La Caccina

Description

La Caccina champions and performs diverse, innovative repertoire for women's voices to engage audiences and inspire the next generation of musicians. We envision a world in which all voices are represented equally in classical music. Founded in 2011 by three friends, La Caccina finds its namesake in Francesca Caccini, a prolific Baroque composer known for her virtuosic musicality, expert compositions, and beautiful singing voice. Following in Caccini's footsteps, the women of La Caccina bring a wide range of expertise to the ensemble, enabling them to easily adapt to diverse musical styles. Each season, La Caccina commissions new music that expands the repertoire for treble voices, and craft performances that enhance our audiences' perceptions of what choral music - especially when sung by women - can be. La Caccina is Chicago's only professional women's vocal ensemble and is redefining the Chicago choral landscape. They aim to ensure that the future of choral music is inclusive by offering educational residencies with singers throughout the Midwest and partnering with Hearing in Color to mentor young composers through the Hearing in Color Young Composer Residency, a three-year old initiative that allows emerging composers to receive individual mentorship and commission opportunities from La Caccina's artists.

Work Sample

"To Spin the Web" was performed on our Fall 2022 concert, Extraordinary Machine. The concert included works focused on the human body and the capabilities of these extraordinary machines in which we live our lives. Composed by 22-year-old Jana Heckerman, "To Spin the Web" features text by Rebecca Solnit and speaks of women's desire for agency in their lives. Heckerman was a finalist for the Hearing in Color Young Composer Residency, and while we eventually chose a different composer, we were so impressed by her work that we decided to include this piece on our program as well. Our performance was the professional premiere of the work.This performance also features projection art by award-winning designer Camilla Tassi. (Please begin at 3:07)

Heckerman's piece, "To Spin the Web," is a perfect example of the kind of work La Caccina has become known for over the past 11 seasons. Written by a young woman composer whose own experiences in treble ensembles inform her compositional style, "To Spin the Web" deftly demonstrates many different vocal techniques and textures, showcasing the full expressive potential of the female voice. Additionally, Heckerman's setting of feminist writer Rebecca Solnit's words is thoughtful and sensitive, adding another much-needed topical work to the treble canon. When La Caccina was founded, very few pieces like this existed; pieces that were sufficiently challenging for professional women to sing, and that addressed topics outside of typical "feminine" virtues - love, motherhood, childhood, or nature. In delivering the professional premier of this work, La Caccina once again demonstrated our commitment to championing new and innovative works that expand audiences' understanding of what a treble ensemble can sing about and sound like.

History

La Caccina was founded in 2011 and finds its namesake in Francesca Caccini, a prolific Baroque composer known for her virtuosic musicality, expert compositions, and beautiful singing voice. Following in Caccini's footsteps, the women of La Caccina bring a wide range of expertise to the ensemble, enabling them to easily adapt to diverse musical styles. La Caccina has collaborated with many ensembles, from bluegrass trios to symphony orchestras, and has commissioned and premiered works by Katherine Pukinskis, Augusta Read Thomas, Matthew Harris, Marie-Claire Saindon, and Melissa Dunphy, among others.

Artistic Vision

La Caccina champions and performs diverse, innovative repertoire for women's voices to engage audiences and to inspire the next generation of collaborative musicians. No matter the music, La Caccina's expressive, emotional singing highlights the versatility of the treble voice and brings musical excellence, integrity, and honesty to every performance.

In addition to three annual concert series, La Caccina celebrates and uplifts contemporary composers by commissioning new pieces for treble voice each year. The ensemble of professional vocalists and educators offers residencies and masterclasses across the Midwest, and nurtures the creative development of emerging composers through its annual Young Composer Residency in partnership with Hearing in Color.