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Christopher Bell on the Grant Park Chorus

August 1, 2026, 4:00 pm

Christopher Bell in an ornate green tuxedo jacket conducting (musicians out of frame) at the Pritzker Pavillion, audience out of focus in background.

Christopher Bell (Photo by Elliot Mandel)

Celebrating his 25th season as chorus director of the Grant Park Music Festival, Christopher Bell has crafted the ensemble into one of the finest in the country. Bell led the Chorus through its 50th anniversary in 2012 with the release of its first ever a cappella recording, Songs of Smaller Creatures and other American Choral Works. In 2025, the Festival released Songs of the Season: A Choral Celebration of Christmas, a collection of carols and contemporary choral favorites showcasing the Grant Park Chorus and led by Bell. Christopher Bell joins WFMT in advance of Grant Park Music Festival’s season finale in which the Chorus’s virtuosity and detailed delivery of text will be showcased.

Meet the Host

Oliver Camacho joined the announcer team in February of 2019. He is the co-host and creative consultant of Opera Box Score and co-host of OperaNow! Podcast. A proud graduate of Chicago’s Lane Technical High School, where he was mentored by George Rico, Oliver went on to study music at Northwestern University, and historically informed performance practice at the Amherst Early Music Festival and Early Music Vancouver. His musical passions are opera, art song, choral music, Early Music, and discovering new composers as well as those who have been previously marginalized or disenfranchised. In January of 2021, Oliver began hosting Listening to Singers, and in October of the same year, he was named WFMT’s Music Director.

From The Glyndebourne Festival

From The Glyndebourne Festival

Christopher Bell on the Grant Park Chorus