North Macedonia’s Vasil to perform with the Chicago Children’s Choir on May 26th

Photo Credit: EBU / THOMAS HANSES

Following two years of online programs and concerts, the Chicago Children’s Choir will be performing their annual “Paint the Town Red” program in person this coming Thursday. On the guest list for the concert is Eurovision and CCC alumni Vasil Garvanliev.

Vasil has thanked the CCC numerous times for the impact that the choir had on his life. Two years after his family fled the Kosovo War, he became a member of the ensemble and would participate in it for four years as one of their premiere soloists. That experience would go on to shape his love of music, and inspire his studies in opera at the Royal College of Music in London.

This is not the first time that Vasil has worked with the choir as an artist and alumni, as he also appeared during their Red Jacket Optional concert in October of 2021. Prior to his Eurovision selection, the group performed a virtual rendition of the song “Tatkovina”, a song that was specifically arranged for him after him and his family were deported from the United States.

The program was founded in 1956 – the same year as the Eurovision Song Contest – and believes that music is a vehicle to foster empathy and respect for youth across Chicago, and is free of charge to participants. The program is comprised of well over 4,000 performers who are singing for the first time, or are considered seasoned.

The concert is also set to feature fellow alumni and opera singer Jonathan Green, Peter CottoTale, and will serve as the world premiere of “Look into the Sky” by Ayanna Woods and Julian Davis Reid. The piece focuses on climate change and the future of the world. The concert will begin at 11 AM in the Pritzker Pavillion at Millenium Park, Chicago.

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