A local choir is singing for women across history, including the suffragettes who secured voting rights
By Graham Meyer
Published on March 17, 2026.
Composer Jocelyn Hagen has created a "multimedia symphony" titled "Here I Am," celebrating the achievements and wisdom of women across history. The piece was commissioned from the Arizona-based True Concord Voices & Orchestra and premiered at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest on March 20 and 22. The 45-minute piece sets quotations by 47 women throughout history, sometimes spoken and sometimes sung, for a chorus of men and women, a soprano soloist and instrumentalists. Hagen also commissioned portraits of the quoted women. The work was commissioned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.
Read Original Article