picture whimsies
thursday, may 8th, 2025, 8pm
fulton street collective
1821 w. hubbard street
fulton street collective
1821 w. hubbard street
mycelium new music presents a performance which explores connections between music and poetry. The program centers the premiere of a new version of Bobby Ge's Picture Whimsies, which celebrates the intersection of visual art and music, paired with readings by Chicago-based poets. The performance will also feature works by Chicago-based composer Ania Vu and ensemble members Paul Novak and Jonathan Hannau.
program
a diagnosis for two sopranos and sextet - Paul Novak (preview)
Isolated Houses for sextet - Jonathan Hannau
Strange Birds for soprano and sextet - Ania Vu
Picture Whimsies for sextet - Bobby Ge (premiere of new version)
w/ readings by Chicago-based poets TBD
program
a diagnosis for two sopranos and sextet - Paul Novak (preview)
Isolated Houses for sextet - Jonathan Hannau
Strange Birds for soprano and sextet - Ania Vu
Picture Whimsies for sextet - Bobby Ge (premiere of new version)
w/ readings by Chicago-based poets TBD
tickets will be available in the spring
composers
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Bobby Ge is a Chinese-American composer and avid collaborator whose work, often collaborative in nature, focuses on themes of home, communication, and hybridity. Winner of the 2022 Barlow Prize, Ge has received commissions and performances by groups including the Minnesota Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the U.S. Navy Band, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, the Sioux City Symphony, Music from Copland House, the Bergamot, Tesla, and JACK Quartets, and Mind on Fire. He has created multimedia projects with the Space Telescope Science Institute, painters collective Art10Baltimore, the Cape May Bird Festival, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D at Princeton University, and holds degrees from UCBerkeley and the Peabody Conservatory.
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The "spellbinding" (Washington Post) music of Chicago-based composer/flutist Paul Novak immerses listeners in shimmering and subtly crafted musical worlds full of color, motion, light, and magic. His recent projects engage with dreams and memory, queer identity, climate change and the natural world, and psychosomatic illness. Novak’s recent commissions include projects with American Composers Orchestra, Balourdet Quartet, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Kinetic; other recent collaborators include the Austin Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Reno Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and DanceWorks Chicago. He has received awards from the Barlow Endowment, ASCAP, BMI, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and more. Originally from Reno, NV, he completed his undergraduate studies at Rice University, and is a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago.
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Ania Vu, a Polish-Vietnamese composer and pianist, delves into the intersection of sound, meaning, and energy in her music. Her compositions often feature her own text as a guide, weaving sonic and expressive narratives. Noteworthy premieres, like "small tenderness" at Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music, have earned acclaim for their artful vocal writing and rich textures. Recognized by esteemed institutions such as ASCAP, Tanglewood, and the American Opera Project, Ania has received fellowships and recognition for her innovative approach to music. She has held prestigious positions, including a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Chicago's Center for Contemporary Composition and a composer fellow with the Composers & the Voice. Ania earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.M. from the Eastman School of Music. She has lectured in composition at the University of Texas at Austin and currently holds a lecturing position at the University of Chicago.
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Jonathan Hannau is a Chicago-based composer and pianist devoted to the surreal, minimal, abstract, and colorful possibilities of music. He actively embraces eclecticism and explores concepts of narrative, drama, and stark expression by evoking a kaleidoscopic range of timbres. A regular collaborator, he has performed most notably with Ensemble Dal Niente, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and the Chicago Wind Symphony, along with numerous artists throughout the city of Chicago and abroad. In early 2024 he made his Chicago classical music radio debut on WFMT (98.7) with violinist Hannah Christiansen. He is one half of the piano-percussion duo Flannau Duo, and is also the pianist in the newly formed chamber ensemble Mycelium New Music which will debut in 2024-2025. He looks forward to continuing his role as Associate Artistic Director of the Chicago Composers Orchestra.
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