Uniting Voices Chicago

Josephine Lee: In an age of anxiety and division, the arts are not an ‘extra,’ they’re a lifeline

Arts programs bring people together around share goals that require contact, cooperation and trust. The nearly 4,000 young people involved in Uniting Voices hail from every Chicago ZIP code. They sing in 36 languages across genres, from classical to gospel to hip hop. With each piece, they step into someone else's history, culture or story. Through repeated contact, and through challenge, failure, support and success, they learn how to work across difference with respect.

How Chicago’s Uniting Voices Choir Helped Close Out Djo’s Lollapalooza Set

Two days before they helped close one of the most memorable sets at this year’s Lollapalooza, the 40 teen singers in Uniting Voices Chicago’s top ensemble performed their newest arrangement to an audience of one: Joe Keery.

The former DePaul University student, Djo frontman and “Stranger Things” actor had come to a small rehearsal room on the North Side for a first listen to the choir’s reimagined take of the band’s song, “Back On You.”

“I think what made this experience so meaningful is that Uniting Voices really represents all of Chicago,” Velez-Lauria said. “Being on that Lollapalooza stage, performing as part of a group that reflects the full diversity of this city, alongside an artist like Joe who has ties to Chicago — it just felt like this culmination of everything we stand for.”

Making History at Lollapalooza with Karol G

Uniting Voices joined Colombian superstar Karol G at Lollapalooza and made history as they accompanied the first-ever Latin female artist to headline the festival in Chicago. Coming together for the first time since their collaborative performance on Saturday Night Live in April, Karol G and Uniting Voices reprised the hit "Mientras Me Curo del Cora" and as a consequence, "the already wistful song turned into a beautiful event as Karol sang the uplifting lyrics backed by the soulful choir."