Maestro Riccardo Muti chose Beethoven’s “Missa solemnis” as the work he wished to conduct to mark “the official end” of his glorious 13-year tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has been named music director emeritus for life and will continue to lead occasional CSO performances.

Maestro Riccardo Muti, who turns 82 in July, is scheduled to conduct the CSO for six weeks in each of the next two seasons. His tenure began with the 2010-11 season.

In 1973, DJ Kool Herc set two copies of James Brown’s “Sex Machine” album on the turntables at a Bronx house party and tried out his innovative technique of cutting and mixing songs at the drum breaks. Fifty years later, hip-hop has become an inextricable part of American music and culture.

What could be better on a summer night than relaxing on a patio and listening to live music? If that sounds good to you, then grab a folding chair and your dancing shoes and head out to Tack Room at Thalia Hall on Wednesday nights.

If you’re a house head, Humboldt Park Boathouse is the place to be Saturday. DJs will be spinning the sounds and styles of the dance music genre from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Chicago-based artist Edra Soto created a series of work about Puerto Rico and her migration to her adopted hometown. Architectural motifs mirror patterns seen on houses in Puerto Rico. A hand-fabricated domino table reflects a popular pastime on the island. And there are photographs embedded in the work.

Harnick was born and raised in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the Northwestern University School of Music after serving in the army during World War II.

Art Johnston and Pepe Peña, owners of the iconic gay bar Sidetrack in Northalsted, are the subjects of a new documentary. The film follows their love story — spanning 50 years — and the history of the Sidetrack bar amid the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Chicago.

A block party, Pride parade and superheroes usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

It’s official: Just three months after being placed on Preservation Chicago’s “Most Endangered” list, the Warehouse — the birthplace of House music — is now a Chicago landmark.

It starts with an assembly line of sorts: washing and drying detergent bottles that have been collected from different laundromats. The plastic is then shredded into small granules, heated and made into a solid beam to create benches.

Americans across the country this weekend celebrated Juneteenth, marking the relatively new national holiday with cookouts, parades and other gatherings as they commemorated the end of slavery after the Civil War.

The tuba may be one of the largest instruments in a symphony orchestra and an important source of the brass sound, but it is rarely celebrated in a work that puts it front and center by way of a masterful composer and musician.

In her new book, DePaul University professor Francesca Royster describes the process of becoming a mother and building a family as a queer Black woman.

A touring exhibit is aimed at helping children understand the tragedy and legacy of Emmett Till’s life. Through photographs and artifacts, the exhibit shows how young Till’s lynching and his mother’s subsequent actions fueled the civil rights movement.

Community leaders say recognition, support and mentorship for fathers is critically important — not only for the dads themselves but also for the kids they’re raising.