Bach + Beethoven Experience

The BBE is coming to the Goodman this Saturday July 27 at 7pm!! If you haven't had a chance yet, come hear The Story of Pa I Sha, a musical narrative about Brandi's Chickasaw ancestors as part of the Sweetest Season in partnership with Mitchell Museum of the American Indian!! She will be joined by co-director Leighann Daihl Ragusa, Choctaw narrator and vocalist Rachael Ellen Youngman, violist Vannia Phillips, cellist Erica Rubis, and Michaela Marchi on indigenous percussion (tribal affiliation Isleta Pueblo). Hope to see you there! Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here: https://www.goodmantheatre.org/.../the-sweetest-season-2024/

The BBE is coming to Bloomington Early Music Festival in Bloomington, IN THIS Thursday!! Come check out The Story of Pa I Sha, May 23 at 8:00pm at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts. See you there!

Next week can't come too soon! The premiere of The Story of Pa I Sha is just around the corner!! The BBE is grateful to be joined by Native ChocTalk founder and producer, Rachael Youngman, violist and cellist Kiyoe Matsuura and Erica Rubis, indigenous percussionist Michaela Marchi alongside BBE co-directors Brandi Berry Bensonand Leighann Daihl Ragusa who will be debuting a Chickasaw flute on these concerts 🙂 Mark your calendars for Nov 7 at 6:30pm and Nov 8 at 7pm! Ticket links will be in the comments! And in the meantime... check out Rachael Ellen Youngman's Native ChocTalk episode where her and Brandi chat all things Chickasaw and Choctaw to hear the stories behind The Story of Pa I Sha: https://youtu.be/MZ7cJk9El9g
Bach + Beethoven Experience Native ChocTalk

Season 5, Episode 3: Chickasaw Composer, Brandi Berry Benson and the Pa I Sha Story Put to Music Listeners, before I share about today’s episode, I have a question for you. Will you be in Chicago, November 7th or 8th of 2023?I’ll be singing Choctaw hymns...

We've hit our goal!! Thank you to everyone who has donated! One last shout out to Allison Alcorn and a few others who wished to remain anonymous :) We are looking forward to sharing this with you in the form of two public performances coming up in November, so keep your eyes peeled for those date announcements!! We still have 3 days left of our campaign, so if you'd like to contribute, every little bit counts and helps as this project progresses! Click here:

The Story of Pa I Sha The Story of Pa I Sha is a musical work I am composing based on the stories from my Chickasaw heritage beginning with my great-great-great-grandmother, Pa I Sha. With members of my ensemble, the Bach & Beethoven Experience, I plan to perform this work in Chicago during November 2023 as part of N...

Thank you all who have contributed so far to The Story of Pa I Sha! I have a few shout outs to give since last time: Thank you Idalynn Besser, Terry Miles, Amy Funk, Gloria Berry, Joe and Cheryl Muszynski, Douglas Stapleton, Gail Gillespie, Lenora McCroskey, and many others! We're closing in and have just under $1,000 to reach our goal! If you'd like to be a part, check out this video: https://youtu.be/BTLuzxdolDY to learn more or visit, https://3arts.org/projects/pa-i-sha/

The Story of Pa I Sha The Story of Pa I Sha is a musical work I am composing based on the stories from my Chickasaw heritage beginning with my great-great-great-grandmother, Pa I Sha. With members of my ensemble, the Bach & Beethoven Experience, I plan to perform this work in Chicago during November 2023 as part of N...

Thank you to George & Linda Thaxton, Alan Muirhead, and our supporters for a great start to the campaign in the first 24 hrs!

Hey BBE Fam!! We are thrilled to announce a new project that we will be undertaking called The Story of Pa I Sha, and the campaign launches TODAY!! This new musical work is based on the stories of Artistic Director Brandi Berry Benson’s Chickasaw heritage beginning with her 3rd great grandmother, Pa I Sha who was full blood Chickasaw. We are incredibly grateful has accepted this project for its 3AP platform. To learn more about this unique intersection of Native American music with period instruments, and how you can be a part of bringing it to life, check out this 2 minute video:
https://youtu.be/BTLuzxdolDY
We would be ever so grateful for your support, and if you would like to contribute, click here:
https://3arts.org/projects/pa-i-sha/

The Story of Pa I Sha The Story of Pa I Sha is a musical work I am composing based on the stories from my Chickasaw heritage beginning with my great-great-great-grandmother, Pa I Sha. With members of my ensemble, the Bach & Beethoven Experience, I plan to perform this work in Chicago during November 2023 as part of N...

