Event Description
~Nois is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet devoted to the performance of new music. Formed by graduate students at Northwestern University in 2016, ~Nois has quickly emerged as one of the premier young ensembles dedicated to contemporary performance. ~Nois was awarded the Silver Medal at the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the largest and one of the most prestigious chamber music competitions in the United States, and was previously awarded First Prize at the 2016 Chicago Woodwind Ensemble Competition. ~Nois strives to expand the possibilities of the saxophone quartet medium through close collaboration with today’s emerging compositional voices.
During the 2017-2018 concert season, ~Nois performed on the the Frequency Series at Constellation in Chicago, a weekly music series that features new and experimental music. In January 2018, ~Nois collaborated with conductor Chris Kaatz for a performance of Chen Yi’s saxophone quartet concerto, Ba Yin: The Eight Sounds. ~Nois will also be featured on the Irving Park Fine Arts Music Series in January 2018, as well as the New Music Chicago Festival held at the Chopin Theatre in February 2018. ~Nois is currently planning a tour of universities throughout the southeastern United States during the spring of 2018. In July 2018, ~Nois will be a featured artist at the 5th annual Omaha Under the Radar Festival.
During the 2016-2017 season, ~Nois performed as a guest artist at Michigan State University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Missouri – Kansas City. In addition to performing, the quartet also gave master classes to the saxophone students of each school. On her most recent recital in Chicago, Claire Chase, founder of the International Contemporary Ensemble, invited ~Nois to collaborate with her in a performance of Thirteen Changes by Pauline Oliveros. In June of 2017, ~Nois partnered with Accompanietta to present Extravaganza!, a free concert for the community of Evanston, Illinois featuring the work of local musicians and composers. ~Nois also performed at the 2017 North American Saxophone Alliance’s Region V conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Dedicated to supporting the work of living composers, ~Nois has premiered works by Mathew Arrellin, Niki Harlafti, Craig Davis Pinson, and Alec Sloane and will collaborate with José Arrellano, Nicholas Cline, Darcy Copeland, Joe Krycia, and Phil Taylor, among others, during the 2017-2018 season.