Calisesi Maidens, conductor
Kuumba
Zanaida Stewart Robles
Verbum caro factum est Heinrich Schütz arr. Liza Calisesi Maidens
Alexandra Plattos Sulack '11, soprano Grace Zieman, soprano
She Laura Mvula arr. Andrea Ramsey Gemmia Deadmon & Kayla Jordan
Sigue
Ivette Herryman Rodriguez
Abdo Timejardine-Zomeño, percussion
Kuumba Zanaida Stewart Robles
Puja Ramaswamy ‘06, spoken word
Earth Song Frank Ticheli
De Amor Heridos
Kuumba
Traditional Mexican arr. Ramón Noble
Zanaida Stewart Robles
Puja Ramaswamy ‘06, spoken word
UICChoirs-BoardSpotlight
Abdo Timejardine-Zomeño, bass clarinet and djembe
Silent Devotion, Part III of Sacred Service
Negro Spiritual arr. Marques L.A. Garrett
Sarah Quartel
Ernest Bloch
Jesus bleibet meine Freude from BWV 147 J.S. Bach
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
Stevie Wonder arr. Matt Falker
Kayla Jordan, Hillary Hymbaugh, Imani Faggan, Grace Jones, Derek Layne, Philip Xu, Anthony Gonzalez, Jonathan Magboo, octet Abdo Timejardine-Zomeño, saxophone
Kuumba
Micaela Aguirre Haevin Britt Julia Castillo #+ Diya Chaturvedula Caroline Chmielewski Gemmia D Deadmon Eliza Farley Tomisin Fijabi Eli George
Ashley Elizabeth Greene Mireya Gutierrez Kayla Jordan Fatima Khaidar Sarah Koag Corinne Krause Sivan Levavi Mia Lewis-Vazquez Diana Lopez Emma Mathews Morayo Ojugbele Alexandra Panos
Isabella Perez + Dian Poremba Paula Ramirez Frida Rivera Molly Rockwell + MaryJo Santos Angela Santillanes
Alyssa Sierra Madeline Simmons Jyoti Sundaram Kanchi Suri Sylvia Waechter Erin Weller
Jasmin Wiley-Harris Grace Zieman
Annabelle Barclay Clara Maria Bertram Julia Castillo + Felix Celestino Anahita Chandhok * Saehwa Chang Caroline Chmielewski Ryan Croteau Donovan Davis Kayla Estes-Romero Sarah Estilo * Imani N. Faggan Emily Fine # Salvatore Fortino Lola Fratto Anthony Gonzalez David Gonzalez Hillary Hymbaugh Grace Jones Kayla Jordan Derek Layne Sivan Levavi Jonathan Magboo * Grady McDonnell Faith Metcalf Raijo Nirmal Alexandra Panos Leslie Quintana Madison Rausch Roberto Rodriguez
Andrew Abraham Christina Ahlman Isaac Alvarado Adriana Andreolas Michael Arodiogbu Sofia Avilla
Jamie Baumgardner-Leandro Stephanie Booker Haevin Britt Cecilia Carrington Benjamin Cha Deepakshi Choudhary Christian Daum Brooklyn Klarke Denman Riddhi Deshpande David Dobria Amr Elseweifi Matthew Rei Esteves Carolina Favela Kelly Ferguson Aliah Rego Frederico Maximillian R. Gambony Raul Gonzalez Amaris Gonzalez Jocelyn Hollingsworth
Hillary Hymbaugh Byungchul In Ayumi Coward Jackson Tranea Jean Chelsea Jeung Lily Orion Kenner Maryam Khan Claudia Kim Helena Kremer Verity Latoja Derek Layne Mia Lewis-Vazquez Jackqueline Marchan # Colum McNally
Nyssa Montes De Oca
Jonathan Morales
Laura-Jane Odiakosa Jeongjae Park
Garima Pathak
Leslie Quintana Enrique Quiroz Madison Rausch Darrow V Richmond, II Amna Rizvi Molly Rockwell + Zoe Romano
Camilla Schmidt Nazra Shahnaz
Alyssa Sierra
Lizbeth Solarte
Emily Stoltzfus Krystina Tapalla Riley Ulas Jeana Vasquez Philip Xu +
Eréndira Izguerra co-founded Chicago’s first all-women mariachi, Mariachi Sirenas in 2017 and Illinois’ first collegiate mariachi, UIC Maria chi Fuego in 2014, with the goals of keeping Mexican traditions alive. Izguerra has performed nationally and intentionally with artists such as Grammy Award-nominated Sones de México Ensemble, Emmy Award winner Orbert Davis and Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán. She was music director for audio drama podcast, Brava (Make-Believe Asso ciation) and has performed at Chicago's Goodman Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Cleveland Playhouse for the theater production, "American Mariachi." Eréndira graduated from the UIC School of Theatre and Music in 2016 with her BA in Music.
