Art Song Chicago

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Art Song Chicago

Welcome to Art Song Chicago, whose mission is to make Chicago a world home for classical art song and vocal chamber music.

Since 2010, Art Song Chicago has championed the art of song through a vibrant mix of performance and educational initiatives—including an annual song festival, public concerts, master classes, workshops, and a fellowship program for emerging artists. The organization has earned acclaim from Chicago Classical Review for “art song performances of the highest order” and has become a cornerstone of th

e city’s musical life, showcasing leading performers from around the globe. Founded as the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) by pianists Nicholas Hutchinson and Shannon McGinnis alongside tenor Nicholas Phan, the organization has continually evolved to champion the art song and vocal chamber music repertoire. In recent years, the team expanded with the appointments of Justin Berkowitz as Director of Marketing and Operations in 2022 and Eric Ferring as Executive Director in 2023. In celebration of its 15th anniversary in 2025, CAIC began a new chapter with a new name: Art Song Chicago. This name reflects our enduring commitment to art song and our aspiration to nurture and expand the repertoire for generations to come. Opera News has hailed Art Song Chicago “as one of Windy City’s primary musical treasures,” while the Chicago Tribune affirms that “the genre of art song singing will never lack a forum in the city’s musical life as long as [Art Song] Chicago is there to affirm its importance and promote its growth.”

08/21/2026

Our second Collaborative Works Festival concert will take place on Saturday, September 26.

Gods of the Earth explores nature not as backdrop but as divine force — elemental, mysterious, and alive with spiritual presence.

This concert features works by Hugo Wolf, Amy Beach, Samuel Barber, Tania Leon, and many more!

Visit https://www.artsongchicago.org/concert-ii for more information!

08/17/2026

Our 2026 Collaborative Works Festival, Songs of the Earth begins on Wednesday, September 23 with The Secret Garden.

This concert spans nearly four centuries of music and poetry to explore humanity's relationship with the flora and fauna have inspired writers and poets across cultures throughout history. Many, like the German and English Romantics such as Joseph von Eichendorff, looked to nature to unlock the mysteries of the inner soul, and as a necessary escape from the increasingly industrialized, chaotic, polluted urban world.

The program features works by composers including Rebecca Clarke, Franz Schubert, Harry Burleigh, Chicago's Stacy Garrop and many more!

Visit https://www.artsongchicago.org/concert-i for more information!

08/12/2026

We're excited to welcome back so many incredible artists for this year's Collaborative Works Festival who have sung with Art Song Chicago in seasons past!

Two more faces quite familiar to Chicagoland audiences joining for Songs of the Earth are mezzo-soprano Sophia Maekawa and baritone Evan Bravos. Both artists have made appearances with Chicago Opera Theater, been part of the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival and performed in various projects at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Hear both Sophia and Evan this September in the intimate, beautiful Ganz Hall as they bring their talents to the songs of Stacy Garrop, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss and more.

Don't miss Songs of the Earth next month, September 23-26!

08/08/2026

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists!

Over the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting the incredible artists who will join Art Song Chicago next month for Songs of the Earth - our 2026 Collaborative Works Festival.

Making her Art Song Chicago debut is soprano Rachel Blaustein! Recent appearances for the "brilliant lyric soprano" include performances at the Spoleto Festival, Ravinia Festival, Cincinnati Opera, Austin Opera and Opera Montana - to name a few!

Returning to the Festival stage is baritone Leroy Davis! No stranger to Chicago audiences, Leroy has been frequently heard with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Opera Theater - we cannot wait to welcome him back to Ganz Hall!

Join them this September for Songs of the Earth!

Visit our website for tickets and more information

08/04/2026

Join Art Song Chicago's Artistic Director Nicholas Phan and an incredible roster of Chicagoland interpreters of song next month for Songs of the Earth, our Collaborative Works Festival.

Over 2 concerts Phan and our artists will explore songs and poetry that celebrate the forest and fauna of nature, the mythic qualities nature can expose and our ever-changing relationship to the earth around us.

Featuring songs of Amy Beach, Aaron Copland, Vivian Fung, Gustav Mahler, Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf and so much more, join us September 23-26 for Songs of the Earth!

Visit artsongchicago.org for tickets and more information

07/28/2026

Update: Due to a change in her availability, Olivia Boen is no longer able to join Art Song Chicago this fall. We look forward to welcoming Olivia in a future season.

In her stead, we are delighted to welcome baritone Finn Sagal on November 2nd for his Art Song Chicago debut, performing alongside our dear friend, pianist Craig Terry!

No stranger to Chicago, Finn is a recent graduate of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and recipient of the 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation.

We can't wait to welcome Finn and Craig to Ganz Hall on November 2nd!

Tickets for this - and all Art Song Chicago performances this season are available now. Visit our website to purchase your tickets today!

07/14/2026

We are excited to introduce Art Song Chicago's next Vocal Chamber Music Fellow, soprano Isabel Liana.

A civically engaged artist and poet from Rota, Spain who “stands out for her impassioned, expressive physicality” (The New England Theatre Geek), her 2025–2026 season included performances with Dayton Opera, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oratorio Society of Virginia and the Rochester Oratorio Society, to name a few.

Isabel received professional training from Cincinnati Song Initiative’s Fellowship of Song: Life’s Journey, Dayton Opera’s Artist-in-Residence Program, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ Gerdine Young Artist Program, and Des Moines Metro Opera’s Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist Program, Longy School of Music of Bard College and Baylor University.

We can't wait to work with (and hear) Isabel this season!

Learn more about her by visiting the education page on our website!

07/01/2026

Art Song Chicago's 2026-2027 tickets are available for purchase now!!

This season, enjoy several subscription options:

- a full Season Subscription, with seats to all 6 of our Festival concerts and Lieder Lounges
- our 2026 Collaborative Works Festival Pass, guaranteeing you a seat at both Festival concerts
- our Lieder Lounge Pass, ensuring you a seat at all 4 of Art Song Chicago's Lieder Lounges!

PLUS individual tickets to each Festival concert and Lieder Lounge

Visit artsongchicago.org to purchase your tickets today!

06/24/2026

As we look ahead to the 2026-27 season, we're excited to join around a dozen Chicagoland arts organizations as part of ’s 2026-27 New Music Inc. - Chicago cohort! 🎉

New Music Inc. - Chicago is a city-specific incubator program that supports small-budget, artist-led new music groups and organizations through pivotal stages of organizational growth. Brand strategist and arts executive will serve as Program Coordinator, helping connect the cohort and support us as we reach our goals. We’re looking forward to building community with our cohort over the next 18 months!

Learn more and meet all the awardees: https://bit.ly/nmichi26

New Music Inc. - Chicago is made possible through the generous support of .

06/17/2026

We round out our 2025-26 Lieder Lounge streaming starting Saturday evening the 20th at 7:30pm where we'll relive the magic of last month's Girls of Yellow Diamonds!

Relive the magic of Helen Zhibing Huang, Alice Chung and Yasuko Oura's gorgeous program - or experience it for this first time!

Visit our website to stream free-of-charge!

Address

1126 W. Fullerton Avenue #1
Evanston, IL
60614

Website

http://artsongchicago.org/, https://linkin.bio/artsongchicago

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