ART SONG CHICAGO

SEPTEMBER 23

2026 COLLABORATIVE WORKS FESTIVAL: Songs of the Earth

CONCERT I – The Secret Gardem

The Secret Garden, our first Festival concert spans nearly four centuries of music and poetry to explore humanity's relationship with the flora and fauna have inspired writers and poets across cultures throughout history. Many, like the German and English Romantics such as Joseph von Eichendorff, looked to nature to unlock the mysteries of the inner soul, and as a necessary escape from the increasingly industrialized, chaotic, polluted urban world. The program features works by composers including Schubert, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Margaret Bonds, and Harry Burleigh.

Rachel Blaustein, soprano
Alexis Peart, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor & artistic director
Evan Bravos, baritone
Michael Banwarth, piano