The Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park will be filled with youth from all 57 Chicago zip codes on May 24th for Chicago Children’s Choir’s (CCC) Paint the Town Red (PTTR) concert. 4,800 singers ranging from 3rd to 12th grade will perform in the annual event, beginning at 10:45am.
A physical representation of CCC’s mission to unite youth from diverse backgrounds, PTTR brings together singers from across CCC programs to perform in one of Chicago’s most iconic venues. The concert program features a wide repertoire of music designed to reflect the cultural diversity of singers, including classical, folk, gospel, world music and more.
“I am so humbled every year to look out into the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and see the promise of this city’s youth,” said Josephine Lee, President and Artistic Director of CCC. “Paint the Town Red is our way of showing Chicago the power that lies in reaching across cultural and physical divides to find a common language. Ours is music.”
This year, PTTR lines up with the City of Chicago’s 2018 Year of Creative Youth – designated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) as a citywide celebration of Chicago’s creative youth and the mentors who inspire them.
“Chicago Children’s Choir demonstrates the transformative potential of arts education,” said Mark Kelly, Commissioner of DCASE. “It is critical that we continue to inspire our next generation of creative leaders. During the Year of Creative Youth, we will place a spotlight on our creative youth and the myriad organizations across our neighborhoods that encourage their creative development.”
During PTTR, Commissioner Kelly will introduce the Flying Creatures project, DCASE’s initiative to animate downtown Wabash Avenue with art created by young artists during the Year of Creative Youth. The Flying Creatures, a series of kinetic street sculptures – or modern gargoyles, will make a very special appearance in Millennium Park at PTTR before their upcoming installation downtown. Complete details about the project will be announced in May.
Founded as a single choir in Hyde Park at the height of the civil rights movement to bridge cultural divides between Chicago’s youth, CCC has grown tremendously in scope and programming. The organization now features an in-school program of 112 choirs embedded in 86 Chicago schools, a neighborhood program including 10 community-based choirs, Dimension ensemble for young male voices and top-performing ensemble Voice of Chicago.
PTTR is sponsored by The Lyon Family Foundation. It is free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://ccchoir.org/paint-town-red-2018.
