Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Urban League launch seventh year of EmpowerYouth!

CHICAGO (10/17/23) — Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Urban League kick off the seventh year of their transformative partnership program, EmpowerYouth! Igniting Creativity through the Arts. This long-standing collaboration offers Chicago's youth a unique opportunity to explore the world of the performing arts while creating their own new work that reflects the vibrancy of their lived experience.

EmpowerYouth! is a year-long initiative that actively engages 30 Black teen students from Chicago. The core mission is to amplify the voices of these students by empowering them to share their unique stories through various art forms. Participants meet weekly with seasoned professionals specializing in acting, composition, vocal training, dance, and creative writing. Throughout this immersive experience, students will collaborate closely with each other, culminating in the creation and performance of an original stage production. The students' new work will showcase the students’ creativity and encompass elements like music, poetry, acting, and dance.

"Lyric Opera of Chicago — through Lyric Unlimited — our learning and creative engagement initiative, really values our years of partnership with the Chicago Urban League," says Lyrics General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud. "Together, we are able to encourage our young participants to explore their own voices, power, and passions."

"Our partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago provides an opportunity for youth to hone their artistic and creative abilities and to expose some of them to opera for the first time," adds Karen Freeman-Wilson, President & CEO of the Chicago Urban League. "We are excited to select and welcome this talented group of teens for another year of this powerful program."

The EmpowerYouth! application process begins with the Chicago Urban League conducting program outreach with partner schools. Interested individuals receive an application collecting their experiences, strengths, and areas for improvement, and answer a short essay question to learn more about their perspective on empowerment and the arts. Then, the Chicago Urban League, with guidance from Lyric, selects up to 30 participants for the program.

Guiding the students throughout the program are Mari DeOleo as program facilitator, with Mbali Guliwe, Tanji Harper, and Shawn Wallace returning as artist mentors.

In addition to the intensive weekly sessions hosted at the Chicago Urban League, EmpowerYouth! participants will embark on field trips, including attending a mainstage performance at Lyric, to deepen their exposure to all sides of the performing arts in Chicago.

For more information and updates, please visit lyricopera.org/learn-engage/community-programs/empoweryouth/.

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Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO John Mangum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

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For more information on Lyric's upcoming 2024/25 Season, visit lyricopera.org/newseason.