News and Accolades

Kate Pierson and Chicago Teen Choir Remind Us That ‘People Have the Power’ on Patti Smith Cover

“Having the voices of the next generation of global leaders featured on the song takes us into the future, a future built on unity and love.”

The B-52s member teamed up with Uniting Voices Chicago for an inspired rendition of the song, which will benefit the nonprofit and Sandy Hook Promise.

Upcoming Events: Winter Glow

Uniting Voices Chicago will present “Winter Glow,” on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Chicago Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.

The 10:30a.m. performance features Voice of Chicago; Dimension; and the Beverly, Englewood, Lincoln Park/DePaul, Pilsen/Little Village and West Town neighborhood choir programs.

Tickets are reserved seating, $30 or pay-what-you-can, and available now through the Chicago Symphony Center Box Office.

For more information and tickets, call (312) 294-3400.

Uniting Voices Chicago announced as performers at 34th Magnificent Mile Lights Festival

Groups and performers appearing in the parade will include the South Shore Drill Team, Crystal Lake Strikers Drumline, Uniting Voices Chicago, Cirque Wheel Jam and the Libertyville High School Marching Band.

For anyone who can’t make it to the parade in person, it will be streamed online and broadcast by ABC7 Chicago, with additional airings Dec. 7 and 14. 

Today in Culture: Red Jacket Optional

Uniting Voices Raises $1.8 Million For CPS And Neighborhood Programs

About 500 Chicagoans gathered at The Geraghty to support Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir) at their Red Jacket Optional gala on Saturday. Over $1.8 million was raised to support music programming “to nearly 4,000 students in programs across Chicago. Uniting Voices’ transformative youth empowerment and music education programs serve students from every neighborhood in Chicago and beyond including more than eighty-five Chicago Public Schools. Over seventy percent of Uniting Voices Chicago participants, in more than 150 ensembles, come from low- to moderate-income households, and one-hundred-percent receive some level of subsidy.”

Details Revealed for "Carmina Burana" at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago will present the company premiere of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, November 14–18, 2025. For three performances only, Music Director Enrique Mazzola conducts the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus in this 20th-century masterpiece, joined by soprano Jasmine Habersham, tenor David Portillo, baritone Ian Rucker, and the Uniting Voices Chicago children’s choir. From the thunderous opening chorus "O Fortuna" to passages of hushed intimacy, Carmina Burana captures the full sweep of human experience in music that is at once visceral, dramatic, and unforgettable.

Over a tense Mexican Independence Day weekend, Pilsen community finds solace in art

Taught by Laura Gomez, the class — aka “The Breakfast Club” — was held at the Pilsen Arts & Community House on West 18th Street. The weekly, $10 sessions are open to participants ages 9 to 13, and their work is featured in an annual show at the gallery. The nonprofit also hosted a mural tour of the predominantly Mexican neighborhood to raise money for the Pilsen/Little Village Uniting Voices Chicago choir.

Those arts events offered moments of joy during a Mexican Independence Day weekend clouded by increased operations by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago. The city’s El Grito festival, scheduled for this weekend in Grant Park, was downsized to a smaller celebration in Pilsen on Monday. But the 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade will move forward in Little Village on Sunday.

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.”

Djo Is Backed by Uniting Voices Chicago at Lollapalooza

Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children's Choir) joins Djo’s set at Lolla 2025.

Joe Keery's Djo delivers a love letter to Chicago: Lollapalooza review

Keery closed out the set with the tender, “Back On You,” joined by an actual chorus, the Uniting Voices Chicago, formerly the Chicago Children’s Choir. Choir director Josephine Lee led the young members, who angelically sang, “Come back home, buddy, I remember who you are, who you are” — marking the end of one heck of a homecoming.

Grant Park Music Festival Presents Carmina Burana with Uniting Voices Chicago

For over 90 years, the Grant Park Music Festival has offered free classical music in the heart of Chicago. On August 15th, experience the grandeur of Carmina Burana, featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, three world-class soloists, and Uniting Voices children’s chorus. Giancarlo Guerrero conducts this season finale which also includes Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture, and Alan Hovhaness’ Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain.

Presented in Millennium Park, all concerts are free with open seating and lawn space available. The 2025 season runs June 11-August 16, with performances on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. For schedule updates and membership information, visit gpmf.org or follow Grant Park Music Festival on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Uniting Voices Chicago seeks new members

Review: CSO music-director-to-be Klaus Mäkelä faces his orchestra — and the work ahead

In the fifth movement, the treble voices of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir) melded, handsomely, into one ringing body.