Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras return to headline Lollapalooza for second straight year

CHICAGO - Some musicians only dream of playing at Lollapalooza. But for a group of Chicago high school students, that dream is coming true for the second year in a row.

Last summer, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) became the first orchestra ever to headline Lollapalooza — and remains the only one to do so.

The performance was such a hit that CYSO was invited back for an encore.

CYSO returns to Lollapalooza for encore

The backstory:

CYSO’s flagship ensemble, the Symphony Orchestra, brings together 102 students from across Chicago and beyond.

Its farthest-traveling member commutes from Indianapolis each week to rehearse with the group. 

Together, the young musicians will soon return to one of the biggest stages in music — in front of a hometown crowd.

"I want them to feel that sense of pride in these essentially homegrown musicians, and also to really let the beauty of what they're bringing to the stage sink in," said Jennie Oh Brown, executive director of CYSO. 

While the students are no strangers to world-renowned stages, Oh Brown says the news of their return to Lollapalooza still struck a chord.

"When they travel on these international tours, they're performing in some of the world's great concert halls, in some of the world's great festivals, and so the bar is extraordinarily high for these students. And yet, when we told them they were playing at Lollapalooza, they went completely bananas," Oh Brown said. 

The ensemble will perform a mix of classical music and modern pop. This year, Grammy Award-winning spoken-word artist and Chicago native J. Ivy is collaborating with CYSO alongside singer-songwriter Tarrey Torae and composer Marcus Norris.

"Alone, the pieces were cool, but when they came and collaborated with us, it just—wow—it brought it to a whole new level," said Sarah Gomez, a CYSO musician.

Gomez plays the French horn and will pursue a double major in mechanical engineering and horn performance at Northwestern University this fall.

She has performed with CYSO since her sophomore year at Niles North High School.

"It's really special here because everyone is just so deeply passionate about their instrument and making music in a way that you don't really find in many places," Gomez said.

Last summer, CYSO’s headlining performance marked a Lollapalooza first for an educational organization.

"It was really exciting. There were a lot of people, and everyone in the audience was really excited," said Kaylee Johnson, CYSO musician. 

Chicago High School for the Arts graduate and flute player Kaylee Johnson will continue her studies at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. But the memories she has made with CYSO are ones she'll cherish forever. 

"It is an outlet for me," Johnson said. "I think it's just having this music community — it's such a big community — and a lot of my friends I've made through this program."

This weekend, CYSO wants festivalgoers to take note of these young musicians — their passion, their drive, and the bright futures ahead of them. 

"I would love for Chicago to see CYSO as Chicago's youth symphony and to take great pride as a city in these incredible young people who are onstage, totally killing it, but who will go on to become leaders in any number of fields, including music," Oh Brown said.

What's next:

As if the opportunity weren’t already epic, the students learned Friday that Jane’s Addiction lead singer and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell will take the stage to introduce them.

CYSO is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, on the Tito’s Stage.