Co-Curators Stephen Burns and Augusta Read Thomas Announce EAR TAXI FESTIVAL

Co-curators Stephen Burns and Augusta Read Thomas announce Ear Taxi Festival, a four day festival of new music taking place in Chicago from October 6-9, 2016. Ear Taxi Festival will be Chicago's first large-scale, nationally recognized festival of new music, with plans to present 41 world premieres, one Chicago premiere, two U.S. premieres, four sound art installations, the work of 70 Chicago-based composers, and performances by 16 Chicago-based ensembles. In total, festival performances will involve over 300 musicians. A series of panel discussions and Meet the Artist events will be presented to complement Ear Taxi Festival's programming.

The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, which supports the work of emerging American composers, initiated a biennial series of contemporary music festivals in 2008. Augusta Read Thomas proposed Chicago as the location for the 2016 festival, and in early 2015 a major gift was granted by the Ditson Fund to make Ear Taxi Festival possible. Ear Taxi Festival will receive generous support from several major Chicago-based partners. The Harris Theater is Ear Taxi Festival's Presenting Sponsor and will serve as one of the festival's primary performance venues. The City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) will host many free performances at the Chicago Cultural Center's Preston Bradley Hall and Claudia Cassidy Theater. Constellation will host Ear Taxi Festival's closing party on Sunday, October 9, 2016. New Music Chicago is Ear Taxi Festival's fiscal sponsor.

The goal of Ear Taxi Festival is to further establish Chicago as an epicenter for new music by providing extraordinary performance opportunities for Chicago's new music ensembles and musicians, and catalyzing the creation of new work by Chicago-based composers.

Ear Taxi Festival co-curator Augusta Read Thomas says: "The open, collaborative nature of Chicago's new music community is home to an extraordinary crop of ensembles and a vibrant landscape of composers. The scene for new music in Chicago is exceptional and I dedicate myself to supporting and encouraging its sustainability and growth."

Co-curator Stephen Burns comments: "In 2005 Chicago's new music organizations came together to create New Music Chicago in order to coordinate, collaborate, and energize our efforts in championing the richness of our musical landscape. Chicago's scene has exploded during this decade to become a fertile source of new composers, ensembles, and performing spaces with the Harris Theater, Constellation, and DCASE as stalwart partners. As the first president of New Music Chicago I feel Chicago should be justifiably proud of our innovative and inclusive spirit, as well as our standards of excellence."

The final lineup of Ear Taxi Festival events will be announced in the coming months.

For more information about Ear Taxi Festival, visit www.eartaxifestival.com.