Picnic Perfection: Symphony Strings in Wicker Park Sunday

Grab your blankets, pack a picnic lunch head to Wicker Park this Sunday for an event that epitomizes summertime in Chicago.

For the fourth year in a row, the Sympony Sounds String Quartet will be performing in Wicker Park three times during the summer season. Sunday’s event from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will kick off the series with the first of three themes: Whimsey.

Two violinists and one violist will join one cellist to perform four compositions from various areas of music history and musical genres. The songs they plan to perform to depict “whimsey” include:

• W. A. Mozart - The Magic Flute Overture
• Joseph Haydn - String Quartet, Op. 33 #2 "The Joke"
• Johann Strauss - "The Laughing Song" from Die Fledermaus
• Marc Mellits - String Quartet #2

And if Sunday’s performance doesn’t fit into your schedule, there are two more times to feel posh in the park. On July 14 the theme will be “Death,” and on August 11 the theme is “Jazz.” The String Quartet event always starts at 11 a.m.