Evanston Folk Choir
Harmony songs taught in a welcoming and safe environment.
We are a relaxed and fun group of folks who enjoy the power of human voices singing together in harmony. Facilitated by Evanston-based choral educators and singers Kaitlin Foley and Stephanie Gregoire, we learn harmony songs from folk- and community-singing traditions. All songs are taught by ear, and learning tracks and wordsheets are provided. No singing or choral experience necessary. Singers must be 18+.
Rehearsals: Tuesday evenings 7-8:30pm
Location: Grace Lutheran Church, 1430 South Blvd, Evanston, IL 60202 *NEW LOCATION*
meet the directors
Kaitlin Foley
Kaitlin Foley, soprano, has “emerged as one of the truly great musicians of this city” (Vocal Arts Chicago). With her “vocal gleam and fiery dramatic involvement” (Chicago Classical Review) and her “absolute technical security” (John von Rhein), Ms. Foley is a versatile performer with an ear for early and new music.
She is passionate about both choral and solo singing, and has sung with the Haymarket Opera Company, Grant Park Chorus, Third Coast Baroque, Ensemble Dal Niente, and the new, 6-voice treble ensemble under the Voces8 umbrella, Lyyra. She is a founding member of the genre-bending vocal theater ensemble Artemisia, for which she also composes and arranges. Foley recently debuted as a soloist with the Grant Park Chorus and Orchestra on Schubert’s Mass in G.
Through various cultural exchange programs including Village Harmony and SongRoots, she has studied non-Western vocal traditions in Corsica, Republic of Georgia, Cuba, and Appalachia. She achieved her M.M. in Voice Performance from DePaul University and completed her undergraduate work in music education at the University of Missouri. Ms. Foley equally enjoys teaching and performing, and directs various choirs and teaches voice at North Park University and Evanston Township High School. She also has a passion for folk music and community singing, so she co-founded the Evanston Folk Choir in 2025.
Stephanie gregoire
A native of Michigan’s upper peninsula, Stephanie Gregoire is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Illinois Chicago. Stephanie moved to Chicago in 2014 and has over a decade of choral teaching experience in city schools, working as a conductor for Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir). Throughout her tenure at Uniting Voices, she worked primarily in the Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and Bronzeville neighborhoods, serving as an in-school conductor and co-director of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Choir program. In 2022, she spearheaded the Prelude Choir program at Uniting Voices Chicago, which provides beginning level vocal instruction and literacy for first and second grade students. Stephanie also serves as co-founder and director of the Evanston Folk Choir, a non-auditioned community choir focusing on learning a diverse array of folk music in the oral tradition. She keeps an active guest conducting profile, most recently conducting the South Dakota Junior SSA State Honors Choir in January 2025.
Stephanie’s research centers three core areas of music education: gender and sexual identity, singing for childhood well-being, and world music pedagogy. Collectively, she addresses how singing together influences individual identity, community cultivation, and a sense of belonging and wellbeing within diverse musical spaces. Her scholarly work has been published in The Choral Journal and The SAGE Handbook of School Music Education, and she has presented at academic conferences in the United States, Finland, England, and Mexico. Stephanie has participated in many international musical and cultural exchange programs, traveling to various regions in South Africa, France, and Mexico.
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Western Michigan University), a Master of Music in Music Education (Northwestern University), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education (Northwestern University). When not making music, Stephanie loves playing ice hockey with the Evanston Tigers Women’s Hockey Club!