Civic Fellows and Chicago Refugee Coalition foster community through music

Sharing the stories of local community members through music has been an important part of the Civic Fellowship program’s mission since its inception in 2013. Through a variety of songwriting workshops organized by the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Fellows have collaborated with young parents, incarcerated youth and families affected by gun violence to create original music that expresses their personal experiences.

In the latest such initiative, the Civic Fellows partnered with the Chicago Refugee Coalition (CRC) to celebrate the cultures and stories of immigrants and refugees through music, with the guidance of teaching artists from the Irene Taylor Trust, a U.K.-based charity that specializes in such songwriting projects. On Feb. 23, the second annual edition of this partnership culminated in a public concert at Symphony Center featuring music inspired by immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Colombia, Kenya, Moldova, Syria and Tanzania.

Each participant from the CRC partnered with one or two Civic Fellows for the project. After receiving trauma-informed training, the Civic Fellows interviewed the participants to learn about their individual backgrounds, the culture of their home countries and any specific pieces or genres of music that hold special significance for them. The Civic Fellows then wrote original arrangements of chamber music inspired by traditional and contemporary music from the participants’ cultures and/or elements of their stories.

At the final performance, Civic Fellow and violist Sava Velkoff gave the opening remarks and performed a poem titled “Wildflowers,” which she wrote for the occasion. The poem reflects the theme of this year’s concert: the idea that immigrants are like wildflowers, each unique and beautiful, who grow together and form a diverse community in their new homes.

“The most meaningful experience for me was being able to connect with everybody through this concert,” said Velkoff. “We were able to come together as a cohort to put on something that touched people. When we were playing their music, some of them were crying, and some of them were smiling, or being kind of shy about it, but this was such a meaningful experience for them, which in turn made it so fun and meaningful for me especially — all of us, I’m sure we feel that way.”

Another Civic Fellow, violinist Lina Yamin, worked with Angie Katalina Henao Aguilar, a 17-year-old from Colombia, who selected two songs to be performed at the concert. “Colombia tierra querida” (“Colombia, My Dear Land”) represents national pride, while “Farolito” (“Little Lanterns”) is a song that Henao Aguilar’s mother always played during an annual tradition in which Colombians welcome the Christmas season by decorating with handmade lanterns.

Yamin was also part of Civic’s inaugural collaboration with CRC last season, when she worked with Karo Romero, a 17-year-old from Yamin’s homeland of Venezuela. Both of the songs Romero chose — “Venezuela” and “Alma Llanera” — convey a sense of national pride and are especially moving for Venezuelans who live abroad. “When you hear those two pieces of music outside of your country … it’s very touching,” said Yamin. As a native Spanish speaker, she gave bilingual introductions to both Henao Aguilar’s and Romero’s songs at their respective performances.

"To achieve success — that’s what we’re trying in this country, all of us, to contribute to the success in the country.” — Ana Everling, from Moldova

While CRC participants aren’t required to have a musical background, this year’s group included one professional musician: Ana Everling, who emigrated to the United States from Moldova in 2010. Everling suggested three songs, which Velkoff and another Civic Fellow, Matt Musachio, arranged for a chamber ensemble. This medley opened the concert, with Everling joining the ensemble on vocals.

Her first song was an example of doina, a free-form Moldovan genre that traditionally was sung by people working in fields, either a cappella or accompanied by a solo instrument. Everling considers herself an “ambassador of doina,” which is dying away as more people move from villages to cities. “It’s a gorgeous genre; I have a lot of it in my repertoire,” she said.

Everling’s portion of the program continued with a song titled “Baby Birds,” a tribute to Zlata Tkach, the first woman to become a professional composer in Soviet-controlled Moldova (it became an independent republic in 1994). This was followed by one of Everling’s own compositions, “The Song of the Forest,” in a new arrangement that uses instruments to mimic environmental sounds.

Performing her music at Symphony Center was “a moment of pride,” said Everling. “I was wearing the little medal that my president of my country gave me, because I have a title from her for promoting the music [of Moldova] abroad.”

Everling feels “there’s a solitude” that comes with being an immigrant: “It’s a struggle to adapt, and one can only feel safe, and one can only bloom and get creative when they feel accepted and seen and supported. No matter their field, their profession, their calling in life, they need to feel safe first, to be able to express, to bloom, to achieve success. And that’s what we’re trying in this country, all of us, to contribute to the success in the country.”

“I would just like to thank the Civic Fellows for working with me and being such curious, talented, organized professionals,” she added. “I wish them success in their civic engagement, in their entrepreneurship [and] thank them for their community work and mentorship and social projects. We really need these initiatives to just help immigrants feel safe and needed, because when we’re needed, we’re able to achieve our potentials.”

The Chicago Refugee Coalition x Civic Fellows collaboration is generously sponsored by Theodore and Elisabeth Wachs.