The Chicago Sinfonietta’s MLK concert will highlight Flutonix’s work celebrating Black womanhood, featuring a unique blend of music and storytelling.
Chicago: Flutist, singer, and composer Nathalie Joachim has loved music since she was a kid. At just 10, she was juggling flute lessons at Juilliard and browsing records nearby.
She recalls being that quirky kid who enjoyed both Bach and DJ Roni Size. Now living in Philadelphia, she’s mixed electronic and classical music into her life.
That blend shines through in Flutronix, her collaboration with flutist Allison Loggins-Hull. They’re set to perform at the Chicago Sinfonietta’s annual MLK Tribute Concert on January 20 at the Auditorium Theatre. They’ll also play at Naperville’s Wentz Hall on January 19.
The concert will feature their four-part piece “Black Being,” which includes words from North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. This unique performance aims to express the joys and struggles of Black womanhood.
Joachim hopes the audience connects with the piece, seeing their own experiences reflected in it. She wants everyone to come ready to feel something and maybe even see themselves in the story.
For Loggins-Hull, this concert is a homecoming. She’s from Chicago, and Joachim has roots here too, having played with the contemporary classical group Eighth Blackbird. They’re excited to share their work with a Chicago audience.
The Arts Club of Chicago co-commissioned “Black Being” alongside the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. They also plan to record the piece for Cedille Records, a local label.
At the concert, expect a mix of flute, orchestral sounds, electronics, and cool lighting. Joachim will sing the text written by Shelton Green.
Loggins-Hull describes the piece as a beautiful narrative of the Black female experience, tracing back to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and continuing to today. It highlights how Black women have often turned tough situations into something beautiful.
She believes it celebrates a spirit that resonates with Black women everywhere. Mei-Ann Chen, the music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta, says hearing “Black Being” gives her goosebumps.
Chen, who conducted the piece’s premiere in Cincinnati, notes how the orchestra adds color to the unique sound created by Joachim and Loggins-Hull. She also reflects on the progress and challenges in the country, especially with Kamala Harris as the first African American and Asian woman vice president.
Joachim and Loggins-Hull are breaking barriers as Black women in classical music. Joachim is a Grammy-nominated artist and a professor at Princeton, while Loggins-Hull has performed with Lizzo and is a fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra.
The two met nearly 20 years ago in Brooklyn, and Loggins-Hull says finding someone who looked like her and shared her musical passions was life-changing.
Chen emphasizes the importance of supporting Black composers and performers at the MLK Tribute Concert, one of the Sinfonietta’s most beloved events. She feels honored to be part of a mission that encourages reflection on how we can all contribute to progress.
