The Michael Teolis Singers is a 30-voice ensemble comprised of professional musicians from the Chicago area and Northern Indiana. Since its inception in 2007, MTS has been entertaining its audiences with its own special brand of unique and enterprising programming. The group performs a variety of literature, particularly music that was frequently heard, but now less often; music of contemporary composers and arrangers; and the rarely heard choral music of past and present mainstream composers. In addition, the group performs some undiscovered gems and looks at the lighter side of the art. The ensemble prides itself on the number of local and world premiers in its short existence.

 Past performances have included “Christmas in the Western World” by William Grant Still; “Lullabies and Nightsongs” by Alec Wilder; “A Christmas Carol” by Tom Lehrer; “The Mass in Honor of St. Anthony” by Harry Warren (Chicago premiere); “The Lonesome Train” by Earl Robinson (Chicago premiere); “Negro Mother, “ by Alex North (Midwest premiere); Robert Russell Bennett’s “Crazy Cantata #2 – A Spanish Lesson” (World Premiere); “Psalm 100” by Charles Strouse (World premiere); and Margaret Bonds’ “Ballad of the Brown King.”

Among its other accomplishments, the ensemble was invited to perform at The Chicago History Museum as part of the closing of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration. Recordings of some of its performances are in the archives of the Margaret Herrick Library (the Oscars), the Sacred Music Research Collection of Concordia, and the Library of Congress. John Burlingame featured a portion of their performance of Alex North’s “Negro Mother” on his radio program as part of an Alex North Retrospective over KUSC in Los Angeles.