Composer Showcases

Quintet Attacca perform five world premieres by Illinois composers. Gillian Rae Perry writes “Three Months (after)”: the passage of time in relation to grief and loss. Marybeth Kurnat’s music creates echoes of wisdom from the Holocaust, based on words from child survivors of Terezin. Alex Taylor writes about the Orpheus myth told from Eurydice's perspective. Shane Cook reminds us that ...try as you might, we can't turn back to seed.

Kaia String Quartet premieres new works by Illinois composers. Rosśa Crean writes music for the tender moments between collapse and beginning again. Lee Kesselman’s musical meditation is a search for the personal side of prayer. Justin Weiss writes an exploration of our relationship with nature, time, and memory. Graham Meyer uses Sappho's poetic fragments, both in words and wordless song.

Paul Novak’s youth is an exploration of ghost stories as an inherently queer genre, imagining haunting as a metaphor for queer trauma. Liza Sobel Crane's Worth demonstrates how handling hardships creates character. Blair Boyd writes about being apart from the place you know. Asher Sizemore writes Everyone Dies in the Gender Reveal Apocalypse. Bliss, from Bradley Robin transforms from wanting to having and from innocence to wisdom, through a lyrical and musical journey inspired by Sondheim, Scriabin, Salvador Dali, and Santa Claus.

Lakeshore Rush premieres new works by Illinois composers. Natasha Bogojevic writes a meditation on the effects of gun violence. Xavier Beteta weaves songs in an ancient Mayan language.  Angel Bat Dawid writes about the Catacombs. Ethan Dymit’s “Child’s Play” uses nursery rhymes as a starting point.