Description:

The Trilloquy podcast declares Karen Slack “not only one of the nation’s most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing and making spaces in classical music.” Recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack was named Lyric Unlimited Artist-In-Residence at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2024-25 season, and she has performed with major opera companies and symphonies worldwide. Her season highlights include a US tour of her new vocal recital project African Queens, the world premiere of Damien Geter’s Loving v. Virginia with the Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony, and solo appearances with the Fresno Philharmonic. In July 2024, she released a new recording, Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price, with pianist Michelle Cann, which won a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Joining her for this performance is pianist Mark Markham, whose collaborations have included vocalists Jessye Norman, Elizabeth DeShong, J’Nai Bridges, Christine Brewer, and Isabel Leonard. Together they present Dream Variations, a recital including music by Undine Smith Moore, Gustav Mahler, George Gerhswin, and Nina Simone.

Presented in collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited.