Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra
Part of NUNC! 5 (the Northwestern University New-Music Conference)

Friday, April 21, 2023 at 7:30pm
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
This performance will also be presented as a live stream.
Alan Pierson, conductor
The orchestra opens the first performance of NUNC! 5 with Anna Meredith's frenetic fanfare Nautilus, a work the composer describes as "a sort of call to arms (for myself!)." The program continues with visiting composer Julia Wolfe's Fountain of Youth, commissioned by the New World Symphony and Carnegie Hall and premiered in 2019. Wolfe explains, "My fountain of youth is music, and in this case I offer the orchestra a sassy, rhythmic, high energy swim." The program concludes with Luciano Berio's Sinfonia, perhaps his best-known work. Composed in 1968-69 for the New York Philharmonic's 125th anniversary, Sinfonia was heavily influenced by the sociopolitical tumult of that time period.
Anna Meredith, Nautilus
Julia Wolfe, Fountain of Youth
Luciano Berio, Sinfonia
Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid ID.
Buy TicketsAbout NUNC! 5
April 21-23, 2023
The Institute for New Music’s fifth conference and festival, NUNC! 5, will feature guest composers Julia Wolfe and Alex Temple as well as guest keynote speaker Miki Kaneda (Boston University). Guest ensembles include the New York-based Yarn/Wire, who will present a concert, workshop and master class.
The Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alan Pierson, will open the conference with a performance of Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia alongside Julia Wolfe’s Fountain of Youth and Anna Meredith’s Nautilus. The Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, led by Donald Nally, will give the Midwest premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Letter from Abigail together with David Lang’s the national anthems. The conference will close with a Contemporary Music Ensemble concert conducted by Ben Bolter and Alan Pierson, featuring Julia Wolfe’s Impatience, Alex Temple’s The Man Who Hated Everything and Tania León’s Rítmicas.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Address
50 Arts Cir Dr
Evanston, IL 60208
United States
About
Pick-Staiger is a 989-seat hall located in the Arts Circle on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. The main lobby entrance for concerts is on the west side of the building (revolving and regular doors). Since its inception in 1975, the hall has functioned as both a classroom and performance facility for Bienen School of Music performing ensembles, faculty recitals, festivals, and professional guest artists.