The CAIC Vocal Chamber Music Fellowship provides educational, performance, and entrepreneurial opportunities to select classically trained Chicago-based singers and pianists. Each season, one singer and one pianist may be chosen for this 30-week residency with Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago.
Vocal Chamber Music Fellows will receive weekly individual coachings and will work closely with CAIC artistic and administrative staff to gain first-hand experience in the inner workings of the arts organization. Additionally, Vocal Chamber Music Fellows will participate throughout the year in sessions (as individuals and in ensemble) with CAIC’s visiting artists, and can include participation in season workshops and masterclasses. The Vocal Chamber Music Fellowship serves as the ambassadorial arm of CAIC, with participants appearing regularly at fundraising and outreach events in programs guided by CAIC’s educational and artistic staff. Residency begins in mid-August, and lasts for one full performance season, with the option to renew for a second season.
Vocal Chamber Music Fellows will receive weekly individual coachings and will work closely with CAIC artistic and administrative staff to gain first-hand experience in the inner workings of the arts organization. Additionally, Vocal Chamber Music Fellows will participate throughout the year in sessions (as individuals and in ensemble) with CAIC’s visiting artists, and can include participation in season workshops and masterclasses. The Vocal Chamber Music Fellowship serves as the ambassadorial arm of CAIC, with participants appearing regularly at fundraising and outreach events in programs guided by CAIC’s educational and artistic staff. Residency begins in mid-August, and lasts for one full performance season, with the option to renew for a second season.
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
CAIC’s Vocal Chamber Music Fellowship functions as a project incubator: Fellows will build a project from the ground up, with the support of CAIC’s institutional framework and professional staff. Vocal Chamber Music Fellows will be asked to balance the multiple demands and needs that established arts organizations contend with daily: Which venue? Should I print the program in color? Should we commission a piece? How much should we - the artists - be paid?
Fellowships are tailored to candidates’ interests and project proposals. During the two-year residency Fellows receive:
CAIC’s Vocal Chamber Music Fellowship functions as a project incubator: Fellows will build a project from the ground up, with the support of CAIC’s institutional framework and professional staff. Vocal Chamber Music Fellows will be asked to balance the multiple demands and needs that established arts organizations contend with daily: Which venue? Should I print the program in color? Should we commission a piece? How much should we - the artists - be paid?
Fellowships are tailored to candidates’ interests and project proposals. During the two-year residency Fellows receive:
- An annual budget of approximately $5,000 to use as you see fit during your two-year residency, toward project planning and implementation
- regular mentorship, planning, and coaching sessions, provided by CAIC staff and guest artists
- logistical and programmatic project support.
24 / 25 SEASON FELLOW
ALANNAH SPENCER, soprano
Soprano Alannah Spencer is a Chicago based singer who is equally at home in solo, choral, and chamber repertoire. In the 2023/24 season she toured with Opera for the Young performing Tooty Fruity in Beauty and the Beast with and for hundreds of elementary schoolers across the Midwest.
As a Studio Artist with Madison Opera in the 2022/23 season she covered the roles of Salome in Salome and Countess Le nozze di Figaro and sang in the Jazz Trio for Trouble in Tahiti and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro). Other recent roles include Rodolfo La femme Boheme (Ouroboros Opera); Countess Le nozze di Figaro (BrewStreet Opera); First Customer She Loves Me (Madison Opera); and Luise Die Abreise (Evanston Chamber
Opera).
As a choral singer, Alannah sings with the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. She is a founding member of the vocal quartet the Liederspiel Society, and half of the voice/percussion duo VoxBox. She is also a founding member of the feminist opera collective The Valkyrie Ensemble.
Alannah is passionate about promoting the work of living composers and has premiered over a dozen song and chamber pieces. She was a member of the second place team at the inaugural Chicago SongSlam competition in 2019, and is featured on the CD “A Horse With Wings: the Shakespeare Settings of Elizabeth Rudolph.”
When not singing, Alannah works in Public Relations for arts and non-profit organizations throughout the Chicago area. In her free time Alannah enjoys reading, playing D&D, and attempting to craft the perfect cheese plate.
As a Studio Artist with Madison Opera in the 2022/23 season she covered the roles of Salome in Salome and Countess Le nozze di Figaro and sang in the Jazz Trio for Trouble in Tahiti and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro). Other recent roles include Rodolfo La femme Boheme (Ouroboros Opera); Countess Le nozze di Figaro (BrewStreet Opera); First Customer She Loves Me (Madison Opera); and Luise Die Abreise (Evanston Chamber
Opera).
As a choral singer, Alannah sings with the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. She is a founding member of the vocal quartet the Liederspiel Society, and half of the voice/percussion duo VoxBox. She is also a founding member of the feminist opera collective The Valkyrie Ensemble.
Alannah is passionate about promoting the work of living composers and has premiered over a dozen song and chamber pieces. She was a member of the second place team at the inaugural Chicago SongSlam competition in 2019, and is featured on the CD “A Horse With Wings: the Shakespeare Settings of Elizabeth Rudolph.”
When not singing, Alannah works in Public Relations for arts and non-profit organizations throughout the Chicago area. In her free time Alannah enjoys reading, playing D&D, and attempting to craft the perfect cheese plate.