About the Chicago World Music Chorus

Led by the dynamic team of Patty Cuyler (co-director of Village Harmony) & Mollie Stone (conductor at University of Chicago and the Chicago Children's Choir) in partnership with the University of Chicago, our innovative one-Sunday-a-month, non-auditioned world music community choir is open to interested community members as well as students and staff of the University of Chicago, regardless of experience level or music reading ability. 

Because rehearsals are just one Sunday afternoon each month, the World Music Chorus is a great option for amateur and professional singers looking for an opportunity to experiment with new choral genres and repertoire, but who don't have a lot of free time to commit to rehearsals.

We perform authentic, challenging choral music from across the globe, vital and honest music chosen from among the world’s most powerful harmony singing traditions and in diverse languages. Our repertoire this year will include songs from South Africa, the Republic of Georgia, Corsica, Bulgaria, Scandinavia, Latin America, the United States and western Europe.
 

Our singers include university students, retirees, professional singers, choral directors, beginners, fluent sight-readers, and singers who only learn by ear.  Our basic requirement is that would-be members be committed to making good music—and be willing to go for it when confronted with what may be drastically-new musical genres and singing styles.
 

For the 2019-2020 season we will conduct a series of seven one-Sunday-a-month rehearsals that will culminate in a public performance on Sunday, April 19, 2020. New singers are welcome to join anytime during the year.
 

October 13 - 1-4pm

November 17 - 1-4pm
December 8 - 12noon-3pm
January 26 - 1-4pm
February 16 - 1-4pm
March 8 - 1-4pm
April 19, 1-4 pm, followed by a potluck dinner and then a one-hour public concert starting at 5:30pm
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You don't need to sightread music fluently or have a lot of prior singing experience (although both of those attributes are welcome) to join. You do need to be able to match pitch, comfortably hold your own part when singing in harmony, and have a can-do attitude when confronted with unfamiliar languages and singing styles.

Music is handed out for some repertoire, as appropriate; but many songs are taught by ear. Everything is taught by example, with emphasis placed on authenticity and on replicating the spirit of each musical genres.