Contempo: A New Music Collective
Now in its 45th year, Contempo continues as the vanguard of adventurous new works and cutting-edge programs. Under the artistic direction of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Shulamit Ran, Contempo introduces audiences to the bold visions of today's most innovative composers.
Saturday / November 14 / 7:30 pm
Cliff Colnot, conductor
Shulamit Ran, artistic director
eighth blackbird
Pacifica Quartet
Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University
Program to include Frederic Rzewski's Knight, Death, and Devil
Celebrating the special bond they have formed with the Contempo series,
eighth blackbird and the Pacifica Quartet join forces for the Chicago
premiere of composer and longtime eighth blackbird collaborator
Frederic Rzewski's Knight, Death, and Devil. Co-commissioned by the University of Chicago and Oberlin College, Knight, Death, and Devil,
based on the Dürer engraving, unites the two Grammy-winning resident
ensembles for their first performance of this work together.
Saturday / January 16 / 7:30 pm
Contempo Double-Bill
Cliff Colnot, conductor
eighth blackbird
Susanne Mentzer, mezzo soprano
Chris Potter, saxophones
Kenny Werner, piano
Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
Program to include Bernard Rands' "now again"--fragments from Sappho
Contempo's annual Double-Bill combines the best of living composers, cutting-edge performances by contemporary artists, and memorable appearances by legendary jazz musicians. Bernard Rands' work for ten-piece ensemble and mezzo-soprano soloist anchors the first half, followed by a jam session with saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Kenny Werner.
Wednesday / March 24 / 7:30 pm
eighth blackbird
Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
Slide with Rinde Eckert and Steve Mackey
Based around a story of an enigmatic psychologist who struggles to describe an experiment examining reactions to in- and out-of-focus slides, Slide is an unmediated exploration and expression of sound, text, movement and image.
"Slide is a rich tapestry of love, human frailty, the desire of control, and eventually the tragic consequences once we have attained it." (Rinde Eckert)
Friday / May 14 / 7:30 pm
Tomorrow's Music Today 1
Fulton Recital Hall
Works by Iddo Aharony, Shawn Allison, Francisco Castillo Trigueros and Michael LaCroix
Wednesday / May 26 / 7:30 pm
Tomorrow's Music Today 2
Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University
Dissertation compositions by Alex J. Berezowsky, Eric Brinkmann, Simon Fink and April Mok
Performance of works by young talent has always been an integral part
of Contempo's mission. In these annual concerts, the finest young
composers realize their vision through brilliant interactions with
Contempo's world-class artists-in-residence.