🎉 Congrats 🎉 to our very own Brandi Berry Benson on receiving Early Music America's biennial Thomas Zajac Memorial scholarship!! You're a rock star. Brandi plans to use the scholarship to explore the intersections between Chickasaw and Choctaw dance and song traditions and the musical styles and genres of European settlers in 18th- and 19th-century North America. Y

Brandi Berry Benson named 2023 Recipient of Thomas Zajac Memorial Scholarship » Early Music America Benson plans to use the scholarship to explore the intersections between Chickasaw and Choctaw dance and song traditions and the musical styles and genres of European settlers in 18th and 19th century North America.

Happy International Women's Day!

Poem by Leslé Honoré
Music by Heidi Joosten

Pandemic Woman The BBE teams up with Blaxican poet Leslé Honoré, composer Heidi Joosten, and female vocal trio Artemisia in this new work, "Pandemic Woman," which celebrate...

We just wrapped up 4 days of recording 31 Festive Carols! Stay tuned for the release of our Carols album later in 2023.

As we enter into this holiday season of gratitude, we at the BBE want to express our deepest thanks to everyone who has continued to support us and for your enthusiasm 🙌🤩 We are so grateful to you! And...if you haven't yet, and would like to help make Carols happen, there is still time! Visit www.bbexperience.org or check the comments for the donate link :) Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of our pumpkins 🎃

It's not too early to start thinking about the holidays :) Check out this video from one of our BBE directors, Leighann Daihl Ragusa, about our upcoming Carols album and how you can be a part of the making of this album! https://youtu.be/i2FPFI8_nRU

Happy first Monday of October! 🎃 The BBE is kicking off its fall campaign to record our Carols album, a carol for each day of December. Like the stores, the holidays can't come too early for the BBE :) Please consider supporting the making of this fun and unique album! (link in the comments)

Save the date! Pandemic Woman is coming to you live as part of the Night Out in the Parks series, June 24-25 at Homan Square and Eckhart Parks! Artemisia

Pandemic Woman The BBE teams up with Blaxican poet Leslé Honoré, composer Heidi Joosten, and female vocal trio Artemisia in this new work, "Pandemic Woman," which celebrate...

Save the date! Pandemic Woman is coming to you live as part of the Night Out in the Parks series, June 24-25 at Homan Square and Eckhart Parks! You don't want to miss it :) Artemisia
https://youtu.be/_YHSR_geDQ0

Pandemic Woman The BBE teams up with Blaxican poet Leslé Honoré, composer Heidi Joosten, and female vocal trio Artemisia in this new work, "Pandemic Woman," which celebrate...

Happy International Woman's Day! We're celebrating today with the release of of Pandemic Woman. Join us at 9:30 AM CST!

Pandemic Woman The BBE teams up with Blaxican poet Leslé Honoré, composer Heidi Joosten, and female vocal trio Artemisia in this new work, "Pandemic Woman," which celebrate...

Coming tomorrow for International Women's Day!

The performance team for our multimedia project Pandemic Woman included BBE directors Leighann Daihl Ragusa and Brandi Berry Benson, longtime BBE'ers Kiyoe Matsuura and Kate Shuldiner, and trio extraordinaire Artemisia including Alexandra Olsavsky, Kaitlin Foley, soprano, and Diana Lawrence. Here them on March 8—here and on YouTube! 😻

"When the world stops, the women carry the loads..."

These words by Leslé Honoré — Blaxican Poet, artivist, and author of Fist & Fire — come from her poem, "Pandemic Woman," which names the sacrifices made by women since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Tune in on March 8 for our video release featuring the premiere of "Pandemic Woman," first read by Leslé then in a musical setting by a Chicago favorite — composer and pianist Heidi Joosten — performed by the BBE and Artemisia.

For Women's History Month and International Women's Day (March 8th), we're releasing a special project we did in collaboration with Artemisia called "Pandemic Woman" which celebrates the achievements and honors the sacrifices made by women around the world. We'll share more about the project over the next week and release our all new music video on March 8. Stay tuned!

🎄🎄 HURRY and order a BBE Musical Advent Calendar! 🎄🎄

25 carols for 25 days of Advent! Join the BBE as we explore carols from around the world. Some you know, some you don’t. Your BBE Carols Advent Calendar comes with all 25 carols tracks plus access to special videos by Leighann Daihl Ragusa which explain the histories of each carols - released everyday starting December 1! Watch our promo video to find out more!

Carols Advent Calendar Advent calendars are a special tradition the world over used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. The BBE has a special take on the adve...

On sale now the BBE Musical Advent Calendar!

25 carols for 25 days of Advent! Join the BBE as we explore carols from around the world. Some you know, some you don’t. Your BBE Carols Advent Calendar comes with all 25 carols tracks plus access to special videos by Leighann Daihl Ragusa which explain the histories of each carols - released everyday starting December 1!

Carols Advent Calendar Advent calendars are a special tradition the world over used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. The BBE has a special take on the adve...