My Summer with the Festival Fellows

It was my first year as The Grant Park Music Festival’s Fellowship Manager, and I had no idea what to expect. I had heard our 2025 cohort of Fellows in their auditions, which were run as intensely as a professional audition, so I knew how skilled they were. But what would it be like to spend ten weeks with these people I had never met before?

Spoiler alert, they’re amazing.

This summer, we had eight absolutely stunning Fellows join us: Javier F. Torres-Delgado, violin; Maria Gabriela Mendez Martinez, violin; Joshua Thaver, viola; Manuel Papale, cello; Kyuyim Lee, soprano; Isabel Yang, mezzo-soprano; Opal Clyburn-Miller, tenor; and Matthew Dexter, bass-baritone.

During the Fellows’ tenure, they perform within the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, perform throughout the city via the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks program, and learn a myriad of skills through lessons, masterclasses, and professional development sessions.

One of my first big experiences in the job was being on WBEZ’s Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons, along with Joshua Thaver and Maria Gabriela Mendez Martinez. They were notified the day before the taping of the opportunity to perform on air, and together they whipped up a challenging excerpt from Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, playing as if they had been collaborating for years. I especially loved hearing about Joshua’s story of how he became a violist: he just chose the shorter instrument sign-up line at school (the violin line was way too long, apparently). It made me laugh, and despite being a violinist myself, I could totally relate to his thought process!

Sometimes, when designing and scheduling the Fellow’s summer events, I worried that I was asking the Fellows to wear too many hats—Performer? Public speaker? “L”-riding master? Educator? It seemed like too much to ask! However, they regularly proved that I had nothing to worry about.

Each Fellow gave a presentation in our Classical Campers program. Manuel Papale had the kids rapt with attention, showing them how simply one can improvise and create music. Five kids chose random notes, and Manuel made up a tune on the spot, spinning an atmospheric and introspective melody from his cello. The kids were clearly creatively ignited, feeling inspired by the possibility of what one can do to create sounds powerful enough to elicit emotions. And so was I!

Another unforgettable experience was a vocal masterclass with our Artistic Director, Giancarlo Guerrero. I arrived just in time to hear Matthew Dexter perform a movement from John Musto’s Viva Sweet Love. Knowing Maestro Guerrero’s famously discerning ear, I expected constructive feedback. Instead, he was so moved that he asked Matthew to perform it again, just so he could hear it one more time. At the end of the class, he sincerely acknowledged the Vocal Fellow, saying, “I very much look forward to working with all of you professionally in the future.”

There are so many other memories I could write about—the String Fellows’ beautiful solo quartet performance during one of our Grant Park Orchestra performances, or Maria’s selfie at the conclusion of the Festival Fellow Quartet’s Lake Shore Park performance, or the Vocal Fellows’ standing room only performance at Lincoln Park Cultural Center…or just the many small moments of joy and laughter. But I think you get the point—these Fellows are incredibly special. Beyond their musical accomplishments, they’re also kind, welcoming, funny, and an absolute joy to be around. It was truly an honor to support their success this summer, and even more of an honor to help share their incredible talents with the equally incredible city of Chicago.

Amelia Sie