Chicago Choro Club

Chicago Choro Club Founded by Julie Koidin in 2015, the Chicago Choro Club organizes
rodas de choro (Choro jam sessions) for interested musicians of all levels of experience.

The Chicago Choro Club was founded in September 2015 by Julie Koidin, with a mission to spread the joy of Choro, a Brazilian music tradition and cultural treasure, to the Chicago music community and beyond. Julie had visited Choro schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, and other cities throughout Brazil, and, seeing Choro Clubs outside of Brazil in cities like Paris, Toulouse, and London, wanted to

bring a similar approach to North America. During its first years, the CCC operated as a music school, with weekly classes and monthly rodas de Choro (Choro jam sessions), with students ranging from experienced classical and jazz musicians to children who were getting their first exposure to the study of music through this beautiful style. In 2020, even as we had to stop classes and monthly rodas in public venues due to the pandemic, we started to meet outside in Horner Park every Sunday morning (weather permitting), and a new tradition emerged. Today, we meet most Sunday mornings outside when the weather allows, or hosted in one of our homes, to play, practice, and learn together.

We're back at Nighthawk this Saturday, May 9th! Come on out and listen, dance, play, sing along, whatever brings you joy...
05/06/2026

We're back at Nighthawk this Saturday, May 9th! Come on out and listen, dance, play, sing along, whatever brings you joy!

Many of us in the Chicago Choro Club attend this brilliant workshop every year. Come join us and fellow aspiring chorões...
04/21/2026

Many of us in the Chicago Choro Club attend this brilliant workshop every year. Come join us and fellow aspiring chorões from all over the world this fall as we dig into this rich tradition with masters from Brazil, Israel, and California!

04/02/2026
02/25/2026

John Beard, Ben Pernick, and David Chelimsky from the Chicago Choro Club attended the first of a new series of rodas de choro up in Madison at Muso Madison last night and had a blast meeting and playing with some local choro enthusiasts! They're hosting these the 4th Tuesday of every month, and we look forward to going up there now and then and hosting some of them at our rodas in Chicago!

Great fun this Sunday morning, roda'ing in Chicago. Today we played:- Ingênuo- Vou Vivendo- Trombone Atrevido- Uma Noite...
02/08/2026

Great fun this Sunday morning, roda'ing in Chicago. Today we played:

- Ingênuo
- Vou Vivendo
- Trombone Atrevido
- Uma Noite no Sumaré
- Eu Quero é Sossego
- Cadência
- Caminhando
- Receita de Samba
- Assanhado
- Machucando

We also spent some time talking about how to cue a transition when you want to take the melody, including learning a classic baixaria, typically played on guitar, leading to a minor key that you can play on almost any instrument (maybe not pandiero or tamborim) as a cue. Good times!

Next week, we'll be holding a roda de choro at Nighthawk in Chicago on Saturday afternoon from 1pm to 3pm. I'll post about that separately. Come join us!

Come on out to our January roda de choro at Nighthawk, this Saturday, Jan 10, 1pm to 3pm. We'll have John Beard on 7-str...
01/08/2026

Come on out to our January roda de choro at Nighthawk, this Saturday, Jan 10, 1pm to 3pm. We'll have John Beard on 7-string guitar, Sabra Weber on flute, David Chelimsky on cavaquinho, and Adam Haus on pandeiro, along with other chorões and choronas from the Chicago Choro Club and the broader community of Chicago musicians

Come to listen, come to play, come to indulge in music and community. We'd love to see you!

01/04/2026

Feliz ano novo! Here's the Chicago Choro Club easing into the new year in Chicago with Desprezado. Here's the whole list of tunes we played:

- Desvairada
- Cochichando
- Uma Noite no Sumaré
- Diplomata
- Benzinho
- Seu Lourenço no Vinho
- Assanhado
- Murmurando
- Trombone Atrevido
- Desprezado
- Um a Zero
- Lamentos
- André de Sapato Novo

Chicago choro musicians and fans!We've got our first roda de choro at the Nighthawk Chicago tonight, Monday, October 27 ...
10/27/2025

Chicago choro musicians and fans!

We've got our first roda de choro at the Nighthawk Chicago tonight, Monday, October 27 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. This is all acoustic, so just bring your instrument and a music stand if you need one (or play tunes you know from memory!).

https://nighthawkchicago.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nighthawkchicago/
4744 N Kimball Ave, Chicago

Hope to see you there!

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Thanks everybody for making so much fun music today!
10/13/2025

Thanks everybody for making so much fun music today!

09/04/2025

Choro Alegre, with Heitor Garcia, Edinho Ge**er, John Beard, and David Chelimsky, are hosting a roda de choro the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month at Sabor a Café Steakhouse Niles.

This Sunday, September 7th, they'll be celebrating Brazilian Independence Day with special guest Jim Barbick on flute and saxophone. If you play choro, come on out and join them on stage. If not, come on out and enjoy them with some delicious Colombian food and drink!

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Chicago, IL
60625

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