Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago
Here is a selection of my year in music photography, leading off with an image from the Chicago Children's Choir that sums up 2017 in general. It's a pretty awesome privilege to be able to do this for a living.
All photos © copyright 2017 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Chicago Children's Choir raising voices at its 61st Annual Red Jacket Optional Gala.
The triumphant Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra performs at its 70th Anniversary Gala.
Victor Goines at the Green Mill. Selected as "Best Photo in a Club" during the Logan Center for the Arts jazz photography exhibit.
Bitter Jester Music Festival
Chuck Webb at Navy Pier
Birds-eye-view of Bella Voce at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Benny Golson plays his classics at Jazz Showcase.
Kurt Elling lights up the Green Mill.
Myra Huang, Shannon McGinnis, Sarah Shafer, Douglas Williams, and Nicholas Phan at the Collaborative Works Festival.
Susanna Phillips and Myra Huang give a glowing recital during the Collaborative Works Festival.
Jorge Federico Osorio plays Brahms for the Cedille Records gala.
My on-stage view of Jane Glover conducting Music of the Baroque.
Chicago Children's Choir Gala
The Chicago Philharmonic opens its season with Carmina Burana.
Third Coast Percussion premiering a work by Augusta Read Thomas with the Chicago Philharmonic.
Nicholas Kraemer conducts Bach with Music of the Baroque.
Kate Carter and Louise Chan perform on the Dame Myra Hess series at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Steve Reich backstage with percussionists at Northwestern University.
Steve Reich takes a bow with percussion ensembles at Northwestern University.
Throughout my work with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, I've been introduced to one of Chicago's newest vocal quartets, Fourth Coast Ensemble. I've shot the individual members of 4CE in several master classes and coachings, and it was a pleasure to shoot their performance of music by Lita Grier and Ned Rorem at Ganz Hall with pianist Dana Brown. Pictured: soprano Karen Ann Baron; mezzo-soprano Bridget Skaggs; tenor Zach Vanderburg; baritone Zach Angus.
Photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
One of my favorite recitals of 2015 came on November 6 when soprano Juliet Petrus and pianist Lydia Qiu gave the Chicago launch of their debut CD of beautiful and rarely performed Chinese art song. I was thrilled to have shot the cover (my first album cover!) and additional artwork; check out the original photo. Our collaboration inspired me to do some of my best work of the year. Juliet and Lydia gave an intimate and eloquent performance that night at PianoForte Chicago. As a bonus, the event featured two galleries of my work: some black-and-white studies of the staircase at the Art Institute where we did the cover shoot, and an exhibit of 15 scenes of Chicago cityscapes and new work from Chinatown.
You can watch the entire recital here. And you can buy A Great Distance on Amazon, CDbaby, or itunes.
Photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
My third season shooting for the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) kicked off last week with the 2015 Collaborative Works Festival and four days of fantastic singing. It's an incredible privilege to have such close access to these singers; here are some of my favorite images.
Photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni with pianist Craig Terry.
Bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni with pianist Craig Terry.
Bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni with pianist Craig Terry.
Tenor Nicholas Phan and pianist Shannon McGinnis.
Soprano Nicole Heaston and pianist Michael Brown.
Soprano Laquita Mitchell and pianist Shannon McGinnis.
Soprano Nicole Heaston and pianist Michael Brown.
Soprano Laquita Mitchell.
Tenor Nicholas Phan and pianist Michael Brown.
Soprano Nicole Heaston and pianist Shannon McGinnis.
Soprano Laquita Mitchell and pianist Michael Brown.
Soprano Nicole Heaston and pianist Shannon McGinnis.
Soprano Laquita Mitchell and pianist Michael Brown.
The Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago closed out its 2014-15 season this month, and with it, my second season shooting for them. Through terrific recital programming, a series of master classes, and expert coachings, CAIC has added a vibrant art-song presence to Chicago's music scene, and I've been happy to see its audience grow at each event. Congratulations to my friends at CAIC on another wonderful season - I was happy to see it all, once again, through the camera.
All photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Joshua Hopkins, Kelley O'Connor, Susanna Phillips, Nicholas Phan at Poetry Foundation
Michelle DeYoung and Kevin Murphy at Harold Washington Library
J'nai Bridges at Dixon Stein
John Brancy and Peter Dugan at Logan Center
Maureen Zoltek at Dixon Stein
J'nai Bridges at Dixon Stein
John Brancy and Peter Dugan at Logan Center
Dr. Timothy Cheek coaches Czech singing
Dr. Timothy Cheek coaches Czech singing
Martin Katz coaches French music
Martin Katz coaches French music
Bridget Skaggs performs in a master class
Baritone John Brancy and pianist Peter Dugan gave one of the most beautiful and memorable recitals I've had the privilege to shoot. With poignancy and grace, Brancy and Dugan performed a program of World War I British composers against an evening backdrop from the 9th-floor penthouse at the University of Chicago's Logan Center, a venue perfectly suited for the intimacy of the music.
All photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Back for another wonderful Lieder Lounge with my friends at the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago. From the Dixon-Stein instrument shop, CAIC hosted this salon recital featuring mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, pianist Maureen Zoltek, and violist Frank Babbitt in music by Brahms, Ravel, de Falla, and Britten.
A year ago, the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) became my first official photography client. Last week, I marked that anniversary by once again shooting CAIC's annual Collaborative Works Festival. The four-day festival opened at the Poetry Foundation with a quartet of wonderful singers - Joshua Hopkins, Susanna Phillips, Kelley O'Connor, and CAIC's Artistic Director Nicholas Phan - in music by Robert and Clara Schumann. Pianist and accompanist Myra Huang opened the concert with Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Major. It was an honor to photograph these artists, and a pleasure to hear them perform in such an intimate venue. As a bonus, my photo accompanied Andrew Patner's review in the Sun-Times. Here is a small gallery from the concert:
June was filled with music. So. Much. Music. Spektral Quartet rocked The Hideout so hard, the boys needed whiskey shots. Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago closed out its season with French art songs performed by Juliet Petrus and Matthew Gemmill at PianoForte Foundation. Some highlights from the Rush Hour Concerts season include the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia performed by violinist Liba Schacht and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist John Sharp, and a beautiful concert by the trio of John Macfarlane, Brant Taylor, and Winston Choi. Alice Teyssier and the International Contemporary Ensemble blew away a packed Constellation with Daniel Dehaan's "Trompe l'Corps." And soprano J'nai Bridges hit some serious high notes during Make Music Chicago. Click through the gallery below for a selection.
The Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago is quickly changing the way Chicago audiences listen to vocal music. No fancy halls or microphones; just intimate venues and soloists singing the long neglected form of art song. On Saturday, CAIC held its Spring Lieder Lounge in the Dixon-Stein studio on the 8th floor of the Fine Arts Building. Perched above Michigan Avenue, the Dixon-Stein space was a perfect salon-style setting to listen to songs by Schubert, Fauré, Sibelius, and American composers Libby Larsen and Tom Cipullo, performed by renowned soprano Deborah Selig and pianist Shannon McGinnis. This was the fifth event I've shot for CAIC, and my appreciation for vocal music grows with every performance. As an added bonus, CAIC announced its 2014-15 season with a brochure that features my photos.
Soprano Deborah Selig and pianist Shannon McGinnis
The Dixon-Stein instrument shop doubles as a performance salon on the eighth floor of the Fine Arts Building.
Violins hanging in the Dixon-Stein studio.
CAIC's attractive new brochure for its 2014-2015 season.
