A Season of Premieres!
Call Me Sebastian and Chickasaw Caprices
The BBE is excited to bring you a Season of Premieres!
In February 2026 - the BBE will premiere Chickasaw Caprices, a work about five Chickasaw individuals who had a profound impact on the Chickasaw Nation. Written by Artistic Director Brandi Berry Benson, these chamber works will showcase a (mostly) native ensemble featuring Choctaw citizens Mark Billy (baritone), and Rachael Youngman (soprano), as well as Cherokee citizen Kiegan Ryan (cello), and Isleta Pueblo Michaela Marchi (indigenous percussion) with BBE director Leighann Daihl Ragusa (Native American flute and traverso).
In March 2026 - the BBE will collaborate with the Ravenswood Community Orchestra for the first time to bring Chicago audiences Rebel's Les Elemens and Telemann's Don Quixote suite.
In Fall 2026 - the BBE will take on our most ambitious project ever - a comedic musical play about J.S. Bach, Call Me Sebastian. Script written by Emmy Award-winning writer, Anne Marie Saviano, J.S. Bach time travels to a high school orchestra class and inspires the music students through a series of his own life flashbacks. Thinking it was the drama teacher, Mr. Dozier, the students come to realize that he really is Sebastian, as he encourages them to be true to themselves and make their own mark in history. Featuring a choir, orchestra, and eight actors, this comedic musical play will be unlike any show the BBE has ever done before!