In 2015, the Lira Ensemble will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. Lira began as a small group of talented young women singers, but today the Lira Ensemble includes a symphony orchestra and a dance troupe as well as the Lira Singers, based at Loyola University Chicago as artist-in-residence since 1995.
Over nearly 50 years, the Lira Ensemble has performed countless religious, seasonal, classical, and traditional concerts, sometimes with music commissioned and written expressly for Lira by Polish and American composers. Lira has made hundreds of appearances at schools, universities, museums, art galleries, hospitals, nursing facilities and private homes where we represented Polish culture, Polish Americans and even Poland itself. This list reflects a portion of the varied work of the Lira company, all done with the highest artistic quality with dignity and respect for Polish tradition:
- performances in 12 states and 6 concert tours of Poland
- celebrations of the Polish St. John Paul II – in dozens of concerts
- performances for Lech Walesa and for Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski
- World War II anniversary concerts, acknowledging Jewish and Christian Holocaust victims
- concerts celebrating the entry of Poland into the European Union and NATO
- commemoration concerts for the US Bicentennial and May 3rd/Polish Constitution Day
- honoring, with music, the contributions of Kosciuszko and Pulaski
- multiple concerts celebrating the music of Chopin and Paderewski
- numerous outreach concerts with and for other ethnic groups in Chicago
- production of 12 major recordings (from vinyl to CD)
- performing rarely heard Polish ancient and symphonic music
- Board-Led Tours of Poland for Lira fans since 1993
Lira’s work is ongoing. Future plans include the return of the Lira Children’s Chorus, “Dzieci,” the Lira Chamber Chorus with male voices, and “Zapraszamy!”—Lira’s theatrical extravaganza (funds collected are waiting for a better economy).
Lira is an institution worthy of your investment—an investment in the future of your heritage. To make a donation to support the ongoing needs of this cultural institution, visit www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr or call 773-508-7040 or 1-800-547-5472. The Lira Ensemble is a federally-recognized charity, so gifts are tax deductible per Federal Tax Code, and a receipt will be provided.
The Lira Ensemble’s 50th anniversary celebrations begin with holiday concerts and continue with events during 2015. Donors of $100 or more will receive invitations to exclusive celebratory occasions.
[Sources: press release, liraensemble.org]