Illinois Summer Youth Music Session 2: Black Chorus

For more than 60 years, Illinois Summer Youth Music (ISYM) has helped young musicians improve their artistry, strengthen their self-confidence, and embark on professional careers. Junior and senior high school students perform with large band, orchestra, chorus, and jazz ensembles or attend intensive, specialized instrumental programs. Students return home with newly developed skills, a lifelong sense of discipline, and in-depth training. Designed for all senior high vocalists, this program focuses on strengthening musicianship and acquiring individual artistry by exploring the unique treatment of the elements of vocal music by Black Americans in a choral setting. Students are exposed to a wide range of repertoire, including spirituals, hymns, anthems, gospel, jazz, pop, hip-hop, soul and R&B, and develop skills for the practice and performance of the vocal music of Black Americans. Classes include full ensemble and sectional rehearsals, masterclasses, group voice lessons, conducting/directing, and musicianship.