“…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 […]
With a concert series based in the western suburbs of Chicago combining the mixed ensemble traditions of the flute and cello, Naperville Chamber Players engages guest artists from across the artistic spectrum in dynamic collaborations. Artistic Directors Marie Bennett and Dorothy Deen have both been performing professionally as soloists, chamber musicians and orchestral musicians […]
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 […]
For more than 40 years, The Chicago Ensemble has brought a fascinating array of chamber works to Chicago audiences. Offering an innovative mix of familiar masterworks and lesser-known repertoire, performed in varied combinations of instruments and voice, The Chicago Ensemble occupies a unique place in Chicago’s cultural life. Outstanding musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, […]
Chicago Fringe Opera is dedicated to presenting innovative vocal works with an emphasis in the new and contemporary styles, engaging with the Chicago community through intimate and immersive performance experiences, and fostering and empowering local artists. Our Vision: Chicago Fringe Opera is on the forefront of producing dynamic contemporary vocal works in the city of […]
~Nois is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet devoted to the creation and performance of new music. Founded in 2016 by graduate students at Northwestern University, ~Nois has quickly emerged as one of the premier young ensembles dedicated to contemporary performance. ~Nois has been a prize winner at major chamber music competitions including the Second Prize in […]
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 […]
Founded in 2011, Crossing Borders Music has become a leading interpreter of chamber music by composers from cultures including the Chickasaw Nation, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, India, Syria, and Uganda, and a pioneering, critically acclaimed presenter of music by graduates of the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education in Iran. Crossing Borders Music was a Headline Artist at […]
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 […]
Access Contemporary Music (ACM) wants everyone to know about contemporary classical music. We believe strongly that the music of our time deserves a wider audience and that there are many people who would love contemporary classical music if they only knew it existed. We see two challenges facing contemporary music: 1. The vast majority of […]
The Chicago Composers’ Consortium is a grass-roots organization of composers dedicated to creating new music in Chicago. We are a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1988 and incorporated in 1989. Since then c3 has organized scores of concerts, invited many distinguished composers, and collaborated with several musicians and ensembles, creating unique musical events. What has […]
The Chicago Composers Orchestra is dedicated to the performance and advocacy of orchestral music by living composers. The orchestra works to expand the art form and engage the Chicago community through innovative programming, low cost concerts, and a vibrant and welcoming concert atmosphere. It brings the best in contemporary orchestral music to its audiences by […]
Eighth Blackbird, hailed as “one of the smartest, most dynamic contemporary classical ensembles on the planet” (Chicago Tribune), began in 1996 as a group of six entrepreneurial Oberlin Conservatory students and quickly became “a brand-name defined by adventure, vibrancy and quality” (Detroit Free Press). Over the course of more than two decades, Eighth Blackbird has […]
“Superb” – The New York Times Ensemble Dal Niente is a 22-member Chicago-based contemporary music collective with an international presence. The ensemble uses its flexible instrumentation, curatorial approach to programming, and relentless attention to interpretation to create engaging, inspiring, and immersive experiences that connect audiences to with the music of today. The Chicago Tribune has […]
The Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble is a versatile and dynamic group praised by the New York Times for its “conviction, authority, and finesse.” Defined by limitless imagination, the ensemble engages curiosity to create unexpected connections with artistic collaborators and audiences of all types, breathing life into repertoire both established and emerging. Over the last decade, […]
The mission of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project is to be a Chicago leader of diverse new music; presenting multi-media performances, generating educational programs, and commissioning innovative works. http://fulcrumpoint.org/
Founded in 2004, the Gaudete Brass Quintet is devoted to presenting serious brass chamber music at the highest level of excellence and to encouraging worldwide appreciation of the art of brass chamber music through live performances, recordings, education, and the creation of new works. The quintet has been featured on concert series, radio broadcasts and […]
With a flexible roster of 33 leading instrumentalists performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) functions as performer, presenter, and educator, advancing the music of our time by developing innovative new works and pursuing groundbreaking strategies for audience engagement. In an era of radical change, ICE redefines concert […]
A ‘Pierrot’ chamber music ensemble, Lakeshore Rush is made up of six extraordinary musicians from Chicago who delight audiences of all ages with riveting contemporary music characterized by programmatic innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Lakeshore Rush has been featured in a masterclass and performance at Lawrence University, and as guest artists for MeritFest at Chicago’s Orchestra […]
Known for its bold programming and its exceptional performances, the MAVerick Ensemble presents concerts of experimental music designed to engage, entertain, and inform the audience. In residence at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, the ensemble presents a year-long concert series that has been selected as Critic’s Choice in the Chicago Reader.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra presents its acclaimed MusicNOW contemporary music series, dedicated to showcasing contemporary music through an innovative concert experience. Curated by CSO Mead Composer-In-Residence Missy Mazzoli, the annual four-concert series presents work from established contemporary composers and new voices beginning to emerge across today’s active and varied contemporary music scene. Offering an immersive, […]