Chicago Children's Choir creates "love note" to the Windy City

Chicago Children’s Choir (CCC), a nonprofit that inspires and unites youth from diverse backgrounds to become global ambassadors through music, is releasing a new studio album, Long Way Home, the Choir’s latest full-length LP.

Long Way Home,a reimagination of  Homer's epic poem The Odyssey set in modern day Chicago, tells the story of Ody, a South Side poet who unexpectedly ends up on a magical journey home through Chicago's neighborhoods.

As with the theatrical performance, CCC collaborated with Chicago's award-winning hip hop musical pioneers, Q Brothers Collective, who brought the stage performance to the studio.

Many of the original cast were reunited to record Long Way Home, and nearly 100 youth from communities across Chicago performed on the album. True to the album’s celebration of Chicago’s cultural scene, Long Way Home features custom artwork by Chicago-native Hebru Brantley

“There’s never been anything like this,” Josephine Lee, CCC President and Artistic Director said. “This love note to the city that has nurtured our organization for 65 years is a testament to the global impact of Chicago’s peerless music scene—and the impact we’ve been able to have through it. Chicago’s youth and its musical culture are its greatest treasures. With this production, the Choir saw an opportunity to use the unmatched power of music and fuse it with Homer’s timeless, beloved epic to deliver a message of hope, unity, and empowerment.”

The 34-track collection of original compositions will be fully available on all major streaming platforms starting August 17. Proceeds will support Chicago Children's Choir’s mission to inspire and change lives through music. (Learn more at ccchoir.org).