Anima (chorus)
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Anima Young Singers of Greater Chicago is a chorus based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Formerly the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus (GECC), the chorus changed its name to Anima in May 2008. The chorus consists of girls and boys ages 5–18.
History
The chorus was founded in 1964 as the Glen Ellyn Children's Theater Chorus by Barbara Born. Dr. Doreen Rao served as director from 1972-1988. It is currently directed by Emily Ellsworth, who has served as artistic director since 1996.
The chorus has performed frequently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Chicago's Symphony Center, the Ravinia Festival, and New York's Carnegie Hall. It has participated in four Grammy Award-winning recordings with the CSO[citation needed] and performed under renowned conductors including Sir Georg Solti, Christoph Eschenbach, Claudio Abbado, James Levine and James Conlon. Recently a small number of singers participated in the Lyric Opera. It has toured throughout the United States as well as internationally to Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil, China, South Africa, England, Spain, and Morocco/
The mission of the chorus is to provide interested children in the Chicago area with extraordinary choral music experiences, regardless of the child's musical background or socio-economic circumstances. A variety of chorus programs provide opportunities for children at various stages of development.