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CSO MusicNOW: In Context featuring Jessie Montgomery & Rachel Barton Pine

Apr 24, 2023
CSO MusicNow: In Context
Overview Program Performers Extras

Overview

The thrilling grand finale of the 25th CSO MusicNOW season features works by Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, including the world premiere of a new violin duo in which she features as both composer and performer alongside virtuoso Chicago native Rachel Barton Pine. The program explores the American musical icons who influenced Montgomery from an early age; pieces by Richard Einhorn, Julia Perry, Walter Piston and Leonard Bernstein offer a sweeping exploration of the post-modern American classical music era. Shining a spotlight on the next generation of composers is a world premiere by Angel Alday — one of five promising young Chicago composers selected to receive coaching and mentorship from Montgomery this season.

Program
Einhorn

Maxwell’s Demon #4

Einhorn

Pañca 

Montgomery

Play

Perry

Pastoral

Bernstein

Dance Suite

Piston

Fanfare for the Fighting French

Alday

New Work [World Premiere]

Montgomery

Musings for Two Violins [World Premiere, MusicNOW Commission]

Performers
Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Baird Dodge
Principal Second Violin
Jessie Montgomery
Mead Composer-in-Residence
Rachel Barton Pine
Violin
Michael Mulcahy
Conductor
Angel Alday
Composer
The Chicago High School for the Arts

Extras

Enhance your concert experience with these additional events.
Young Composers Initiative

Expand your evening at Symphony Center to include the 2022/23 Young Composers Initiative performance premiered by musicians of the Civic Orchestra at 6:15 p.m. in Grainger Ballroom. Learn more >>

Postconcert Party

Each ticket includes access to a postconcert party in the Rotunda at Symphony Center. MusicNOW is more than a concert; it’s an immersive evening of celebrating the arts and meeting new people. Following the concert, you’re invited to the Rotunda to enjoy complimentary pizza and refreshments, plus the opportunity to mix and mingle with the artists and your fellow concert-goers.

Pizza for CSO MusicNOW is generously provided by Jet’s Pizza.

Share your MusicNOW experience! Use #MusicNOW and tag @chicagosymphony to join in the conversation.

Sponsors & Partners

Major support for CSO MusicNOW is generously provided by the Zell Family Foundation, the Sargent Family Foundation, the Sally Mead Hands Foundation, the Julian Family Foundation and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Original Artwork by Donovan Foote

Commemorate the 25th season of CSO MusicNOW with limited-edition poster prints of the artwork designed for each concert by local artist Donovan Foote. Prints are available in multiple sizes, framed or unframed, and are shipped directly to your home. Available exclusively at symphonystore.com.

Order now
Discover more on Experience CSO
Rachel Barton Pine knew she was destined to be a violinist
After starting lessons as a toddler, Rachel Barton Pine "knew when I was 5 that I was meant to be a violinist. I was just obsessed with the violin. I didn’t feel like someone who played the violin, I felt like being a violinist was my entire identity."
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Jessie Montgomery sees her ‘Hymn for Everyone’ as ‘a catharsis’
Jessie Montgomery's "Hymn for Everyone," set for its world premiere in late April, started out as an orchestral suite but then she "switched mid-stream to reference this theme, this hymn, I had written during the pandemic."
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Chicago artist captures the ‘sound’ of MusicNOW in a series of posters
Chicago-based artist Donovan Foote took on the ambitious task of translating the works performed on the 25th anniversary season of MusicNOW into poster designs. His limited-edition prints are available now.
Explore more