Uniting Voices Chicago

Uniting Voices Chicago (Josephine Lee, president and artistic director) is the nation’s preeminent youth choral organization, serving 5,200 students across the city of Chicago. Founded in Hyde Park in direct response to the Civil Rights Movement in 1956, Uniting Voices Chicago has grown from one choir into a vast network of in-school and after-school programs driven by one mission: to inspire and change lives through music. Uniting Voices Chicago has impacted the lives of more than 50,000 diverse youth throughout its 62-year history. Since its founding, Uniting Voices Chicago has focused on building programs that reflect the racial and economic diversity of Chicago. Eighty percent of youth served are from low-moderate income homes, with over 4,000 students annually participating completely free of charge. All singers in Uniting Voices Chicago programs receive some level of subsidy. High school seniors enrolled in Uniting Voices Chicago have a 100% graduation and college acceptance rate, becoming global ambassadors who carry on Uniting Voices Chicago's core values in a wide array of professional fields.