CARLING FITZSIMMONs

A Chicago native, soprano and conductor Carling FitzSimmons is thrilled to be making music in the city she loves.

After receiving degrees in English and music at Kenyon College, Carling returned to Chicago and has established herself as a rising singer, conductor, and arts educator. As a conductor of young singers, Carling has worked for the Pro Musica Youth Chorus and the Merit School of Music, where she leads several choral ensembles and teaches private voice at the Conservatory.

In addition to singing with ensembles around Chicago including Bella Voce, Aestas Consort, the Rockefeller Decani, and the William Ferris Chorale, Carling serves as Artistic Director of La Caccina, a professional women’s vocal ensemble she co-founded in 2011. Under her guidance, La Caccina has grown from three voices to nine, and has established itself as the city’s premier treble-voice ensemble, collaborating with musicians including the Pavo String Quartet, harpists Lillian Lau and Alison Attar, bluegrass trio Glass Mountain, and the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Through La Caccina, Carling has proven herself to be a champion of new music, commissioning a dozen pieces for the ensemble during her seven seasons as Artistic Director, and earning praise for her “visionary and generous” leadership. In 2016, Carling was awarded an Individual Artist Grant by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which enabled her to record La Caccina’s second album, Open Book.

She is honored to be working with the fine musicians of the William Ferris Chorale again this year, after conducting the ensemble in 2016’s Christmas with the Chorale.