Alexandra Plattos Sulack (she/her) is an award-winning performer, singer, and teacher/coach based in Chicago. She is an Artist-in-Residence with the historic Cliff Dwellers Club of Chicago, and she makes a habit of collaborating across genre and disciplines to create new works. She cut her teeth in sketch comedy and improv with the ladies of Forte Chicago. Alexandra co-founded The Voice Lab in 2014, a music studio that provides music lessons and voice-modification services for trans and non-binary individuals. She is an adjunct professor and director of choirs at Morton College.
Recent credits include: Operatic Delights with the Elgin Master Chorale and Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Lewis conducting; world premieres: The Harbingers by Rosśa Crean, and The Distant Flight of Birds by Lara Golan, Sarah Bendix, and Susan Payne O’Brien; derivative works: BIG ENTRANCE, La La Lady Show, and Winter Whispers with Forte Chicago and Covers: A Process, A Slight of Hand and AWAKENING with Mozawa. She is a member of the National Association for Teachers for Singing (NATS), The Voice Foundation, Illinois Education Association-National Education Association, and the PanHellenic Honors Society. Alex andra graduated from the UIC School of Theatre and Music in 2011 with her BM in Music Performance.
Puja Ramaswamy is the Director of Choirs at Lake View High School in Chicago. She completed her undergraduate degrees in Music and Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Masters of Music Education degree from VanderCook College of Music. Prior to her position at Lake View, Ms. Ramaswamy was the Di rector of Vocal Music at Eisenhower Junior High School in Darien, Illinois. Her choirs have had the opportunity to compete in locations such as Disney World, Nashville, and St. Louis and consistently received Division I ratings at the Illinois Grade School Music Association Organization Contest.
Ms. Ramaswamy is a recipient of the 2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. She believes in creating a culturally relevant curriculum for her students and has connected her students with expert teaching artists through the Lyric Opera High School Residency Program. She serves on the Alumni Board for VanderCook College of Muisc and has served in various roles for ACDA including the ACDA Illinois Middle School R&S Chair, Mid dle School Girls’ Honor Choir Chair, and Honor Choir Coordinator for the 2016 ACDA Central Division Conference in Chicago. She was also a member of the Apollo Chorus of Chicago for several years and has performed with them at various venues including Ravinia, Symphony Center, and the United Center.
Liza Calisesi Maidens is Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). Her research centers around expanding the choral canon, the choral music of Imogen Holst, and undergraduate student belonging in a college/school of music. Prior to her appointment at UIC, she was a member of the conducting faculty at Eastern Michigan University from 20152021, where she conducted EMU Vision (formerly Women’s Choir), EMU Voces, and EMU Express. Most recently, EMU Vision was invited to perform at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Michigan Conference and was the featured chorus in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s French Fest perfor mance of Debussy’s Nocturnes at Orchestra Hall.
She serves as a board committee member for mirabai, a professional ensem ble led by Dr. Sandra Snow to enhance the artistic expectations of women’s choral singing. She is also a board member of the Illinois-ACDA, has served on the board for Michigan-ACDA, and is an active guest conductor, clinician, and presenter. Dr. Calisesi Maidens has sung professionally with the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir, mirabai, and sounding light. She has presented nationally at the ACDA and College Music Society conferences, as well as the world conference of the International Society for Music Education. She holds degrees from Michigan State University (DMA), Westminster Choir College (MM), and Central College (BA). To learn more, please visit: lizacm.com.
Andrew Lewis is Artistic Director of Bella Voce and the Bella Voce Sinfonia, Music Director of the Elgin Master Chorale, Director of Music & Choirmaster at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Evanston, Artistic Director of Opus 327 NFP, Lecturer at the Uni versity of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Theatre & Music, and is Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. He has music degrees from Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music. Mr. Lewis has been a guest lecturer at Concordia University Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, the Lectures in Church Music series, Garrett Theological Seminary, and formerly taught the conducting course at DePaul University. He has been a guest conductor with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and has appeared on several occasions as a guest conductor with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lewis’s performances with Bella Voce, the Elgin Master Chorale, and the Elgin Symphony have been broadcast nationally on WFMT 98.7.
Ivana Bukvich earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Per formance from the University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, and her Master of Music in Piano Performance from Indiana University, where she studied under Professor Alexander Toradze. Her performance highlights include the Edinburgh Music Festival in Scotland, the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Rotterdam Phillips Gergiev Festival in the Netherlands, the Mikkeli Music Festival in Finland, the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, and the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. Ivana was the head of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago from 2000-2015 and coached chamber music for Gallery 37 summer programs. She is a full-time lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she teaches applied piano, keyboard classes and UIC Choirs and also collaborates with vocal studios. Ivana maintains a pri vate piano studio at the Fine Arts Building and is an active adjudicator and collaborative musician in the Chicago area. Professional affiliations include CAMTA, MTNA and Royal Conservatory of Canada.
