vocal music
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 light, the venue, the music - it was all perfect back on October 19 when I photographed Chicago a cappella at Rockefeller Chapel. The program blended sacred and spiritual music from ancient vocal traditions, performed flawlessly by the ensemble of nine singers. The late-afternoon autumn light streamed through Rockefeller's giant stained-glass windows; the crystal-clear singing filled the building, making an otherwise huge venue feel intimate, and, well, perfect.
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:
