Among the singers, bands and DJs on this year’s Lollapalooza lineup sits a different type of music for festival-goers to enjoy: orchestral. The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras return for the second year in a row Saturday night for a mix of symphonic music alongside Grammy Award-winning artists and poets.
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras’ 8 p.m. slot is set to feature spoken-word poet and artist J. Ivy and recording artist, songwriter and producer Tarrey Torae, who will perform with the orchestra in what it describes as a “special collaborative performance.”
The orchestra first appeared at Lollapalooza in 2007 when it backed up My Morning Jacket, and it also had a historic performance last year. The CYSO’s performance in 2025 marked the first time an orchestra led a solo set at Lollapalooza, something CYSO executive director Jennie Oh Brown described as “a tremendous honor.”
This year’s performance will include a CYSO-commissioned piece and mix of orchestral hits, including some Beethoven, movie scores, and more, Brown said. In her view, music benefits from being live and spans all genres — this performance is a way of offering “great music for really amazing Chicago audiences in a new and wonderful way,” she said.
More than a hundred students are set to perform at 8 p.m. Saturday as the day-ending set on the Tito’s stage, some attending Lollapalooza for the first time in any capacity.
“It really is a lifelong memory that will stay with them for decades. What’s incredible is it’s not only them individually being on stage at Lollapalooza, this represents a different way of presenting classical music, and that’s something that we’re really excited about as well,” Brown said. “Orchestral music is so gorgeous, and it spans so many eras of history, and it’s just wonderful to be able to present it in a new way at Lollapalooza.”
The performance will not only be a festival debut for CYSO tubist Everett Johnson but also his first time attending Lollapalooza. For Johnson, being able to showcase and expose the talent and importance of youth orchestra to the masses is rewarding.
“I think it’s going to be really cool to play for an audience that’s different from what I’m used to … playing in an orchestra hall or some sort of auditorium where everyone’s silent and everyone’s sitting down, which is amazing for what it is,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be very interesting, though, where there’s people around and they’re dancing, they’re partying and singing along based on what they do.”
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It’s also an opportunity to blend different types of music that might not go together often in a mainstream way, Johnson added.
“There’s times where I worry about the future of what this classical orchestra setting is going to be like and how we can merge that with new pop music that doesn’t usually call for live instrumentation… and I hope that this now helps push it forward,” Johnson said. “I think we, orchestras, definitely have a long way (to go), but I’m hoping that we can find our ways to merge with modern pop.”
For CYSO French horn player Sarah Gomez, the festival will be a welcome return. Gomez was on the stage for last year’s performance, which she said came with “overwhelming excitement.” This year, it’ll be a similar stage, similar situation, but a different type of performance, she said.
“I think our repertoire is really doing something special and different this year. We have an incredible collaboration,” Gomez said. “There are a lot of pieces that I’ve never gotten to play before, and I’ve wanted to play for years and years and years, and the fact that we get to do that at a festival like this is just so fun, and I’m very grateful.”
Gomez echoed that the performance will bring together different genres of music that might surprise the audience.
“I really shouldn’t spoil too much; yes, there’s a lot of standard classical music in there, but there’s also a few things that people might not be expecting, and they’re just going to love it,” Gomez said. “It’s really fun.”
Update: Following a rain delay Saturday, a revised schedule for Day 3 does not include the CYSO performance on the Tito’s stage.