Thomas Aláan
He looks like he’s in a boy band and his home page boasts, “I sing like a girl and that’s awesome.” But pop-star affectations are just a gloss on a seriously accomplished artist whose repertoire encompasses everything from the baroque to the Romantic. He’s a member, as well as executive director, of Bach + Beethoven Experience, an ensemble whose latest project, “Chicago Stories,” he describes as “music about Chicagoans, written by Chicagoans, and performed by Chicagoans in Chicago,” which adds contemporary music to his arsenal. To everything Aláan sings, he brings an uncanny richness and power that’s amazing for a singer who’s using head voice—falsetto, in the popular parlance, although there’s nothing false here. (Robert Rodi)
thomasalaan.com, bbexperience.org
Best of Chicago 2018
