Anima – Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus celebrated its 55th season in 2019-2020. One of the leading children and youth choral organizations in North America, its rich heritage has served as an artistic and educational model for many years. Recent national awards include the ASCAP Adventurous Programming award from Chorus America, the Tribute Award from Chicago A Cappella, the Non-Profit of the Year Award from the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce, the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from Chorus America and the American Composers Forum, and the once-in-an-organizational lifetime Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America.

The Chorus is dedicated to transforming young lives through excellence in music education and choral singing. Its six ensembles serve children from over 35 different Chicagoland communities, with outreach programs reaching 1000 additional children annually. International tours have taken the Chorus to six continents.  Anima (AH-nee-mah) is the Latin word for breath, life, soul, spirit.

Performing frequently with Chicago’s major musical organizations, Anima's singers have performed under many of the world’s most eminent conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Bernard Haitink, Semyon Bychkov, John Nelson, Jane Glover, Christoph Eschenbach, Claudio Abbado, and Georg Solti. Also committed to new music, Anima - Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus has commissioned over 80 new works for young voices in its history. Anima - Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus was the first children’s chorus in America to be recognized and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts for the professionalism of its work and captured four Grammy awards for its performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Sir Georg Solti.

Anima - Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus last appeared with the CSO in Mahler's Symphony No. 3 in October 2018, and for a series of performances of the holiday classic Home Alone (music by John Williams) in December 2017. Recent highlights include a concert tour to Greece in June 2018, an appearance with Grant Park Music Festival in August 2018 in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, and a tour to Washington D.C. including a festival performance at the Kennedy Center in June 2019.