Crossing Borders Music

"Cuerdas y Cuerpos: Afro-Peruvian Culture Meets Western Strings"
2025-10-19 15:00 - 16:30 (America/Chicago) | Budlong Woods Branch, Chicago Public Library.5630 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60659, Chicago Public Library. 5630 N Lincoln Ave,, Chicago, IL, 60659
Join us for an unforgettable journey where strings and bodies, histories and rhythms cross borders and build bridges.This interactive event, presented in partnership with the Center of Peruvian Arts, shares interactive Afro-Peruvian dance and music, including the powerful Afro-Peruvian holiday tradition “Hatajo de Negritos,” as well as a workshop and performance by the dancers of the Center for the Peruvian Arts, the Crossing Borders Music string quartet, and acclaimed Peruvian singer Luis Galvez, interweaving cultural heritage with contemporary cultural dialogue.

This program is presented through the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s “Journey Chicago” month-long cultural celebration.

Date: Sunday, October 19
Time: 3:00 PM -4:30 PM
Venue: Budlong Woods Branch, Chicago Public Library.5630 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60659

ICE Detention Center Performance Preview on WBEZ's "In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons"
2025-11-03 09:40 - 10:00 | IL
Tune in to Chicago’s WBEZ to hear members of Crossing Borders Music discuss their upcoming performance at the Broadview ICE detention center!91.5 FM in Chicago and online at wbez.org

CBM Performance at the Broadview ICE Detention Center
2025-11-03 15:00 - 17:00 | Broadview Ice Detention Center, 1930 Beach Street, Broadview, IL, 60155
Members of the Crossing Borders Music String Quartet will share some of their favorite musical selections of music by composers from suppressed backgrounds around the world at the Broadview ICE detention center. Since CBM is not allowed to enter the facility, the musicians will perform just north of the facility on Beach Street, south of Lexington. Come join us!

Rooted: Haitian String Trios
2026-01-08 16:30 | Fulton Recital Hall, Goodspeed Hall, 4th floor, 1010 E. 59th St, 1010 E. 59th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Hear string trios by Haitian composers “rooted” in the beauty of Haitian culture and its unique history, religion, and folk traditions! Music by Werner Jaegerhuber, Rudy Perrault, Sabrina C D Jean Louis, and folk song arrangements by Julio Racine celebrate Haiti’s revolutionary freedom-seeking origins, its folk music, its unique religious traditions – and its connection to Chicago through Chicago’s founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable.
Date: Thursday, January 8th
Time: Complimentary tea and cookies are served at 4:15 PM, and the music begins at 4:30 PM.
Venue: Fulton Recital Hall, Goodspeed Hall, 4th floor, 1010 E. 59th St. Chicago, IL 60637
Free and Open to the Public!
This event is made possible through support from the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, and the Amphion Foundation. Crossing Borders Music acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.

Notes of Legacy: African-American Composers Across Eras
2026-02-20 19:30 - 21:00 | Ashland Chamber Music Society, 56279 Corbine Road, Ashland, WI 54806, Date: Friday, 20th February Time: 6 PM Venue: Ashland56279 Corbine Road, Ashland, Wisconsin, 54806
This journey spans from the story of an enslaved prodigy, Blind Tom Wiggins, to the hopeful vision of today, weaving together music across history, social movements, and artistic triumphs.
Audiences will be taken from Blind Tom Wiggins’ remarkable piece “March Timpani,” arranged for strings by BIPOC composer and musicologist AJ Isaacson-Zvidzwa, through the legacy of the Chicago Black Renaissance with Florence Price’s beloved “Five Folksongs in Counterpoint.” Wiggins, who was born enslaved and became one of America’s most celebrated pianists, now lives on through this arrangement.
The program moves forward through the Civil Rights Movement with Daniel Bernard Roumain’s String Quartet #5 (“Rosa Parks”), a powerful tribute to Rosa Parks and courageous women everywhere who are shaping history. The concert’s culmination is Shelley Washington’s uplifting piece, “Middleground”. This interactive performance closes with “Klap Ur Handz”, inviting the audience to join in and celebrate community through music.
Notes of Legacy offers an inspiring and educational experience, bringing to life the voices of Black American composers across eras and genres.
Date: Friday, 20th February
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Ashland Chamber Music Society, 56279 Corbine Road, Ashland, WI 54806

Cambodian Music: The Living Tradition
2026-05-03 14:00 - 15:00 | Lincolnwood Public Library, 4000 W Pratt Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712, 4000 W Pratt Ave Linconwood, Chicago, IL, 60712
Crossing Borders Music is honored to have been invited by the National Cambodian Heritage Museum to create a one-of-a-kind fusion of traditional Cambodian music with European classical instruments and Cambodian traditional instruments.
This unique performance brings together the Cambodian Museum Traditional Music Ensemble and Crossing Borders Music musicians, performing newly arranged Cambodian classics.
These special arrangements, crafted by former Crossing Borders Music violinist Rasa Mahmoudian under the guidance of Cambodian Museum Resident Artist Nisa Pov, debuted at the 2021 Cambodian Day of Remembrance and accompanied Cambodian storytellers. For each piece, Pov provides insightful introductions, enriching the audience’s experience of this unique cultural collaboration.
Date: Sunday, May 3rd
Time: 2-3pm
Venue: Lincolnwood Public Library, 4000 W Pratt Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Free and open to the public!
