Rosśa Crean (they/them) jokingly says they “create music that they like to listen to when they are by themself, eating raw cookie dough in a dark closet,” but in truth, their music has been referred to as being “funny…and virtuosic” (Classical Concert Nova Scotia), having “exceptionally different, outstanding quality” (Download), and music that “stirs you […]
Multi-Grammy Award-winning cellist Nick Photinos is one of the most innovative and multifaceted cellists of our time. An ardent advocate of new music, he has worked closely with many of the foremost composers of this era and has premiered hundreds of works throughout his career. Apart from four Grammy wins, he has received Musical America’s […]
In the spring of 2020, Ms. Laurenzo made her Off-Broadway debut understudying the role of Mrs. Van Buren and singing in the ensemble of the world premiere of Intimate Apparel at the Lincoln Center Theater by Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage (postponed due to COVID19). Additional recent engagements include a role and company debut […]
Ben Roidl-Ward is the bassoonist of Ensemble Dal Niente and Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Northern Iowa. He also holds positions as a Contemporary Leader for the Lucerne Festival and as the second bassoonist of the Illinois Symphony. Ben’s dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led […]
With over ten years of experience in arts administration, music, and education, Jessica Wolfe thrives in connecting communities through the transformative power of shared musical experiences. Presently, she serves as the Director of Production and Education at the University of Chicago Presents where she produces classical, jazz, early music, contemporary, and world music concert series […]
Phil Pierick is a saxophonist, improviser, singer, and educator based in Chicago. Equally at home performing a range of music from Renaissance motets to 21st-century works, he has been described as “the Swiss Army knife of saxophonists.” As a soloist and member of the saxophone duo Ogni Suono, he has performed over a hundred recitals […]
Chicago-based violinist Henry X. Zheng engages in a vibrant and fulfilling career as a chamber musician, recitalist, orchestral performer, and arts administrator. Performances have taken Mr. Zheng across the United States and to stages around the world, including venues in China, Italy, and Mexico. Recent awards include residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and […]
CELEBRATED FOR COMPOSITIONS THAT ARE EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED AND VISCERALLY-ENGAGING, COMPOSER MISCHA ZUPKO WRITES MUSIC THAT EXCITES BOTH MUSICIANS AND AUDIENCES Working collaboratively with other great musical minds, his body of work is intensely virtuosic and bracing in its vision and scope. In the words of Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein, Zupko’s piano concerto Fahrenheit was“…a powerhouse of the evening” and […]
As a collaborative composer, Adam Kennaugh believes honest and powerful music is created through open communication and genuine back-and-forth of ideas between performer and composer. He centers each work around the preferred musical techniques and concepts of the performers, fusing their technical and expressive prowess with his musical language, which exists in the space between […]
Carl J. LaMark’s work as a composer, pianist, and collaborator has been described an exercise in “sustained intensity”. Coming from a long line of Chicago natives, he received the majority of his training as a pianist at the Music Institute of Chicago at Winnetka and Northwestern University under primarily under Dr. Soo Lee. He received […]
Praised for her intuitive musicality, her wide range of technical abilities, and her natural stage presence, Anna Fisher-Roberts brings the masterpieces of classical music into the modern era. With innovative, interactive performances featuring both brand-new and time-honored pieces, Anna ventures to bring classical music to modern audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Anna is a […]
Suzanne Hannau (Gillen) is an active freelance performer and teacher in the Chicagoland area noted by the Chicago Tribune for being “…especially deft at those dual actor/musician duties.” Suzanne is passionate about the marriage of different performance arts in a production and is always looking for opportunities to combine instrumental doubling with movement, acting, and […]
Praised by critics for her “astounding virtuosic gifts” (Boston Herald), “achingly pure sound” (The Toronto Star), and “impressive technical and interpretive control” (The New York Times), Tricia Park enjoys a diverse and eclectic career as a violinist, educator, curator, writer, and podcaster. Tricia is the producer and host of the podcast, “Is it Recess Yet? Confessions of a […]
“…a precise and engaged artist, unafraid of deep ambiguities…” (Justin Hayford, The Chicago Reader) Shi-An Costello (世安) is a composer, pianist, and a proud second generation mixed race Asian American, born and raised in Chicago. Although he started piano lessons at a young age, Shi-An’s first love was sports. But in high school, he fell […]
Quirky and vibrant, Jonathan Hannau is a Chicago-based composer and pianist submerged in the surreal, abstract, minimal, and colorful possibilities of music. He actively embraces eclecticism and explores the concepts of narrative, drama, and stark expression while pushing them down the rabbit hole of timbre. Starting his musical career as a classically-trained pianist, his exposure […]
Michael Hall, viola, lives in Chicago and is an internationally recognized soloist, teacher, andthought leader. Described by the New Music Connoisseur as “utterly masterful,” and ChamberMusic Today as having “superb technique,” he has over 50 compositions written for him. Inaddition to his performance activities, Michael is a board member of the American Viola Societyand Co-Founder/Artistic […]
Double bassist and violist da gamba Phillip W. Serna is an active and enthusiastic performer of contemporary, solo, orchestral, and chamber repertoires with a diversity of ensembles appearing with EChO – the Evanston Chamber Opera Company, Illinois Philharmonic, Illinois Symphony, Lake Forest Symphony, Musicians for Michiana, New Philharmonic, Northwest Indiana Symphony, Renovo String Orchestra, the Southwest […]
Michael R. Oldham (b. 1989 Braidwood, IL) is a composer and pianist who weaves imagery, story, and imagination into his music, with influences spanning from indie art rock, french impressionism, film music, and surrealist Americana. Music In Segments, Michael’s newest experimental work written exclusively for Instagram looping video, is available to play now. He has […]
