2026 Recipient

Healing Illinois Grant: MIOPera Press Release

Since 2020, Healing Illinois has invested in community-led efforts to address racial inequities across the state. Managed in partnership by the Field Foundation and the Illinois Department of Human Services. For the fourth cycle, the initiative distributed grants to nearly 200 nonprofit organizations supporting racial healing events and projects taking place from January through June 2026. Approximately 200 organizations throughout the State of Illinois have received Healing Illinois grant funding made available by the Field Foundation in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services to support racial healing projects completed between January - June 2026.

MIOpera

Funding Category: Healing Through Narrative

MIOpera is a professional opera company located in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Using artistic excellence paired with innovative, relevant, and varied arts programming, MIOpera is committed to the promotion of exceptional emerging vocal talent, educating the Central Illinois community and beyond about the opera genre, and creating inclusive, thought provoking performances that inspire, uplift, and teach lessons about humanity and the world we live in. I, Too Sing America: A Concert Series Celebrating the Unsung Stories of Black America will showcase the accomplishments, lives, and contributions of relatively unknown Black artists and activists. The stories told will exemplify Black Americans who were resilient and overcame societal constrictions and adverse circumstances to better their lives, and opened pathways for those who would not have otherwise had the opportunity to achieve. Their contributions echo through our society today and call us to embody strength, grit, and determination to make America a place where people of all colors can thrive. The series will feature the lives of the following individuals whose stories will be told through a variety of genres of song:

Paul Robeson (1898-1976): American bass-baritone, athlete, scholar, lawyer, actor, human and civil rights activist.

Marian Anderson (1897-1993): American contralto and civil rights pioneer.

Leontyne Price (1927): American spinto soprano, first Black soprano to receive international acclaim,

Mary Bowser (1840-unknown): a freed American enslaved person who was planted undercover in the house of Confederate President Jefferson Davis as a Union spy during the Civil War.

Sojourner Truth (c.1797-1883): American abolitionist and activist for Black civil rights and women's rights.

Conversations in Creativity: A Dialogue about Music, Color, and the Creative Process will be held to discuss each production.

Select Season Dates include (more details and performance dates soon):

February 2026

ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE

Lecture Recital Hall 127F

1 College Drive

East Peoria, Illinois 61635

February 19 @ 6:30pm (masterclass) & February 20 @7:00pm (Concert)

I, Too, Sing America: Black Composers Educational Masterclass/Concert of Black Composers

with Illinois Central College Students.

Masterclass clinician Dr. Carren Moham.

April 2026: First United Methodist Church of Normal (211 N. School St., Normal 61761)

April 10 @ 6:30pm & April 11 @ 7:00pm

I, Too, Sing America: Black Composers Educational Masterclass/Concert of Black Composers

with Illinois State University Students, Bloomington-Normal High School Students and MIOpera

Vocal Ensemble Singers: Masterclass clinician Dr. Carren Moham.

May 2026

May 11-17

Conversations with Paul Robeson Tour: Jason McKinney, Baritone

June 2026 @ Heartland Community College Astroth Auditorium

Saturday June 13 @ 7:00pm & Sunday June 14 @ 3:00pm

Jesse Ayers: Beneath Suspicion: A one act 20-minute Opera that tells the story of formerly

enslaved Mary Bower who was a spy for the Union army during the Civil War.