Music
Film Screening: Cinémélodie—Le Concert
As winter starts to settle in, join us for a heart-warming, music-themed adventure as part of our Cinémélodie series, with our screening of the 2009 comedy-drama Le Concert. Andrei Simonovich, a former world-famous conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra known as “The Maestro,” is fired for hiring Jewish musicians and works as a janitor at the theatre where he once conducted.
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Film Screening: Cinémélodie—L'Une chante, l'autre pas (One Sings, the Other Doesn't)
Join us for the next installment in our Cinémélodie series, a screening of Franco-Belgian filmmaker Agnès Varda’s 1977 drama** L’Une chante, l’autre pas** (One Sings, the Other Doesn’t). In 1962 Paris, 17-year-old Pauline wanders into a gallery where she recognizes her old friend, Suzanne, in one of the photographs displayed.
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Musical Tasting: French Impressionism with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
This season, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform and especially large number of pieces by beloved French composers. Join us for a very special performance of Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Celloby Robert Chen, CSO Concertmaster, and John Sharp, CSO Principal Cello.
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Film Screening: Cinémélodie—Kin Kiesse, Les États-Unis d'Afrique et La Vie est belle
Join us for the next installment in our 2025/2026 music-themed film series, Cinémélodie: a screening of three films from the African continent, in celebration of Mois de l’histoire des Noirs (Black History Month).
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Kick-Off Party: Festival de la Francophonie 2026—La soirée commune !
[Le français suit] Grab your passport and enjoy a world of regional delights and libations from the French-speaking world as we kick off Festival de la Francophonie 2026! Guests will enjoy music, dance, and complimentary food and drink from around the Francophone world.
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Workshop: Cambodian Classical Dance & Music with the Tep Nimmit Dance Troupe
Calling all young families! Kids and their families are invited to join us for a free Cambodian classical dance and music workshop, presented in partnership with the Cambodian National Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial as part of our 2026 Festival de la Francophonie.
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Film Screening: Cinémélodie—À peine j'ouvre les yeux (As I Open My Eyes)
Join us for the April installment of our 2025/2026 music-themed film series, Cinémélodie! In celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, we’re screening Tunisian screenwriter and filmmaker Leyla Bouzid’s 2015 drama À peine j’ouvre les yeux (As I Open My Eyes).
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Film Screening: Cinémélodie—Dans la cuisine des Nguyen (In the Nguyen Kitchen)
Join us for the May installment of our 2025/2026 music-themed film series, Cinémélodie! In celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re screening French filmmaker Stéphane Ly-Cuong’s 2025 musical Dans la cuisine des Nguyen (In the Nguyen Kitchen).
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Film Screening: Cinémélodie—Montréal New Wave
Join us for the June installment of our 2025/2026 music-themed film series, Cinémélodie: québécois filmmaker Erik Cimon’s 2016 documentary Montréal New Wave, which explores the ups and downs of new wave music from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s and its influence on today’s cultural scene.
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Plein Air Concert: Isabelle Olivier with Nathalie Colas
Celebrate summer with a plein air concert in the Alliance’ jewelbox courtyard! We are delighted to welcome back two phenomenal French artists as part of our beloved plein air series: harpist Isabelle Olivier and soprano Nathalie Colas.
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Film Screening: Cinémélodie—Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
JJoin us for the final installment of our 2025/2026 music-themed series, Cinémélodie: French director Jacques Demy 1964 musical romantic drama *Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)*! We kicked off Cinémélodie in September with a screening of Demy’s Les demoiselles de Rochefort, and so it’s only fitting that we bookend the series with the other musical for which he is best known.
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