Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW

Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW
Name	MusicNOW
Location	Chicago, Illinois
Years active	2003–present
Founded	2003
Founder	John Adams (conductor)
Genre	Contemporary classical music
Patrons	Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW MusicNOW is a contemporary music festival and concert series associated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that presents new works, experimental programs, and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Founded in the early 21st century, MusicNOW has featured composers, performers, ensembles, and artists from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, emphasizing premieres and adventurous curatorial projects. The series interfaces with conservatories, festivals, and cultural institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, Lincoln Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

History

MusicNOW was launched in 2003 amid a landscape shaped by institutions like the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts, the San Francisco Symphony's contemporary initiatives, and international festivals including the Aldeburgh Festival and the Donaueschingen Festival. Early seasons featured figures associated with the Bang on a Can collective, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and younger composers connected to the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. Over successive seasons MusicNOW expanded its remit, drawing artists from the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Chicago Sinfonietta, and ensembles such as Kronos Quartet and Ensemble InterContemporain. Institutional shifts paralleled developments at venues like Symphony Center (Chicago) and civic initiatives by the City of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Artistic Direction and Leadership

Artistic direction has been influenced by leaders from major institutions: music directors and curators with ties to the New England Conservatory, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the Royal College of Music. Guest curators and artistic advisors have included composers tied to the Tanglewood Music Center, performers affiliated with the Vienna Philharmonic, and conductors with histories at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra. Leadership decisions often referenced programming practices from the Austro-Hungarian tradition and commissioning models used by the Berlin Philharmonic and the Barbican Centre.

Programming and Repertoire

MusicNOW programs span solo recitals, chamber music, and orchestral forces, featuring repertoire by composers associated with the New Complexity school, the postminimalist movement, and electroacoustic traditions promoted at the MIDI Festival and the IRCAM institute. Seasons have juxtaposed works by veterans such as Elliott Carter, György Ligeti, Iannis Xenakis with emerging voices graduating from Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes School of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music. Programs often integrate sound art presented at venues like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and multimedia installations similar to projects at the Whitney Museum of American Art and Tate Modern.

Commissions and Premieres

MusicNOW has commissioned new works from composers associated with the Pulitzer Prize for Music, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the MacArthur Fellowship, and it has premiered pieces connected to residencies at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the MacDowell Colony, and the Yaddo artists’ community. Notable premieres have been linked to artists with affiliations to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and chamber groups like Eighth Blackbird and Third Coast Percussion. Commissioning models have echoed practices used by institutions such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series and the BBC Proms.

Collaborations and Partnerships

MusicNOW has collaborated with international ensembles and organizations including Kronos Quartet, London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, and curatorial partners at the Chicago Humanities Festival and the Art Institute of Chicago. Educational partnerships have involved the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, the University of Chicago's arts initiatives, and outreach modeled after programs at the New World Symphony and Gilmore Keyboard Festival. Cross-disciplinary projects connected MusicNOW to choreographers from companies like Joffrey Ballet, filmmakers screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and visual artists represented by galleries associated with the Art Institute of Chicago.

Recordings and Media Presentations

Selections from MusicNOW have appeared on labels and platforms with histories tied to the Deutsche Grammophon catalog, independent presses in the lineage of Nonesuch Records, and digital series distributed through partners resembling Medici.tv and WQXR. Recorded premieres and live sessions have involved producers and engineers from sessions at the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and broadcast collaborations similar to those of BBC Radio 3 and NPR Music. Media programming has been influenced by archival projects at the Library of Congress and the broadcasting standards of the European Broadcasting Union.

Venue and Presentation Format

MusicNOW presentations have taken place in settings from the Symphony Center (Chicago) and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance to galleries at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and unconventional spaces akin to those used by the Southbank Centre and the Hamburger Bahnhof. Formats range from ticketed concerts mirroring subscription series at the New York Philharmonic to free public events modeled after civic presentations in Millennium Park and festival-style residencies comparable to the Edinburgh International Festival.

Category:Music festivals in Chicago Category:Contemporary classical music festivals