Play On 2024

Wednesday, October 30 · City Winery Chicago

1200 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60607

Doors 5:30pm · Show 7:00pm

Thank you to all who joined us delightful evening benefiting equal access and excellence in music education at Play On 2024! Alexis Lombre headlined our 6th annual Play On, with additional performances by Mae Ya Carter Ryan and Merit’s very own Honors Jazz Combo.

We hope you join us next year!

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Alexis Lombre

Alexis Lombre is a pianist, vocalist, composer, and producer from Chicago. She discovered early that the true essence of music is not just about what you hear, but how it makes you feel. Her mission is to keep the ‘Soul’ in music alive. Her latest single, “Boundaries,” a powerful anthem about standing up for oneself and taking ownership of personal space, was originally released in June as part of Apple Music’s Juneteenth Freedom 2024 Jazz playlist for Black Music Month and became available on all music platforms as of September.

Lombre’s other releases include the single “Come Find Me,” which she describes as “lyrically, a gospel song; harmonically, a jazz song; and rhythmically, a hip-hop/R&B song. I didn’t create the song with any borders.” As JazzTimes notes, “Lombre realized early on that by refusing to be constrained by convention—whether so-called ‘jazz’ or otherwise—she’d be honoring, rather than defiling, the rich heritage she’d come to embrace.”

In addition to composing, producing, and performing her own music, she has toured nationally all over the United States, and internationally to Canada, Cuba, Brazil, France and South Africa with artists such as Georgia Anne Muldrow, Marcus Miller, Jon Batiste, Keyon Harrold, Endea Owens & The Cookout, Dan Wilson, Nicole Mitchell, Jamila Woods, Kassa Overall, Tia Fuller, DJ D Nice and the Miles Davis Electric Band. Alexis Lombre was granted the Inaugural 2022 New Music Next Jazz Legacy Award and the 2023 Luminarts Award.

Mae Ya Carter Ryan

Mae Ya Carter Ryan is a Chicago-based singer with a powerful, soulful voice. After attending Merit School of Music and having recently graduated from Berklee College of Music, she is making her mark on the music scene far and wide with appearances on WGN’s Morning Show, CBS’s Someone You Should Know segment, WCIU’s You and Me This Morning, ABC’s Heart and Soul, WTTW PBS, the Ovation Network’s Young Marvels, Hallmark’s Home and Family Show and more.

Honors Jazz Combo

The Honors Jazz Combo, under the direction of Alex Beltran, is Merit’s premier jazz performing ensemble comprised of the Alice S. Pfaelzer Conservatory’s most advanced student jazz musicians. Students audition for the program on an annual basis and hail from all over the greater Chicagoland area.

Sponsorships & Levels of Support

2024 Play On Sponsors

Presenting

Mike and Bethany Evon

Jam

Dave Thomas & Vesna Radisic
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Interlude

Franczek P.C.

Cadence

Aria Group Architecture Design
Michael Andrews and Ryan Ruskin
Carol and John Clavadetscher
Travis Larson and Brian Golinvaux
Nishad and Pinkey Parmar – LOUD Capital
Lorna and Ellard L. Pfaelzer, Jr.
Wintrust Bank

Scat

Doyenne Wealth Advisors, LLC
Neville and Adonna Reid

Raffle & In-Kind Donations

Chicago Cubs
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago White Sox
City Winery
Instrumental Nutrition & Fitness
Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
Fulton Fithouse
Goodman Theatre
Lyric Opera of Chicago
MachMachines Musical Instruments
Shedd Aquarium
Solo Salon
TimeLine Theatre
Tom Severson

Interested in sponsoring Play On? Click the link above and fill out the online form. If you have any questions or would like to submit a payment via check, please contact Elizabeth Forrey.