Keeping Time

OCT 14-15, 2021 7:30 p.m. CT Jan Serr Studio & Present Music Digital Stage

We mark our 40th anniversary with a provocative program exploring time; featuring a world premiere by Latvian composer Krists Auznieks, a signature Present Music arrangement based on Sigur Rós, and two new choreographed works by guest collaborator Maria Gillespie. Surprising and always fun—join us in celebrating 40 years of PRESENT MUSIC!

Sponsored by Jan Serr & John Shannon, and Wisconsin Latvian Cultural Foundation

Thanksgiving: Circle Unbroken

NOV 21, 2021 4:00 p.m. Pre-Concert Talk & Film Screening 5:00 p.m. Concert Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist & Present Music Digital Stage

Thanksgiving returns with immense gratitude; a celebration of community featuring collaborations with longtime choral and Native American drum group partners, a world premiere by Diné artist Raven Chacon, and a revisiting of our greatest commissions, including Michael Torke’s “Four Proverbs” (of which Steve Reich said, “If you don’t like it, go to an ear doctor”).

Sponsored by Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ, Plymouth Church UCC, and Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education

phil kline’s Unsilent Night

DEC 1, 2021 5:30 p.m. CT Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel

Unsilent Night is an original composition by Phil Kline, written specifically to be heard outdoors in December. It takes the form of a street promenade in which the audience becomes the performer––each participant plays a provided audio track while walking a route through Milwaukee’s streets, creating a unique mobile sound sculpture!

Sponsored by 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, ImagineMKE, and Milwaukee Record

Ablaze

MAR 10, 2022 10:00a.m. - 6:30p.m. Museum Gallery Admission 6:30 p.m. Pre-Concert Artist Talk 7:30 p.m. Concert Milwaukee Art Museum & Present Music Digital Stage

In partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum and Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Present Music will premiere a new work commissioned by Daniel Kidane as part of a program that explores themes of identity. Kidane, whose music draws on his Eritrean and Russian heritage as well as his eclectic London upbringing, will be joined by No-No Boy, a multimedia project by Vietnamese-American artist Julian Saporiti who blends folk storytelling and archival imagery to tell the hidden history of Japanese internment camps in WWII America.

Sponsored by Nancy Laskin, Shepherd Express

26 Little Deaths

JUN 23-24, 2022 7:30 p.m. CT Jan Serr Studio & Present Music Digital Stage

The definition of epic; this world premiere by Carla Kihlstedt weaves a sweeping song cycle inspired by Edward Gorey’s Gashlycrumb Tinies, a delightfully dark alphabet book. A gifted singer and violinist, Kihlstedt will perform as the guide through 26 songs that are part Tim Burton, part Edgar Allan Poe, part art song, and 100% Present Music.

JUN 23: In-Person Tickets - Buy Now! JUN 24: In-Person Tickets - Buy Now! JUN 24: LIVESTREAM Tickets - Buy Now!

Sponsored by Ronald E. Jacquart, and Two Sisters

Interplay: Kentridge & Miller

RESCHEDULED!!!

NOV 16, 2022 6:30 p.m. Pre-Concert Artist Talk 7:30 p.m. Concert Milwaukee Art Museum & Present Music Digital Stage

In partnership with The Warehouse’s forthcoming William Kentridge exhibition, a concert featuring music written for the artist’s iconic animated films, by composer Philip Miller. Featuring a new commission and fresh arrangements of longtime collaborations, this concert tackles the history of the apartheid, a struggle that Kentridge witnessed firsthand, and appreciation for South African tradition in music and culture.

NOV 16: In-Person Tickets - Buy Now!

Sponsored by Jan Serr & John Shannon