Narrator: During the first week of Women’s History Month, the U-High Chamber Collective held a female-forward pop performance on March 5 in Gordon Parks Arts Hall during Lab D. They performed songs by Chappell Roan, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish, and sold candy necklaces and ring pops. All proceeds went to the Chicago Foundation for Women.
Composed of 19 members, the U-High Chamber Collective is for student musicians who want to take their playing to the next level. The group meets three times a week to practice, and sometimes leads their own rehearsals, according to music teacher and group director Rozalyn Torto.
Ms. Torto: “It’s student-centered, it’s more collaborative. So as opposed to me standing on a podium and conducting, much like people experience in their large ensemble, this is more of a collaboration as far as how we work together, how we rehearse.”
Narrator: Their performance on March 5 was the second of their Concertos for Care series, which is dedicated to raising money for charities. The group wanted to put on a concert with classical covers of pop songs, and that turned into an all-female set. The charity they chose to donate the $100 proceeds to is the Chicago Foundation for Women. For Ms. Torto, the female-forward concert is more than a performance of pop.
Ms. Torto: “I just feel like since the election, we’ve all just been kind of holding our breath, like, things are happening to us. I would say this — I will only speak for myself — as a woman, I feel like things are happening to me, and in this moment I just would like to have something cool, something beautiful, something free, a space to just kind of, like, exist together.”
Narrator: Attendees were encouraged to wear the concert attire they would wear to a normal concert by any of the artists. Ms. Torto says she wanted to encourage a space where people could express themselves, whether through their emotions or fashion. Junior Gaia Sperone, who plays violin, joined the Chamber Collective at the start of the school year. Regarding the concert turnout, Gaia says it could’ve been better.
Gaia: “It was pretty good. We had a few middle schoolers, a few people from the high school, a few teachers. I think we would love to see more people next time, though.”
The U-High Chamber Collective will perform again in the spring, and hopes to host another Concertos for Care fundraiser concert.
For the U-High Midway, I’m Skye Freeman.
