Student Spotlight: Carol Liner
October 13th, 2026
Since the MIC Chorale started 40 years ago, Carol Liner has been there for all of it. She has watched fellow singers get married, start families, and see their children grow up. She joined in 1986, and she is the only member still singing in the group who has been part of it since that very first year.
When the MIC Chorale started, Carol was looking for a way to get better at something she already loved. “I've always loved singing,” she says. “I had studied voice at Indiana University and was a professional folk singer in the era of the folk music craze, but wasn't a very good sight singer and thought that being part of a chorus would be a good way to improve.”
Over the years, the MIC Chorale has developed traditions that extend beyond rehearsals and performances. Carol credits Danny Wallenberg with helping create that welcoming atmosphere. “Danny Wallenberg has been a musical inspiration to all of the chorus members. His enthusiasm is contagious and his attitude toward all of us has been very warm and inviting,” she says. “He started many traditions including inviting our families to parties to celebrate after performances.”
Having been part of the MIC Chorale since its beginnings, Carol has been around to experience the families, friendships, and growth of the ensemble. “What I’ve particularly enjoyed is making wonderful friendships in the group and seeing some of my fellow singers get married, have children and watching those same children become adults,” Carol says. “In addition to that it’s a great pleasure to welcome new members to the chorale and seeing how quickly they fit right in.”
Carol enjoys watching the MIC Chorale’s families grow, and she has a lively one of her own. Her three daughters and two twin granddaughters “try to keep me up with the latest technological advances, much to their frustration!” she says.
Away from rehearsals, Carol belongs to the North Shore Musicians Club, the North Shore Village Network, and two play reading groups, including The Primetime Players from the Fleetwood Jourdain Theatre Company. She keeps up her French and catches up with friends from her years as a cytotechnologist at Evanston Hospital. In recent years, she has taken some great trips with a travel companion and has been writing parody videos on YouTube as “The Cane Mutineer.”
As the MIC Chorale celebrates its 40th anniversary, Carol is celebrating 40 years with the ensemble herself. From singing together to celebrating after performances with family and friends, it’s the shared experiences and relationships among its members that have made the Chorale what it is today.
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