Chicago Voices

Community-created Performances was a multi-year program presented in partnership with the Chicago Public Library. Participating community groups throughout Chicago, from diverse backgrounds and experiences, developed original works that were creatively driven by the participants, and supported by Lyric professional artists and staff.

Chicago Voices Gala Concert was a one-night-only, multi-genre concert at the Lyric Opera House that took place on February 4, 2017. Vocalists paid tribute to the city's deep musical traditions, and included top singers in blues, jazz, rock, folk, hip-hop, gospel, and classical music. Curated by American soprano and Lyric's Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming, the Gala Concert was shaped by an advisory panel that included pianist-composer Herbie Hancock, jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, and folk singer-songwriter John Prine. The evening featured performances and musical collaborations by Shemekia Copeland, Matthew Polenzani, John Prine, The Handsome Family, Lupe Fiasco, and Jesse Jackson, amongst others. 

Learn more about the Chicago Voices Gala Concert 

Expert Panels and Master Classes was a multi-day series of symposia and master classes for aspiring singers, vocal teachers and music enthusiasts offered in partnership with Columbia College Chicago. Many performers from the Chicago Voices Gala Concert took part in panel discussions, master classes, lectures and demonstrations that delved into vocal health, music business, self-marketing and promotion, and career planning.

Chicago Voices Fest, a series of events spanning several months, provided four innovative ways for Chicago residents to take part in Chicago Voices.

VIEW: VIEW was an exhibition led by photographers that featured retrospective images of iconic and contemporary Chicago singers.

TALK: TALK was a three-part speaker series paired with live performances at the Chicago History Museum. TALK focused on preeminent Chicago vocalists.

SING: SING was an invitation for Chicagoans to capture their individual vocal stylings on video and share their performances on the Chicago Voices website. To kick-off the initiative, a Chicago Voices mobile video van visited iconic Chicago locations, raising awareness of the program, and providing resources for every Chicagoan to participate.Chicago Voices also involved thousands of students from Chicago Public Schools through a school-based version of SING. This included school-based song recording sessions, and a songwriting workshop that offered high school students an opportunity to record original songs in a professional recording studio.

LIVE!: LIVE! was a series of collaborations with music clubs and performance venues throughout the city that promoted and showcased outstanding local singers.

In February 2018, Lyric Unlimited, in partnership with Foundations of Music, created an innovative program for students in grades 3-6 to explore Chicago’s rich vocal music heritage of jazz, blues, gospel, hip-hop, and classical music, and how artists use their voices to convey stories and emotion. The Message in the Music included online classroom resources, in-school teaching artist lessons, and culminated in a live, multi-genre performance at the Chicago History Museum featuring four professional vocalists and a live band. The entire program was provided free of charge to Chicago Public Schools.