While arts education dwindles, the North Shore Choral Society brings the orchestra to the floor.
In 2025, 55 percent of U.S. public schools had adequate funding, facilities and materials for arts education, per a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) report.
For 90 years, the North Shore Choral Society has called Evanston home. But when Dr. Julia Davids took over as music director in 2009, she pushed the board to reimagine what a community chorus could accomplish.
“As a community choir, we believe it is our obligation to do what we can to share our platform to increase equity in the arts,” said Debbie Buesing, the choir’s vice president for communications.
As one of its key efforts to expand youth access to arts education, the society will present “Handel’s Messiah for Everyone” at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston on Nov. 14.
The full orchestra will play on the floor. For some children in the audience, this will be their first time seeing an orchestra up close. The choir wants to erase the barrier between young audiences and orchestral music.
“A lot of choirs do Messiah,” Buesing said. “There’s no shortage of seeing Messiah performed beautifully. But we want to introduce children to this magnificent work in an intimate way.”
This commitment to fill gaps in youth arts education extends beyond the concert stage. Nine years ago, driven by Davids’ new vision, the choir launched Arts Reach Evanston, a free afterschool program at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center.
“We hire professionals to teach the young people,” said Marcia Bollo, a choir member of 43 years. “Our program runs at a financial loss to keep sessions free.”
The program runs as an eight-week residency. Artists work with elementary-aged children to explore all kinds of art.
“We offer far more than choral singing for Evanston children who may not have access to these types of education, but all types of art,” said Deborah Geismar, the choir’s vice president for community engagement. “We had a young girl who was not that into singing. But when we introduced dancers, she just lit up.”
The choir is in transition, as the new Foster School opens in the Fifth Ward, and the relocation may lead to a drop in program attendance. But Geismar said they are determined to continue.
“We want to help expose the children to options in the arts, with the hope that they may sometimes decide to pursue that in the future,” Geismar said.
“Evanston is the right place for this work,” Bollo said. “Evanston is interested in the arts. Local financial support here makes outreach efforts effective.”
She has watched the choir transform. “Our youth attendance is at an all-time high,” Bollo said, adding that young board members propose community collaborations and immersive art programs for children. “It’s the best thing to have new blood come in and see what they have to say.”
Per the NEA report, as school arts access continues shrinking, the North Shore Choral Society keeps the door open.
“What inspires one individual might inspire another,” Buesing said.
