PROGRAM OF THE LOGAN CENTER
We invite you to participate in our exciting 13th year anniversary season featuring both local and world-renowned performing artists representing the disciplines of dance, music, storytelling, opera and poetry. Teachers, students, and families throughout Chicago are encouraged to attend our educational and innovative programs.
We provide professional development sessions to support educators with connecting the matinee performances to curriculum. Professional development sessions are required to participate in School Matinees. These workshops will be on Zoom. Each session will provide participants with educational resources.
Each teacher is able to register for up to 3 school matinees per calendar year. Two free buses will be provided per school and schools can receive up to 90 tickets. Registration can be completed and submitted here.
The Logan Center School Matinee program is made possible through support from the Reva and David Logan Foundation, the Revada Foundation, the Logan Center’s Chill Endowment, Ivan Anderson and other friends of the Logan Center, as well as partnerships with the Neighborhood Schools Program of the Office of Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago, University of Chicago Presents, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the UChicago Program in Creative Writing, and local and national arts organizations and performing artists.
Logan Center School Matinees
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Who: Students and teachers in grades K-12
What: The 13th Anniversary Season of the Logan Center Matinee Program
Where: The Performance Hall at the Logan Center for the Arts
When: Weekday mornings from 10:30a-11:30a and 10:30-12p for select performances
Why: Our innovative field trips introduce youth to a diverse array of experiences that provide opportunities for dynamic learning, critical inquiry, and cultural engagement. These field trips actively engage students with the following learning standards:
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Access to a multi-disciplinary season featuring local and national leaders in the areas of music, dance, theater, poetry, and storytelling.
It would cost each school an average of $1,430 to participate in the matinee experience; thanks to the generosity of our donors, our programs and transportation are presented at no cost to schools.
We’ve opened our doors to over 100,000+ CPS students through this program.
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#7 Perceive and analyze artistic work
#8 Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work
#9 Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work
#11 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding
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Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally.
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Apply knowledgeable of language to understand how language functions indifferent contexts
Make effective choices for meaning or style
Comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
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State Goal 16:
Understand and analyze events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other nationsState Goal 17:
Demonstrate knowledge of world geography, as well as understand the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United StatesState Goal 18:
Understand, analyze, and compare social systems, with an emphasis on the United States -
All matinees take place at the Logan Center on weekday mornings from 10:30-11:30am.
School Eligibility and Confirmation Policy
Each teacher may register for up to three School Matinees per calendar year. Two free buses will be provided per school and schools can receive up to 90 tickets. Registration can be completed and submitted via the provided form. Schools can receive up to 90 tickets. To make reservations for this free program, teachers must:Submit a completed Registration Form;
Attend a Teacher Professional Development Session prior to the reserved school matinee; confirmations will be sent once ticket request forms have been received. Each school may request up to 2 free buses and 90 free tickets for 3 performances this season.
Cancellation Policy
Please make cancellations no fewer than 30 days prior to scheduled performances. Schools that fail to give 30 days’ notice will jeopardize their ability to participants in the matinee program for the remainder of the season.Adjustments to reserved ticket numbers should made no fewer than 2 weeks prior to the scheduled performance. If a school fails to attend a performance or cancels with fewer than 30 days they will be billed for transportation.
Is it possible for my school to stay at the Logan Center for lunch following the School Matinee?
Unfortunately, due to space limitations, we do not have the capacity to accommodate schools for lunch following the school matinee, except on special occasions.How do we make travel arrangements?
The Logan Center makes FREE travel arrangements for all schools attending the matinees. Two free buses will be provided per school. You will receive more information upon registering. -
Yes, we are part of a collective of cultural organizations at the University called Amplify. The Amplify Collective offers a variety of multi-disciplinary arts education opportunities for teachers and their students. Amplify works with individual schools to tailor the most effective schedule, engaging teachers as planning partners to help articulate connections to curricular content and increase impact on school culture.
If you have any questions/concerns about this program, please contact D'onminique Boyd-Riley, Associate Director of Education & Family Programs.
2025-2026 School Matinees
All School Matinee performances take place in the Logan Center Performance Hall from 10:30-11:30am.
Kurbasy
Date: Monday 10/20
Age Range: Grades 6-12
Professional Development Date: Thursday 10/9
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Join us for a dynamic music experience. This performance features international artists from the Ukraine. Kurbasy is an avant-garde musical project of the renowned progressive Les Kurbas Theatre in Lviv, Ukraine. The ambient approach of Kurbasy gives life to the indigenous polyphonic sounds of Ukraine's rich traditional music heritage. Led by vocalists, Kurbasy is now experimenting with the sounds of Ukrainian instruments- traditional dulcimer, winds and percussions together with Tibetan singing bowls, violin and double bass. Their performances trace a theatrical arc to reveal stories held in each song in their rich repertoire.
Katie: The Strongest of the Strong
Date: Friday 10/31
Age Range: Grades K-5
Professional Development Date: Thursday 10/15
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This inspiring new opera for young audiences is based on the true story of Katie Sandwina, a circus strongwoman who earned the title of “the strongest woman in the world” in the early 1900s, Beyond her remarkable strength, Katie was a devoted wife and mother who played an active role in the women’s suffrage movement.
Featuring an all-female cast, Katie: The Strongest of the Strong is a powerful way to introduce young people to opera and the vital history of women’s rights.
