When Maestro Riccardo Muti, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, heard students from the Chicago West Community Music Center perform at a benefit event in June, he said he was “impressed with their dignity and ethical approach to their music style.”

And after hearing the voice of 20-year-old soprano Jessalle Jakes, Muti said he’d be back to work with the young musicians. This week, he made good on that promise, leading a special community rehearsal at the Columbus Park Refectory. It was hosted by the CSO’s African American network.