LAROB K. RAFAEL

A native of Temple Hills, Maryland, Bass-Baritone, LaRob K. Rafael developed a love for singing at an early age. He found a spirit in the Gospel songs he sang, passion in the R&B he heard, and nuance in the Classical music he studied. A graduate of DePaul University where he received a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, LaRob has studied with world-renowned teachers, directors, and coaches and has had musical opportunities that include traveling to study language, culture, and music. LaRob continues to sing around the Chicago-area (William Ferris Chorale/North Shore Baptist Church) and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Hearing in Color, an organization dedicated to uplifting those whose contributions and stories have been historically excluded from classical spaces. As an Arts Administrative Specialist, he concurrently works at Lyric Opera of Chicago in the Learning and Creative Engagement Department, sits on the Board of La Caccina, a professional women's ensemble, as Diversity and Community Engagement Advisor, is an active consultant with the recently formed Black Opera Alliance and Black Administrators of Opera groups. LaRob also aims to use his voice to connect people from different communities as a newly appointed host of Chicago's Classical music station, WFMT (98.7 FM) to continue changing the predominantly white, European, male-centered classical consciousness.