Stellar [Chicago Tribune] countertenor Thomas Aláan has been a featured soloist with chamber ensembles and orchestras on the radio, concert series, and festivals across the United States, and on several albums ranging from Vivaldi to Bernstein. He has premiered a dozen contemporary works and himself commissions topical music ranging from Appalachian folk songs to environmental justice. When he’s not singing, Thomas divides his time teaching voice in his private studio; as Executive Director of The BBE (Bach and Beethoven Experience); as Assistant Conductor of Choirs and Director of Women’s Schola at Holy Name Cathedral; as a sustainability educator at the University of Illinois at Chicago, running the internationally renowned Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy and lecturing in the Honors College; and as an occasional saxophonist. Thomas is a Paul J. Collins Fellow at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he is a candidate (ABD) for the Doctorate in Musical Arts; he will defend and (hopefully) graduate in Spring 2021. His research focuses on the performance practice and ornamentation of Sean-nòs singers, and the intersectionality of music with science, philosophy, and environmentalism. Outside of music, he volunteers as Vice President of the Board of Directors of Beyond Legal Aid, counts calories, and pretends to be a DJ. When not engaged in any of the above activities, he can be found in the kitchen cooking or feeding his cat, Guillaume, his breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks.