Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 7 - Aida

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 70 Cultivating voices The 2023/24 Season marked the eighth year of Lyric’s High School Choir Residency, a program from Lyric Unlimited, the company’s Learning and Civic Engagement department, that enables students to learn more about opera and the wonders of the human voice through year-round visits from a Lyric teaching artist. Lessons can range from warmups, technique building activities, and sectional work to master classes, demonstrations, and preparations for future auditions. Not only are students regularly exposed to ongoing musical support, but they also get the chance to interact with experienced guest artists and even watch a dress rehearsal at Lyric. The residency encourages teachers to form long-lasting collaborative relationships with Lyric teaching artists, in the hopes of inspiring and educating their students about choir and opera as art forms. It’s a true partnership between two sets of experts—Lyric’s visiting artists and the in-classroom educators. “The relationships built between the high school choir teachers and Lyric’s teaching artists are based on the needs of the classroom, the choir director, and the school,” explains Elise LaBarge, Learning Programs Manager at Lyric. “We talk to the teachers and the teaching artists and try to make a match made in heaven.” Each teaching artist and teacher has a unique skill set and personality, and each choir program has different needs. In the 2023/24 Season, Lyric has partnered with five schools and twelve choirs, serving 360 students. Lyric Unlimited’s High School Choir Residencies give students consistent vocal instruction and guidance throughout the school year—and provide choir teachers insights and community Elise LaBarge,Learning Programs Manager with Lyric Unlimited,helps facilitate a professional development workshop for teachers. by Casey Bowman Kyle Flubacker’