Join us for a Community Concert in Humboldt Park, featuring the Austin and Humboldt Park Neighborhood Choir Programs, plus our Dimension ensemble. These seasonal showcases of the city's young people bring the power of song and the sound of unity to Chicago communities through a curated concert. The performance will feature choral classics, music from around the world and original tunes. Don't miss this chance to see the youth of Chicago shine together!
Learn more about the Humboldt Park Neighborhood Choir.
Tickets are $10* per person, available for purchase at the concert. All seating is general admission. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.
*Uniting Voices Chicago has a pay-what-you-can policy, allowing guests to pay as much or as little as they like per ticket, including requesting free tickets if desired*
Uniting Voices Chicago strives to make music and performance accessible to anyone who wants it. To request accommodations, please email info [at] unitingvoiceschicago [dot] org.
Isé Olúwa
Traditional Nigerian Yoruba church song; arr. Lonnie Norwood, Jr.
Translation:
God’s work can never be destroyed.
Balia di Sehú
Etty Toppenberg; arr. Rufo Odor
Translation:
Let's dance it, let's swing
from early morning until 6 am the next day.
It's six in the morning and I woke up early;
I prepare my pack and bind my bag.
We're going to dance and swing the sehú,
my man, to the rhythm of the tambú.
I met Peruchi and my brother-in-law;
everyone has a small bottle they take with them.
Plain people who fight for their rights,
my man, are going to swing to the sehú.
Lift Ev’ry Voice
James Weldon and J. Rosemond Johnson; arr. Lonnie Norwood, Jr.
Lift ev’ry voice and sing
‘Til Earth and Heaven ring.
Ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies.
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun
Of our new day begun,
Let us march on ‘til victory is won.
Let us march on to victory!
The Rain Round
Sally Rogers
Oh, the rain comes down
And it falls to the ground
And it flows from the river to the sea.
The great and mighty ocean
Waves to the sky as the clouds pass
Filled with oceans and oceans,
Oceans of rain.
Drip, drop, drip, drop,
Drip-a-drop-a-drip-a-drop-a
Drip, drop.
Senyiwa Dedende
Trad. Ghanaian folk song; arr. Alex Acheampong and Lonnie Norwood, Jr.
Senyiwa Dedende senyiwa
Pɛtɛ, Pɛtɛ, Bra bɛdidi
Senyiwa Dedende
Trad. Ghanaian folk song; arr. Alex Acheampong and Lonnie Norwood, Jr.
Gather around,
Vulture, come and eat!
Konpira Fune Fune
Japanese round
Konpira fune fune oite ni hokakete
Shura, shushu, shu!
Mawareba Shikoku wa Sanshuu
Nakanogori zozusan konpira daigongen.
Ichido mawareba.
Konpira Fune Fune
Japanese round
If you go around Shikoku Island
You come to Nakanogori district in Sanshuu Prefecture
Where Konpira Daigongen shrine is at the top of Mount Zozu
You should visit it once in your life.
Shining Star
As Recorded by Earth, Wind, and Fire; Maurice White and Philip Bailey; arr. Lonnie Norwood, Jr.
When you wish upon a star,
Your dreams will take you very far.
But when you wish a upon a dream,
Life ain’t always what it seems, oh yeah.
What you see on nights so clear
In the sky so very dear.
You’re a shining star!
No matter who you are,
Shining bright to see
What you can truly be, what you can truly be.
Shining star for you to see
What your life can truly be.
Dos Oruguitas
From Disney’s Encanto; Lin-Manuel Miranda; arr. Audrey Snyder
Dos oruguitas enamoradas
Pasan sus noches y madrugadas.
Llenas de hambre, siguen andando
Y navegando un mundo que cambia y sigue cambiando.
Navegando un mundo que cambia y sigue cambiando.
Dos oruguitas paran el viento
Mientras se abrazan con sentimiento
Siguen creciendo, no saben cuándo
Buscar algún rincón.
El tiempo sigue cambiando.
Inseparables son,
Y el tiempo sigue cambiando.
Ay, oruguitas, no se aguanten más.
Hay que crecer a parte y volver,
Hacia adelante seguirás.
Vienen milagros, vienen crisálidas.
Hay que partir y construir su propio futuro.
Dos oruguitas, desorientadas,
En dos capullos bien abrigadas,
Con sueños nuevos. Ya solo falta
Hacer lo necesario
En el mundo que sigue cambiando.
Tumbando sus paredes,
Ahí viene nuestro milagro.
Ay, mariposas, no se aguanten más.
Hay que crecer a parte y volver,
Hacia adelante seguirás.
Ya son milagros, rompiendo crisálidas.
Hay que volar, hay que encontrar su propio futuro.
Dos Oruguitas
From Disney’s Encanto; Lin-Manuel Miranda; arr. Audrey Snyder
Two caterpillars in love and yearning,
Spend every evening and morning learning
To hold each other, their hunger burning
To navigate a world that turns and never stops turning.
To navigate a world that turns and never stops turning.
Two caterpillars against the weather.
The wind grows colder, but they’re together.
They hold each other no way of knowing
They’re all the have for shelter
And something inside them is growing.
They long to stay together
But something inside them is growing.
Ay, caterpillars, don’t you hold on too tight.
Both of you know it’s your time to grow,
To fall apart to reunite.
Wonders await you just on the other side.
Trust they’ll be there and start to prepare the way for tomorrow.
Two caterpillars, cocooned and waiting,
Each in their own world, anticipating
What happens after: the rearranging.
And so afraid of change, in a world that never stops changing.
So let the walls come down, the world will never stop changing.
Ay, butterflies, don’t you hold on too tight.
Both of you know it’s your time to go,
To fly apart to reunite.