Tejiendo Identidad/ Weaving Identity: A Journey through Colombian-American Stories & Music
Date: Thursday 11/20
Age Range: Grades K-5
Professional Development Date: Thursday 11/5
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Award winning Storyteller Jasmin Cardenas & Celebrated Salsa band Carpacho y Su Super Combo unite forces to take you on a journey through Colombian rhythms and culture. Sharing traditional Colombian folktales, personal tales of justice and belonging in America and salsa and cumbia rhythms they weave together their crafts to get you moving, uplift your soul and expand your mind.
Azania Drum
Date: Tuesday 02/03
Age Range: Grades K-8
Professional Development Date: Thursday 01/21
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The purpose of Azania Drum is to mentor children and young adults by building discipline, leadership, and teamwork through the lens of West African music and culture. Azania Drum will present a dynamic, interactive engaging musical performance.
The Heart of the Story
Date: Monday 04/13
Age Range: Grades 6-12
Professional Development Date: Thursday 03/12
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Artists: Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre
Join us for a dynamic music experience. This performance features international artists from the Ukraine. Kurbasy is an avant-garde musical project of the renowned progressive Les Kurbas Theatre in Lviv, Ukraine. The ambient approach of Kurbasy gives life to the indigenous polyphonic sounds of Ukraine's rich traditional music heritage. Led by vocalists, Kurbasy is now experimenting with the sounds of Ukrainian instruments- traditional dulcimer, winds and percussions together with Tibetan singing bowls, violin and double bass. Their performances trace a theatrical arc to reveal stories held in each song in their rich repertoire.
Tribute to the Classics of John Coltrane
Date: Friday 05/01
Age Range: Grades 6-12
Professional Development Date: Thursday 04/09
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Isaiah Collier’s sound is a dynamic flurry of metaphors. He plays his influences, which he describes as a “sonic timemachine; you can’t really put a time or destination on it.” As far as where he plans to take his music, Collier says, “I reach backwards, and forwards simultaneously when creating art and what is ahead of me is the past.” He is an award winning creative musician and we are thrilled to share his artistry with students and teachers.
Belle Canto
Date: Tuesday 10/28
Age Range: Grades 6-12
Professional Development Date: 10/16
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Artist: Candice Hoyes accompanied by pianist Christopher Cooley
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about Belle da Costa Greene, one of the most influential librarians in American history, through the operatic voice of soprano Candice Hoyes. In her chamber recital entitled “Belle Canto,” Hoyes celebrates Greene’s trailblazing work as curator, mentor to women scholars and a visionary of modern libraries by the people, for the people. Hoyes also explores Greene’s complex identity as a Black woman “passing” as white in the rarified sphere her career afforded. Pianist Christopher Cooley joins Ms. Hoyes with works by Handel, Puccini, Florence Price, Dorothy Parker, Langston Hughes, William Grant Still and the artist herself.Hoyes interweaves Greene’s personal letters, some of which have never been presented in Chicago, throughout the musical repertoire to render an evocative portrait.
Laura Crotte
Date: Tuesday 11/10
Age Range: Grades K-5
Professional Development Date: 10/22
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Laura Crotte and Trenza troupe braid stories by the waters, community gardens, and natural areas with masks, music, dance, and poetry. Trenzas de Agua performance brings to the theater ancient myths, legends, and storytelling from our own heritage about water, cycles of life and death, and local history about the existence of water all around our beloved city. Water, life, and humanity----braiding community, nature and the arts by Trenzacorazones.
Blues in Schools with Billy Branch
Date: Tuesday 12/9
Age Range: Grades 5-12
Professional Development Date: TBA
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Billy Branch, is an internationally recognized award winning Blues musician with an Emmy Award, multiple Grammy Award nominations, and multiple Blues Music Awards from the Blues Foundation.
Learn how the Blues gave birth to jazz, rock, R&B, gospel, country and hip-hop. Billy’s engaging teaching style and interactive, multi-media curriculum entertains and instructs. Reminiscent of the role of the African griot, he captivates the audience with stories and songs to inspire and teach his listeners. Each student will receive a harmonica.
Ayodele Drum and Dance
Date: Wednesday 02/25
Age Range: Grades 6-12
Professional Development Date: 02/12
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Ayodele, a Yoruba word meaning joy in the home, is a sisterhood of women who recognize the guidance of the Creator in their mission to study, heal and express themselves through African Drum and Dance from a woman’s perspective. Their dynamic performances are interactive and educational.
Word Is Rhythm Poetry Festival
Dates: April 21, 22, 23
Age Range: Grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12
Professional Development Date: March 18,19,20
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April 21: Grades K-5, Professional Development 03/18
April 22: Grades 6-8, Professional Development 03/19
April 23: Grades 9-12, Professional Development 03/20
This annual celebration of National Poetry Month provides a unique opportunity to explore poetry from the page to the stage. Join us for an exciting opportunity to hear the unique voices of Chicago youth as they share their heartfelt words.
We invite schools to create performances of original or classic poetry to be featured at this event. We are also excited to feature award-winning published authors.
Stories Around the World
Date: Friday 05/15
Age Range: Grades K-5
Professional Development Date: 04/30
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Join us as we travel around the world through interactive tales told by award winning performers. In this program, storytellers from different cultural traditions share engaging stories that inspire students to learn more about their own cultures and those of others.