Three CSO-affiliated musicians honored at ‘Resonating Legacies’

Three artists — Renée Baker, Tage Larsen and Jessie Montgomery — were honored at “Resonating Legacies: Celebrating Black Excellence in Music,” presented by the CSO’s African American Network on Feb. 21 at Symphony Center.

After a Symphony Center Presents Jazz concert by vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant on the main stage, the Resonating Legacies ceremony followed in Grainger Ballroom, where Baker, Larsen and Montgomery each received the AAN’s Crescendo Award for Black Excellence in Music. 

The event started with attendees joining in an a cappella performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black National Anthem, to mark Black History Month. In addition, Renée Baker curated a movement-and-instrumental piece called “Black Epiphany.” The three-movement performance, in a Japanese butoh-like setting, is a meditation on existence, survival and cosmic surrender. An evocative, almost ritualistic experience, it lends itself to slowness, distortion and then transformation.

The piece is designed to be “mesmerizing as a full multimedia experience” with the live score shifting between “deep resonance and spectral dissonance,” Baker said. It also is interactive; audience members were moving with the performers and taking photos and videos.

Lenese Reynolds, co-chair of the CSO African American Network Advisory Board and the ceremony’s host, began the awards session by saying: “Tonight, we celebrate three extraordinary artists — musicians, composers and conductors — who truly embody Black Excellence in music. Their impact is profound, and their contributions deserve to be recognized.”

Next, Marian Perkins-Phillips, an AAN advisory board member, spoke about the purpose of AAN’s Crescendo Award for Black Excellence in Music, calling it “a celebration of achievement, artistry and resilience. It honors Black musicians, conductors and composers who have broken barriers, shaped culture and inspired generations through their contributions to classical music and beyond. This award symbolizes not just recognition, but a reminder of the power of representation, the importance of inclusion and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead when excellence meets opportunity. Tonight, we celebrate the journey, impact and enduring legacy of three exceptional artists: Tage Larsen, Jessie Montgomery and Renée Baker.”

Then Reynolds talked about Larsen, who joined the CSO trumpet section in 2002, saying, "Tage’s journey is one of dedication, perseverance and excellence.  ... Tage made history — becoming the first African American musician hired by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. For over two decades, his artistry has been an integral part of the CSO’s legendary brass section. Beyond the stage, he is a dedicated educator, shaping the next generation of musicians as a faculty member at DePaul University. 

“Tage’s impact extends far beyond his performances. Through masterclasses, mentorship and advocacy for music education, he continues to uplift and inspire. His journey embodies the very spirit of this award — excellence, leadership and the power of representation.”

Larsen, who was on his honeymoon, could not attend, but sent a statement, which was read. "I am deeply honored to receive this award from the CSO African American Network. This recognition means a great deal to me, not only as a personal achievement, but as a reflection of the vital work the AAN does in championing diversity and inclusion in classical music. 

"The CSO African American Network has been instrumental in creating pathways and opportunities for Black musicians and music lovers in our community. Your commitment to celebrating and advancing Black excellence in classical music helps ensure that future generations will see themselves represented in this magnificent art form. 

"Thank you for this tremendous honor. I look forward to continuing to the rich legacy of Black achievement in classical music that the CSO AAN so powerfully supports and celebrates." 

Then Perkins-Phillips introduced the next honoree, Jessie Montgomery, who was the CSO’s Mead Composer-in-Residence from 2021 to 2024. "It is my great honor to present this award to an artist whose brilliance is reshaping the landscape of classical music.

"Jessie is a Grammy Award-winning composer, violinist and educator whose work masterfully blends classical traditions with improvisation, social consciousness and the sounds of contemporary America. Her compositions — described as ‘turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life’ — are performed by leading orchestras and ensembles worldwide. 

“As the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where she not only created powerful new works but also launched the Young Composers Initiative, nurturing the next generation of voices in classical music. She is a founding member of the groundbreaking PUBLIQuartet and Blacknificent 7, a collective championing the works of Black composers.”

Perkins-Phillips noted the upcoming concert Feb. 25 at Orchestra Hall by the Sphinx Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra of Black and Latino musicians, featuring Montgomery’s Grammy-winning work Rounds, with Montgomery herself performing as concertmaster in this piece. It "promises to be a triumphant homecoming for her here in Chicago.

“Please join me in celebrating the extraordinary artistry of Jessie Montgomery!”

Then Montgomery addressed the audience: “I want to thank the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, The African American Network — of which I am an Advisory member — and the Latino Alliance for their continued support through dynamic programming, educational opportunities and performances. This ceremony is one of the many demonstrations of this community’s commitment to excellence in the arts. It is a total honor to be on this stage again today along with my esteemed colleagues and cherished friends.”

To conclude the ceremony, Reynolds introduced composer Renée Baker, music director and conductor of the internationally acclaimed Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, by saying "I have the distinct honor of presenting the Crescendo Award for Black Excellence in Music to a true artistic visionary — Renée Baker. 

"Renée is a composer, conductor, visual artist and film artist whose boundary-pushing work spans classical, jazz, experimental music and beyond. Through the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, she has brought more than 2,000 compositions to life. From orchestral works and ballet to silent film scores, Renée’s music defies categorization — challenging and inspiring audiences around the world. 

“Beyond her extraordinary artistry, Renée’s impact on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s African American Network is immeasurable. A close collaborator with AAN founder Sheila Jones, Renée helped shape this network into what it is today through collaboration on Black History Month events and world-premiere performances honoring cultural icons like Josephine Baker and James Baldwin and more.”

Reynolds added that “the legacy of Renée’s bold and brilliant compositions continue” on April 11, as part of the next AAN event, with Baker’s newest work, a chamber opera, by performed by musicians from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project. 

“Renée Baker’s artistry knows no bounds, and her contributions to AAN, to Chicago and to the world of music are nothing short of transformative. Please join me in celebrating the incomparable Renée Baker!”

Punctuating her customary eloquence with a quip, Baker began by saying, "The poster child of trouble thanks the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the African American Network for this honor.

"When music expands beyond the narrow corridors of tradition, when it embraces the vast and the intimate, it becomes a living tapestry — woven with the hands of all who dare to sound. Classical and creative music, when freed from the constraints of exclusion, breathes in colors once muted, now vibrant, now infinite.

"The weight of the past is not an anchor but a foundation, supporting voices once unheard, shaping a future where the symphony does not demand uniformity but thrives on divergence. A bowed string, a struck key, a breath through metal — each carries the essence of histories entwined, each a story longing to be told.

"Inclusion is not a gesture; it is the unlocking of possibility. It is the moment when the unfamiliar becomes necessary, when the unheard becomes indispensable. It is the revelation that genius is not dictated by lineage, that innovation is not bound by expectation, that the sublime is found in the collision of cultures, experiences and perspectives.

"A score once rigid now bends, now shatters, now reforms in ways never imagined. The orchestra, once a citadel of convention, opens its gates to new architects of sound. The ensemble, once bound to a single script, learns to improvise with the breath of the world.

“And in this transformation, music is no longer a museum piece, but a force — breathing, shifting, evolving. It reaches beyond concert halls, beyond manuscripts, beyond definitions. It belongs to all, and in its boundlessness, it is richer than ever.”