Art Song Chicago, formerly known as Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, is delighted to announce its 2026-27 season. With a record of nearly 100 performances, drawing thousands of listeners to venues across the city, as well as through their popular broadcast series watched throughout the world, Art Song Chicago looks forward to its 16th season, featuring nearly 20 acclaimed interpreters of song.
2026 COLLABORATIVE WORKS FESTIVAL September 23 - 26, 2026
This year’s festival theme, Songs of the Earth, examines the intricate bond between humanity and the natural world across four centuries of vocal music. Historically, our perspective has shifted between being an integral part of nature and standing apart from it—oscillating between the desire to conquer the environment around us and the yearning to harmonize with its eternal cadences. Grammy Award-winning Art Song Chicago co-founder and Artistic Director, Nicholas Phan, notes: “This year’s festival programs chart a progression: from communion with nature, to contemplation of its power, to a reckoning with our impact upon it. These concerts are offered as an invitation to listen closely, to notice what has changed, and to consider what kind of relationship with the natural world we hope to leave behind.”
September 23, 2026 – The Secret Garden
Opening the festival at 7:30 p.m. in historic Ganz Hall, The Secret Garden investigates how the earth’s varied flora and fauna have served as inspirational muses for creators across diverse cultures and eras. For many creative movements in history, the wilderness was a key to unlocking the soul and a vital sanctuary from the industrial grime and noise of urban expansion. The evening will highlight masterworks by Schubert, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Margaret Bonds, and Harry Burleigh.
September 26, 2026 – Gods of the Earth
The festival’s second installment, presented at 2:00 p.m. in Ganz Hall, is titled Gods of the Earth. This performance considers nature not as a mere scenic backdrop but as a potent, divine force—mysterious, elemental, and spiritually vibrant. Drawing from a repertoire stretching from Monteverdi to Mahler, the program reveals the human experience of confronting a sacred world that remains untameable and far beyond our reach.
A pivotal highlight of the program is the Midwest premiere of Juno Award-winning composer Vivian Fung’s Lamenting Earth, first performed in 2023 at New York’s Kaufman Music Center. Composed for tenor, piano, and string quartet, the cycle is anchored by a poem written by award-winning climate change activist-poet, Claire Wahmanholm. This work is further enriched by the inclusion of poetry commissioned from gifted high school students at the Kaufman School, amplifying youth-driven climate perspectives that often go ignored and evolving from lament into a powerful testimony. Performed by Nicholas Phan, for whom the cycle was composed, the Festival performance will comprise the second-ever performance of the complete song cycle.
Phan is joined at the 2026 Festival by Art Song Chicago’s Executive Director Eric Ferring and Director of Education Brent Funderburk, alongside favorite Festival artists from recent seasons soprano Raquel González, mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams, and baritones Evan Bravos and Leroy Davis. Also making their Art Song Chicago debuts are soprano Rachel Blaustein, mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart and the Jasper String Quartet.
2026-27 LIEDER LOUNGE SERIES
Art Song Chicago’s vocal recital series, the Lieder Lounge, offers acclaimed artists a platform to design programs that resonate on a deeply personal level. These performances invite audiences to experience the nuanced artistry of song, while forging a direct connection with the performers. They are unique opportunities to not only hear great singing by some of the world’s leading classical singers, but also chances to get to know these artists more deeply via the most intimate of the singing art forms. The upcoming season features four Lieder Lounge installments, showcasing a remarkable breadth of interpreters and diverse vocal literature.
Lieder Lounge I
November 16, 2026 – 7:30 p.m.
The series opens with the debut of soprano Olivia Boen, following her recent engagements with the Paris Opera, Cologne Opera, and Staatsoper Hamburg. Joining her are distinguished instrumentalists Jon Boen, principal horn of Lyric Opera of Chicago; violinist Laura Miller of the Lyric Opera and Grant Park Music Festival; and renowned pianist and frequent Art Song Chicago collaborator Craig Terry.
Lieder Lounge II
February 22, 2027 - 7:30 p.m.
In February, the series welcomes the debuts of mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb and pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz at 7:30 p.m. in Ganz Hall. Chaieb is enjoying a soaring international career with recent appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Philadelphia Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, and Bayerische Staatsoper. She is paired with Bushakevitz, a premier collaborative artist whose international career includes recitals at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Concertgebouw.
Lieder Lounge III
April 6, 2027 - 7:30 p.m.
Celebrated soprano Amanda Majeski returns to Art Song Chicago on April 6, 2027. An alumna of the Ryan Opera Center with leading credits at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London Symphony, Semperoper Dresden, and the Boston Symphony, Majeski last appeared with Art Song Chicago for the 2020 Collaborative Works Festival. She performs alongside debuting pianist Alan Darling, a Northwestern University lecturer known for his collaborations with some of the world’s most renowned singers across North America and Europe.
Lieder Lounge IV
May 21, 2027 - 7:30 p.m.
Concluding the series on May 21, 2027 are tenor Travon D. Walker and pianist Michael Banwarth. The program is centered around the world premiere of a song cycle co-composed by the duo. Recent graduates of the Ryan Opera Center, Walker and Banwarth are poised for significant seasons ahead, with upcoming engagements in major musical centers including New York, Houston, and Chicago.
All Lieder Lounge performances will be held in Ganz Hall.
Tickets for all performances will be available for purchase July 1, 2026.
ABOUT ART SONG CHICAGO
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 the city’s musical life, showcasing leading performers from around the globe.
Founded as 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 Operations in 2022, Eric Ferring as Executive Director in 2023 and Brent Funderburk in 2026 as Director of Education.
Website: www.artsongchicago.org
Meta Platforms: @artsongchicago
General inquiries: song@artsongchicago.org