AfriClassical Futures: Caitlin Edwards and John Bitoy - ‘Modern Roots’, Gabrielle Lochard

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Please join us for our first AfriClassical Futures event of 2026 with Caitlin Edwards and John Bitoy presenting Modern Roots! This program offers a vibrant exploration of contemporary classical music, centering the voices of Black composers such as Julius Eastman, David Baker, Nathalie Joachim, James Lee III, and additional composers. Select pieces incorporate live electronics, expanding the sonic palette and blurring the boundaries between acoustic and digital sound worlds. The concert highlights a wide spectrum of aesthetic approaches, cultural perspectives, and compositional techniques within today’s classical landscape.

Gabrielle Lochard will be offering a solo set meditating on the classical piano repertoire alongisde the music of Nina Simone. Nina was a passionate classical pianist, who pivoted to a creative life as a powerful composer and improviser, and Lochard is often directly inspired by this trajectory and by her vocabulary.

Artist Bios

Caitlin Edwards is a multi-genre violinist, arranger, recording artist, and teacher based in Chicago. She began her musical journey at age eight within a non-profit organization in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. She later attended the University of Louisville (BM) and DePaul University (MM). Caitlin is a classically trained violinist, but is inspired by gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and neo-soul. She released her debut album, "Exhale," in 2021 and her sophomore album “Mere Mortals” released in October 2023. She composes original music and intentionally performs the works of Black composers to help ensure that these composers and their compositions are remembered and spotlighted for aspiring young BIPOC musicians and the world as a whole.

Recognition for Caitlin’s versatile career continues to propel her work. In 2024, Caitlin made her European solo debut as part of the Always, already there Incubator for Afrodiasporic New Music, hosted by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Germany. She is a 2023 Advocate for the Arts awardee (Grant Park Music Festival), 2023 Sphinx MPower Artist Grant recipient, a 2022 Esteemed Artist Award recipient from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and a 2021 3Arts/Walder Foundation Awardee. Caitlin was also a recipient of the Rising Star Award from the Gateways Music Festival and is a co-curator with the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and a former fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. In addition, she has received Grammy certificates for recordings on Disney's "The Lion King" with the Re-Collective Orchestra and for albums by John Legend and PJ Morton.

Caitlin is a proud member of D-Composed, Ensemble Dal Niente, and Sphinx Virtuosi. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Federation of Musicians Local 10-208, Caitlin is proud to amplify the voices of and serve the vibrant community of musicians within Chicago.

John Bitoy is a versatile composer, pianist, and artistic director from Chicago, Illinois. John’s work as an artist and producer is multi-disciplinary and spans genres from Jazz to Classical, drawing inspiration from diverse global traditions. John earned his master’s degree in piano performance from DePaul University and acts as artistic director of the Second Floor, a Black-owned performance and event space on the West Side of Chicago. John’s focus as an artist and organizer is on bringing Black music to audiences in the U.S. and internationally.

Gabrielle Lochard is a singer, pianist, dancer, and theater artist, working at the intersections of classical music, opera, jazz, folk music, spirituality, movement, improvisation, and liberation practice. Gabrielle is also a passionate educator and wants to dedicate his creative work to collective liberation with every breath.