Klap Ur Handz from String Quartet No. 5 Komitas Vartapet - selections from Armenian Folk Songs
Kontras Quartet Eleanor Bartsch and Sherri Zhang, violins Ben Weber, viola Jean Hatmaker, cello
June 17, 2025 - Matthew Lipman & Victor Asunción
Johannes Brahms - Sonata in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1 Clara Schumann - Three Romances Op. 22 Johannes Brahms - Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 120 No. 2
Matthew Lipman, viola Victor Santiago Asunción, piano
June 24, 2025 - Music for Flute, Viola and Piano
Maurice Duruflé - Prélude, Récitatif, et Variations Eduardo Angulo - Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Piano Leo Sowerby - Trio for Flute, Viola, and Piano, H. 149
Tim Hagen, flute Wilfred Farquharson, viola Christopher Guzman, piano
July 1, 2025 - Summer Shimmers
Jennifer Higdon - Summer Shimmers Ludwig Thuille - Sextet for Piano and Woodwind Quintet, Op. 6
Emma Gerstein, Flute Kevin Pearl, Oboe Jay Shankar, Clarinet William Buchman, Bassoon Alexander Love, Horn Marta Aznavoorian, piano
July 8, 2025 - Grant Park Music Festival String Fellows
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen; arr. Danish String Quartet - Shine You No More Arturo Marquez - Homenaje a Gismonti Stacy Garrop - Ribbons of Steel Maurice Ravel - String Quartet in F major, M. 35 Billy Strayhorn; arr. Paul Chihara - Take the “A” train
Javier F. Torres-Delgado, violin Maria Gabriela Mendez Martinez, violin Joshua Thaver, viola Manuel Papale, cello
July 15, 2025 - Clarinet Quintets
Ruth Gipps - Rhapsody, op. 23 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Clarinet Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581
Susan Warner, clarinet Cornelius Chiu and Kozue Funakoshi, violins YouMing Chen, viola Dan Katz, cello
July 22, 2025 - Ars Musica Chicago
Antonio Vivaldi - Lungi dal vago volto, RV 680 Alessandro Stradella - Sinfonia in D Minor George F Handel - “Amarti sì vorrei” from Teseo, HWV 9 Giuseppe Clemente Dall’Abaco - Cello Sonata in D Minor, ABV 35 George Frideric Handel - “Oh, that I on wings could rise”, from Theodora, HWV 68
Ars Musica Chicago Hannah De Priest, soprano Isabelle Seula Lee, violin Ana Kim, cello Brandon Acker, archlute Jason J. Moy, harpsichord
July 29, 2025 - Intimate Letters
Osvaldo Golijov - Mariel for cello and marimba Augusta Read Thomas - New Work for Chen String Quartet and Josh Graham, Percussion *World Premiere Leoš Janáček - String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters"
Chen String Quartet Robert Chen and Laura Park Chen, violins Beatrice Chen, viola Noah Chen, cello
Joshua Graham, percussion
August 5, 2025 - Merida Trio
Franz Schubert - Piano Trio in B-flat major, D. 28 Amy Beach - Piano Trio, Op. 150 Arno Babadjanian - Piano Trio in f-sharp minor
Merida Trio Charlene Kluegel, violin Jean Hatmaker, cello Katherine Petersen, piano
“Rush Hour Concerts are a treat every summer. We look forward to going to St James every Tuesday evening for a wonderful 45 minutes of beautiful music in that lovely and welcoming setting.”
- Joyce and Richard Prince, Classical Music Chicago generous supporters
Thank you to our supporters
Rush Hour Concerts are presented in partnership with St. James Cathedral.
Rush Hour Concerts are made possible through the generosity of the Zell Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and contributions from individual donors.