Wiggleworms
Karen Girolami Callam has been singing, teaching, coaching, and performing all kinds of music for many years, from bilingual children’s classes to musical theater, from her own jazz trio to classical choral works, from liturgical cantoring to starring roles in Sr. Wooly videos. In addition to her work as an Old Town School teaching artist, Karen works with teachers and students in preschool classrooms to build confidence, comfort, and a joyful repertoire of music and movement. Karen is fully bilingual and loves to speak as well as sing Spanish in her classes for a full immersion experience. Her warmth and groundedness ease the most reluctant participant and bring families back session after session. Karen performs choral music with her current group Allegrezza, as well as previous years with Lux Cantorum Chicago, Chicago Artists Chorale, Apollo Chorus, and Chicago World Music Chorale. Karen co-created two releases of Spanish-language children's music with Puerta Abierta Preschool and taught Everybody Move bilingual children’s music/movement classes for years before joining Old Town School. She has lived in Spain for three years of her adult life, most recently with her family, where she sang with Sevilla's opera house, Teatro de la Maestranza. Karen has a degree in communications and Hispanic studies from Northwestern University. She runs a 26 year-old bilingual communications consultancy working with nonprofits, foundations, and schools. She lives in Evanston with her husband and their three increasingly far-flung children.
Started at the Old Town School in June of 2015