Jazzwoman, Composer and Harpist with a strong musical personality and talent, Isabelle Olivier brings a wave of freshness and novelty to the international artistic world with her surprising and unique instrument. She recorded eight discs and a DVD of her personal work and traveled to 22 countries to present her musical creations. Since 5 years […]
Micah Clark graduated from Wheaton College in 2010 with a Bachelor of Music in Composition. While at Wheaton, he won the Presidential Scholarship in Music, Composition Competition Prize, the Josephine Halvorsen Composition Prize, the Chamber Music Competition, Best Original Score at the Wheaton College Film Festival, and was inducted into the Wheaton College Honor Society. […]
Dr. Cate Hummel loves performing, especially music that is not well known by both recognized and forgotten composers. She is active as a performing artist and clinician around the U.S. and internationally. Cate has collaborated with a number of contemporary composers, most recently Adina Izarra from Venezuela, to write a piece celebrating the 30th anniversary […]
Applauded for “some of the most spirited, stylish, and nuanced playing” (Chicago Classical Review) as well as her “invigoratingly fresh and perky interpretation” (Bachtrack), Leighann Daihl Ragusa, is an accomplished musician, performing on both historical and modern flutes. She has concertized throughout central Europe as well as the United States both as a soloist and as a collaborator […]
Jennifer’s commitment to engaging audiences through the performance of 21stcentury chamber music, sends her to world-renowned venues across the country including Bennet Gordon Hall at Ravinia, Chicago’s Pritzker Pavilion, the San Francisco Center for New Music, National Sawdust and Miller Theatre in New York. A solo competition prize winner of the Chicago Musicians’ Club of […]
Heike Burghart Rice is the Director of Music Ministries at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hinsdale, Illinois. An ardent advocate for new music, Dr. Burghart Rice has performed solo organ works by Marilyn Shrude, William Bolcom, Steven Rice, and works for organ and electronics by Matthew McCabe, Huw Morgan, and Daniel Pinkham. She has performed P.P.S., […]
Described as “evocative” (Resonance) and “surreal” music “to bewilder, amuse, and provoke” (Epoch Times), the works of composer Steven Rice have won great acclaim and inspired intense debate. His music has been championed internationally by soloists and ensembles such as the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra (Marin Alsop, director), the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Brave New Works, the […]
Roger Zare has been praised for his “enviable grasp of orchestration” (New York Times) and for writing music with “formal clarity and an alluringly mercurial surface.” His music often takes inspiration from science, nature, mathematics, and mythology. Currently based in Chicago, he was born in Sarasota, Florida, and began playing piano at age 5 and […]
Since spring of 2017, Marianne has collaborated with the Crossing Borders Music Collective and The Society for the Research and Diffusion of Haitian Music to present solo recitals featuring remotely known Haitian classical works for piano. Most recently, Marianne performed this program at the Ignatian Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida. Previous performances have been […]
Joey Brink is the sixth University Carillonneur at the University of Chicago, where he performs on the 72-bell Rockefeller Memorial Carillon and directs a carillon studio of twenty students. He serves on the board of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America and co-chairs the Johan Franco composition committee to promote new works for carillon. […]
Dr. Marie Alatalo has appeared in concerts throughout the United States and Japan, capturing attention with a repertoire embracing both classical and contemporary literature. She has been heard in such popular Chicago venues as the Chicago Cultural Center, Mayne Stage, Pianoforte, Music Institute of Chicago, WFMT radio, Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Mostly Music Chicago concert series, Driehaus Museum, […]
Renèe Baker has been at the extreme forefront of creative/avant garde music whiledeveloping this unique ensemble since 1991. Utilizing some of the finest musicians that cross the classical world as well as jazz greates, she has crafted a group of the best traditionalists and married them to dedicated improvisors. A true genre bending experience- her […]
Amos Gillespie’s music has been heard on WFMT in Chicago, WQXR in New York City and PBS. His music spans a wide range of genres including chamber and orchestra concert music, jazz, as well as music for film, theater and dance. His music has been commissioned and performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Atlantic […]
As a specialist in contemporary performance practice and techniques, flutist Shanna Gutierrez is dedicated to promoting and advancing contemporary music in cultural life today through innovative performances and educational projects. She appears throughout the United States and abroad as a soloist, teacher, clinician, and in various chamber collaborations, including Collect/Project and Sonic Hedgehog. She has […]
Janice Misurell-Mitchell is a composer, flutist and vocal artist who lives and works in Chicago; she teaches about music and politics and contemporary music at the School of the Art Institute. In addition to her teaching she presents lecture-recitals and workshops related to her compositions, extended techniques for the flute, and the relation of text […]
The music of Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964 in New York) is nuanced, majestic, elegant, capricious, lyrical, and colorful — “it is boldly considered music that celebrates the sound of the instruments and reaffirms the vitality of orchestral music.” (Philadelphia Inquirer) In February 2015, music critic Edward Reichel wrote, “Augusta Read Thomas has secured for […]
Violinist Andrew Williams has established himself as an extraordinary chamber musician, soloist, and teacher throughout America. As a former member of the critically acclaimed Fifth House Ensemble, he has performed at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre on their Composer Portrait series and on Rush Hour’s yearly summer music series. Considered a champion of new music, Williams […]
Pianist and composer Amy Wurtz was born in California, and began studying piano at the age of six. She started writing her own music at age sixteen, and went on to study Piano Performance and Creative Writing at the University of Redlands before completing dual Master’s degrees in Musical Composition and Piano Performance at the […]