Kitty Karn - moved to the area in 2019 after 15 years as Professor of Voice and Musical Theatre at Western Illinois University. She is certified in all levels of Jeannie Lovetri’s Somatic Voicework (Shenandoah Uni versity) and holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) and MM in Vocal Performance from The Shep herd School of Music at Rice University. She has musically directed over 30 productions at both the college and professional level. Her perform ing experience includes the title role in The Drowsy Chaperone, Florence Foster Jenkins in Souvenir, Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, Marmee in Little Women, Madame Flora in The Medium and Mrs. Segstrom in A Little Night Music. www.kittykarn.com
Hailed as “Deeply expressive” (Chicago Sun Times) and a “firstclass soloist” (Chicago Classical Review), Sarah Ponder enjoys a busy career as a soloist and ensemble singer in genres from classical to contemporary to a cappella. Some of Sarah’s favorite performances include featured solo appearances with the Grant Park Music Festival, playing Julia Child in performances of Lee Hoiby’s one-woman opera, Bon Appetit! and a rousing trio rendi tion of “Row, Row Your Boat” with Yo-Yo Ma at Children’s Memorial Hospital as part of her ongoing work with the Citizen Musician Initiative. A dedicated teacher and mentor, Sarah holds positions at Loyola University and University of Illinois Chicago as well as with Music of the Baroque’s Strong Voices and has helped to establish innovative programs with the Negaunee Music Institute such as Notes for Peace and Chicago’s branch of Lulla by Project (Carnegie Hall). As part of this work, Sarah has also “beguilingly” (Chicago Tribune) performed several solo concerts with famed Maestro Riccardo Muti at the piano. Sarah is featured as a technique model in the award-winning pedagogy book, Vocal Technique: A Guide for Conductors, Teachers, and
Cheryl Wilson - enjoys a career as an international recording artist, having recorded and performed with a variety of musicians, such as Michael Jackson, Mavis Staples, Celine Dion, Seal, Diana Ross, Michael Bolton, Faith Hill, Mannheim Steamroller, R.Kelly, Cameo, Bill Withers, KMFDM, Peter Cetera, David Foster and Whitney Houston, among others. She writes, arrang es and records music for commercials, feature films and television, and has several gold, platinum and diamond Billboard recording awards. Her solo performances include the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Chi-Town Jazz Fest Benefit Series and guest appearances with symphony orchestras, jazz orchestras, and music festivals around the world. Cheryl also enjoys performing with several small ensembles including the Jazz String Quintet, 4Spiel String Quartet, Zvonimir Tot’s Jazz Stringtet, Hard Art Groop, and akalibrio. A recipient of an award for outstanding service from the National Association of Jazz Educators, Wilson teaches voice and jazz studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Cheryl is also a member of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, as a violist.
Cheryl Wilson
What does the feeling of belonging sound like to you? The UIC Choirs created a playlist of pieces that remind them of times, places, or people that make them feel a sense of belonging. Scan the QR code or click here to take a listen!
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The School of Theatre and Music provides innovative, rigorous, and comprehensive academic and per formance programs as part of our diverse, urban context. Our programs develop practical knowledge, cultural sensitivity, intellectual resourcefulness, and imaginative daring in emerging artists and scholars. We connect students to Chicago's abundant, vibrant theatre culture and to the city's dynamic jazz and classical music networks.
Thank you for being a dedicated member of our community!
When you make a gift of any size to the School of Theatre & Music, you invest in the future of our students and encourage them to discover and nurture their passions and talents. The School has funds that sup port a wide range of areas and programs:
Music Ensembles (jazz, wind bands, orchestra, choir, etc.)
Youth Programs (Summer Camps, etc.)
UIC Symphonic Band Concert
UIC Theatre L280
1044 W. Harrison St.
7:30pm
Saturday, October 15
UIC Wind Ensemble Concert
UIC Theatre L280
1044 W. Harrison St.
7:30pm
Monday, October 17
UIC Jazz Workshop & Combo
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St. 7:30pm
Tuesday, October 18
UIC Orchestra Invitational
UIC Student Center West 828 S Wolcott Ave 7:00pm
Wednesday, October 19
UIC Jazz Ensemble & Combo
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St.
7:30pm
Thursday, October 20
Mariachi Fuego
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St.
7:30pm
Friday, October 21
UIC Choirs
Notre Dame de Chicago
1334 W Flournoy St
7:00pm
Friday-Sunday, November 4-6
UIC 10th Annual Honors Band Festival
UIC Student Center East - Illinois Room
750 S Halsted St
2:00pm
Monday, November 21
UIC Symphonic Band Concert
UIC Theatre L280
1044 W. Harrison St.
7:30pm
Tuesday, November 22
UIC Pop Rock Ensemble
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St.
7:30pm
Tuesday, November 29
UIC Jazz Workshop & Combo
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St. 7:30pm
Wednesday, November 30
UIC Jazz Ensemble & Combo
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St.
7:30pm
Mariachi Fuego
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St. 7:30pm
UIC Percussion Ensemble
UIC Theatre L280
1044 W. Harrison St. 7:30pm
Saturday, December 3
UIC Holiday Concert
Benito Juarez High School
2150 S Laflin St
7:00pm
Sunday, December 4
Small Ensembles Concert
UIC Recital Hall L285
1044 W Harrison St. 3:00pm
Our student concerts are free and open to the public. Visit us at theatreandmusic.uic.edu for a full listing of events. Please RSVP your attendance by registering for the event on our website.
For accessibility and accommodations contact our box office at (312) 996-2939 or email nealmac@uic. edu