Chicago International Music Festival

Chicago Symphony Center

March/April 2025 (Dates TBC)

Thank you for considering the Chicago International Music Festival as your music performance tour. We know that you are looking for the best performance experience possible for your ensemble, and we strive to provide just that.

It is our mission to present young musicians with an experience that offers the opportunity for musical growth while creating lasting memories. To enhance this experience, the performance venue chosen for the festival is the prestigious Armour Stage at the Chicago Symphony Center in downtown Chicago – home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Admission into the festival is based on audition only and is limited to four high school groups and one showcase university ensemble. We encourage groups of varying abilities to apply, as music education through live performance can be very beneficial to groups at various stages of development.

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ENSEMBLES: High School, college and community bands, choirs and orchestras.

DURATION: 5 days

ACCEPTANCE: In order to ensure a quality experience, the Festival is limited to a maximum of four adjudicated ensembles and one university/community showcase ensemble. Groups that are denied entry based on available festival capacity will be given first priority in the following year.

VENUES: Armour Stage, Chicago Symphony Center

FACULTY: Past choral faculty has included Jo Michael Scheibe – Professor EMeritus from University of Southern California, Dr. James Jordan – Rider University, Geoffrey Boers – University of Washington, Dr. Heather Buchannan – Montclair State University.
Instrumental faculty has included Dr. Glenn Price – California Institute of Technology, WASBE President Bert Alders, John Alan Carnahan – Professor Emeritus from California State University Long Beach, Dr. Dennis Johnson – Professor Emeritus from Murray State University, William Johnson – Professor Emeritus from Cal Poly, Dr. Anthony Mazzaferro – Professor Emeritus from Fullerton College, and Dr. Larry Sutherland – Professor Emeritus from California State University, Fresno.

AWARDS: Based on the performance level as perceived by the adjudication panel, each adjudicated group will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze award. There is no limit to the number of Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards.

STATUS: will not be held in 2024 | Accepting applications for 2025

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