Latest news is that Michael Jackson may have had some classical compositions in process.  

Not the only pop star turned composer, Paul McCartney quickly comes to my mind as another whos strictly classical creations including Liverpool Oratorio, and Ecce Cir Meum have been introduced to audiences. 

I'm always looking for something new, but not sure if songwriters writing pop songs - turned orchestral is all that.  

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Norman Pellegrini, long-time program director for WFMT radio, passed away early this morning.

Norm helped to launch the Chicago Chamber Musicians at the inception of the organization in the mid-1980s, recognizing immediately the quality of the founding artists, their unique vision and the potential for such an organization in Chicago.  He started by putting the artists on the air at WFMT on a monthly basis, and his fierce intelligence and keen passion were fodder for the seminal discussions and work that helped to build CCM in the early years.  Since that time, he has been an Honorary Director for CCM. 

Chicago Opera Theater has a really cool, fun You Tube promotion going on right now that one of the Chicago Sinfonietta musicians recently emailed me about. Kudos to COT for getting this creative, potentially viral marketing idea out to the community. 
Have any of you, our informed and technologically sophisticated users, seen other examples of this type of creative social networking that you would care to share with the rest of us?  Please post your examples so we can check them out!

This will be my last blog of the year.  Soon after the first of January there will be some significant changes coming to chicagoclassicalmusic.org.  We will be re-launching the site including a new design, improved navigation and functionality, and a new interface that will make posting user-generated content a breeze! 

We expect these changes to improve your experience, and hopefully, inspire you and others to make this site YOUR forum for exchanging ideas, viewpoints, and information on classical music in Chicago.  Of course, we will keep (and improve) the calendar, special offers from member organizations, blogs, and other elements. 

Thanks to all of you who have participated in chicagoclassicalmusic.org this year, and a special thanks to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust for their support.  On behalf of all of our member organizations, have a happy holiday season and a great New Year!

In the spirit of the holidays, I am delighted to share a link with you that will get you free music downloads from one of the greatest orchestras in the world. 

These are outstanding recordings of recent performances by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra are absolutely free! The offer expires at the end of December. Grab 'em now!

Franz Schubert - Symphony no. 8 'Unfinished'
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony no. 2
Felix Mendelssohn - Symphony no. 4 'Italian'
César Franck - Symphony in D minor
Gustav Mahler - Symphony no. 1
Antonin Dvorák - Symphony no. 8
Camille Saint-Saëns - Symphony no. 3 'Organ'
Jean Sibelius - Symphony no. 2
Anton Bruckner - Symphony no. 8
Johannes Brahms - Symphony no. 2

Click here and enjoy.

Thanks to Sinfonietta violinist and webmaster Dave Belden for passing this on to me.