FOURTH COAST ENSEMBLE
  • About
    • The Organization
    • Quartet & Staff Members
  • On Stage
    • Upcoming >
      • 2023-24 Season >
        • Chicago Public Art in Song
        • 2023 Holiday Soirée
        • Shores of Song Festival
        • End of Season Kabarett
    • Past Seasons >
      • 2022-23 Season >
        • 2022 Gala: Chicago Public Art in Song
        • Laughterreise: Liebeslieder Edition
        • Chicago songSLAM
        • Fine Folk
        • End of Season Potluck
      • 2021-22 Season >
        • A Brush With Our Time, world premiere
        • Laughterreise
        • Roaring Twenties
        • Chicago songSLAM
        • End of Season Talent Show
      • 2021 HD Season >
        • Soprano | Mezzo Duo
        • Tenor | Bass Duo
        • Quartet Remix
        • songSLAM
      • 2019-20 Season >
        • Songs of Fourth Coast
        • American Woman
        • Between the Lines
        • Four by Four
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Give
  • Contact
  • Shop
Picture

tickets $25 | $20

Subscribe to the Season
Festival Passes on sale October 16, 2023. 
Single tickets on sale in 2024.
 
​
The Shores of Song Festival culminates in the fifth edition of the songSlam Chicago competition for emerging composers, presented in cooperation with Sparks & Wiry Cries. Ten composer/performer teams premiere new art songs live for the voting audience who, in the poetry slam tradition, award $2,000 in cash prizes to their favorite teams. This year’s competition is emcee'd by beloved Chicago composer Stacy Garrop for the third consecutive year, and features a performance by Fourth Coast Ensemble with pianist Kuang-Hao Huang as votes are tabulated at the end of the night.

​The performance takes place at The Promontory in Hyde Park and lasts approximately 2 hours. Patrons are encouraged to enjoy drinks from the bar throughout the evening.

artists

Picture
Stacy Garrop’s music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. Her catalog covers a wide range, with works for orchestra, opera, oratorio, wind ensemble, choir, art song, various sized chamber ensembles, and works for solo instruments. Recent commissions include Forging Steel for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Berko's Journey for the Omaha Symphony, In a House Besieged for The Crossing, The Battle for the Ballot for the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Goddess Triptych for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Spectacle of Light for the Music of the Baroque Orchestra. Notable past commissions include My Dearest Ruth for soprano and piano with text by Martin Ginsburg, the husband of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Glorious Mahalia for the Kronos Quartet, Give Me Hunger for Chanticleer, and Terra Nostra (oratorio), commissioned by the San Francisco Choral Society and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Chorus.
Picture
Sparks & Wiry Cries began in 2009 as a podcast and online magazine, contextualizing art song through the sharing of recordings, interviews, and articles by prominent artists and scholars. In 2015, co-founders soprano Martha Guth and pianist Erika Switzer expanded their vision by presenting an art song recital series based in New York City. In 2017, Sparks grew to include the songSLAM competition and a commissioning program. Today our sparksLIVE events and Art Song Magazine actively engage in current conversations through insightful publishing, programming, and commissioning. Recent additions to the Sparks brand are the curation and publication of new works through E.C. Schirmer and NewMusicShelf, and the development of art song performance projects as represented by UIA Talent Agency.

about our venue

Inspired by the fire pit council rings at Promontory Point, this neighborhood destination live entertainment venue and events space honors Hyde Park’s musical legacy and community spirit. With its modern design, crisp acoustics, and exciting music programming, The Promontory is dedicated to celebrating the eras when spacious ballrooms and jumping jazz clubs made Chicago’s South Side the capital of American music.
Picture
Picture
1631 S. Michigan Ave., #307
Chicago, IL 60616
​
Website photography by Elliot Mandel Photography
  • About
    • The Organization
    • Quartet & Staff Members
  • On Stage
    • Upcoming >
      • 2023-24 Season >
        • Chicago Public Art in Song
        • 2023 Holiday Soirée
        • Shores of Song Festival
        • End of Season Kabarett
    • Past Seasons >
      • 2022-23 Season >
        • 2022 Gala: Chicago Public Art in Song
        • Laughterreise: Liebeslieder Edition
        • Chicago songSLAM
        • Fine Folk
        • End of Season Potluck
      • 2021-22 Season >
        • A Brush With Our Time, world premiere
        • Laughterreise
        • Roaring Twenties
        • Chicago songSLAM
        • End of Season Talent Show
      • 2021 HD Season >
        • Soprano | Mezzo Duo
        • Tenor | Bass Duo
        • Quartet Remix
        • songSLAM
      • 2019-20 Season >
        • Songs of Fourth Coast
        • American Woman
        • Between the Lines
        • Four by Four
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Give
  • Contact
  • Shop