Wonders surround you, just let the walls come down.
Don’t look behind you, fly ‘til you find your way toward tomorrow.
Dona Nobis Pacem
W.A. Mozart
Translation:
Grant us peace.
Ripple
From Spirited
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; arr. Anita Cracauer
Every day I wake up with a single dream
Runnin’ through my head.
To throw a tiny stone into a mighty stream
And watch the ripples as they spread.
Well, we fall in line, follow every rule,
But is that something we should really take pride in?
‘Cause we’re treading water in the kiddie pool,
When there are oceans we could turn the tide in.
If you wanna make a ripple,
If you wanna make a wave.
Playin’ safe and thinkin’ small doesn’t move the ball at all,
There’s humanity to save.
If we never test the waters, we’ll never know
Just how far the ripples go.
Do you wanna make a ripple, ripple, ripple?
Just life one person up, that leads to two then four,
And then it jumps from four to eight!
Yes, soon, you guys, it multiplies to thousands more,
Can you hear it reverberate?
All across the world, the change is gaining some traction.
Man, you began a chain reaction.
If you wanna make a ripple,
That can turn into a wave.
Time to mean when you’re about, gotta turn this motha’ out,
Friends, it’s just called bein’ brave.
Maybe more than just a ripple
Make the choice to take a chance
Let’s put on our big boy pants.
If we only skim the surface we’ll never know
Just how far the ripples go.
Can we redeem the unredeemable?
Can we just risk it all and find a way?
Can we accomplish the impossible?
Well, it’s impossible to say!
But I have to believe inside the worst of us
There is some decency there.
I know that we can achieve something miraculous
If we only dare!
If you wanna make a ripple,
If you wanna make a wave.
Then let’s fry some bigger fish, ask forgiveness, not permish,
There’s humanity to save.
Can’t resign yourself to ripple,
‘Cause you’ll barely make a dent
Given’ ninety-nine percent,
Go for broke because it’s time that we finally know
Just how far the ripples go.
Watch how far the ripples go!
Ē Malama
Bryan Kessler
Adapted by Mark and Sharee Anderson
Harmonized by Nickomo
E malama i ka heiau
E malama i ka heiau
E malama pono i ka heiau, E.
Earth and sky,
Sea and stone,
Hold this land in sacredness
Translation:
Yes, we must do what is right and take care of the Earth.
In My Life
John Lennon and Paul McCartney; arr. Steve Zegree
There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life, I loved them all.
But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you.
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them,
In my life, I love you more.
Na Miôlakôlaka
As Sung by Zaza Kanto; arr. Lala Simpson
Ho aiza ho aiza ianao ry mpivahiny ôô
Ho aiza éé
Fa tonga aminao ny fahazavana
Izao tontolo ôô
Na miôlakôlaka
Fa mbola hotsaraina ianao ôô
Ianao maniratsira fivavahana
Anao magnäno zanahary tsisy io ô
A nao midôro aigny mbola matanjaka
Na Miôlakôlaka
As Sung by Zaza Kanto; arr. Lala Simpson
Where, oh where are you going, traveler?
The light of the world has come to you
It doesn’t matter if you turn right or left trying to hide
You can’t wiggle your way out of it
You will be judged
You disrespect religion
You say that God doesn’t exist
You rely on your own strength, but you will be judged.
En Mi Viejo San Juan
Noel Estrada; arr. Daniel Wallenberg
En mi Viejo San Juan, cuantos sueños forjé
En mis años de infancia.
Mi primera ilusión, y mis cuitas de amor
Son recuerdos del alma.
Una tarde me fui hacia extraña nación,
Pues lo quiso el destino.
Pero mi corazón se quedó frente al mar
En mi Viejo San Juan.
Adiós Borinquen querida, tierra de mi amor.
Adiós mi diosa del mar, reina del palmar.
Me voy, pero un día volveré
A buscar mi querer, a soñar otra vez
En mi Viejo San Juan.
Pero el tiempo pasó y el destino burló
Mi terrible nostalgia.
Y no pude volver al San Juan que yo amé,
Pedacito de patria.
Mi cabello blanqueó y mi vida se va,
Ya la muerte me llama.
Y no quiero morir alejado de ti,
Puerto Rico del alma.
En Mi Viejo San Juan
Noel Estrada; arr. Daniel Wallenberg
In my old San Juan how many dreams I forged
In my years of childhood.
My first dream and my troubles of love
Are memories of the soul.
One afternoon I left towards a strange nation
as fate would have it.
But my heart stayed facing the sea
In my old San Juan.
Goodbye, dear Puerto Rico, land of my love.
Goodbye, my goddess of the sea, queen of the palm grove.
I’m going, but one day I’ll return
To search for my love, to dream again
In my old San Juan.
But the time passed and fate mocked
My terrible nostalgia.
And I couldn't return to the San Juan that I loved,
Little pieces of homeland.
My hair turned white, my life is going,
Death calls me now.
And I don’t want to die far away from you,
Puerto Rico of the soul.
The World is Ours
As Performed by Aloe Blacc; Aloe Blacc, Antonina Armato, Tim James, Adam Schmalholz, Andrew Bloch, Joseph Lawrence Altruda, and Edmond Dunne; arr. Greg Gilpin
From the sky, to the sea,
To the air that we breathe,
From the depths of the earth
To the stars.
Light up the world, light up the world.
Run like you’re born to fly.
Live like you’ll never die.
Dare what you dare to dream
And everything in between.
I had an epiphany one night,
Looking at the endless star-filled sky.
The world is ours.
Light up the world!
Sing out your battle cry
Under the stadium sky.
Oceans and land divide,
United we feel inside.