Every year, students in the Department of Music's performing ensembles are recognized for their high level of accomplishment in their discipline and their commitment to their ensemble(s).
The Choral Award is presented to graduating fourth-year students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership as part of the University’s choral ensembles. This includes volunteer dedication and being a role model for their peers. The Choral Award is made possible by the Doris L. Taub Memorial Fund. The recipients of the 2026 awards are Madeleine Demers, Ethan Evans, Eugenia Phillips Frank, Abhimanyu Lele, and Kseniia Utkina.
Madeleine Demers is a fourth-year graduating with a B.A. in music. Maddy has been a member of Motet Choir since their first year at the University, a member of the Early Music Ensemble, and studies voice with Erica Schuller in the Vocal Studies Program, where she has had the opportunity to perform in solo recitals, masterclasses, and outreach concerts to residents of Montgomery Place. Maddy has been singing since they were six years old, including multiple years with the California All-State Honor Choir. Maddy intends to pursue a career in vocal performance and education, including teaching with the Cabrillo Youth Chorus in Soquel, California.
Ethan Evans, tenor, is currently pursuing an MS in computational analysis at the Harris School of Public Policy (Class of 2026). A lifelong vocalist with roots in choral music and musical theater, Ethan loves bringing people joy through artistic expression.
Eugenia Phillips Frank is a fourth-year student in the College studying history. Before college, she sang in the youth chorus, teenage vocal ensemble, and a local a cappella group in her hometown of Port Townsend, Washington. She is so thrilled to have found a home in both the University Chorus and the Women’s Ensemble in her time here at UChicago. Outside of school, she sails professionally aboard the traditionally rigged schooner Adventuress, where she loves to sing and teach work shanties to students of all ages.
Abhimanyu Lele has been singing in the University Chorus since 2018, when he arrived at the University of Chicago. Before that, he sang in several smaller and informal ensembles, and has had training in the piano and Hindustani classical singing. Abhimanyu completed his PhD in evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago in 2026, studying the ecology and evolution of birds in the Andes mountains of Ecuador. He is a research affiliate at the Field Museum.
Kseniia Utkina is a joint-degree student at UChicago, majoring in psychology and minoring in education, while pursuing a master’s in social work. Originally from a small town in Ukraine, she feels honored to have been part of the Women’s Ensemble for four years. Her musical journey began at family gatherings and continued at a local music school, where she studied piano and music theory. Being able to share Ukrainian culture through music and connect others to her home country has been especially meaningful in the light of the ongoing war. She is honored to represent, teach, and share what she cherishes most through her true passion–music.