Music Institute Of Chicago Academy To Present Free Student Concerts
Pre-college conservatory program highlights chamber music and orchestral performances.
By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 14, 2026
The Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a nationally recognized pre-college conservatory for advanced high school pianists and string players, will present a series of free concerts during the winter and spring seasons. All performances will take place at Nichols Concert Hall, located at 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston.
The Academy’s Chamber Music program will offer free evening concerts on Saturdays, February 7, April 4, and May 2, each beginning at 7:30 p.m. The program features students who have received recognition in regional and national competitions, including the YoungArts Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Illinois Competition, the Sejong Cultural Society Music Competition, the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Piano Competition, and the Chicago Chamber Music Festival Concerto Competition.
The Academy Orchestra, conducted by Academy Director James Setapen, will perform on Saturday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m. The program will include Repair the World by composer Stacy Garrop, a work written in response to the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade shooting. Garrop will work with the orchestra during rehearsals and is scheduled to speak at the concert.
Additional works on the February 21 program will include an arrangement of the Korean folk song Springtime in My Hometown by Academy Coordinator and Orchestra Manager Ari Barack Fisher; Estrellita by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, presented as part of the Institute’s One Composer, One Community initiative; Johann Sebastian Bach’s concerto for two keyboards performed by resident piano duo Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem; Gustav Holst’s Brook Green Suite; and Russell Peck’s Signs of Life II.
To mark the Academy’s 20th anniversary, the Academy Orchestra will present a celebratory concert on Saturday, May 30, at 7:30 p.m. The program will bring together more than 300 current and former Academy students. Featured performers will include members of the Kairos String Quartet, violinist Karisa Chiu, and cellist Alexander Hersh. The concert will conclude with a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 by current and former Academy musicians.
Additional details about the anniversary concert will be announced in the coming months.
The Academy has provided comprehensive musical training for nearly two decades, preparing students for professional careers in performance and music education. Alumni of the program have gone on to careers as soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral performers, and educators.
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