PROGRAM

The 2025-2026 Season is sponsored by the Katherine L. Griem and Anthony G. Montag Charitable Fund in memory of Anthony Montag.

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Section Sponsors:

Tobias Lincoln Tran-Silberstein Woodwind Section

Aaron Heller Azlant Memorial Percussion Section

 

Pre-Concert Talk Sponsors:

Linda Berna

 

1.

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Angel Bat Dawid | Angel Bat Dawid, Clarinet

The Ways of White Folks Clarinet Concerto

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Angel Bat Dawid’s The Ways of White Folks Clarinet Concerto is a structural protest based on Langston Hughes’s 1934 short story collection. Hughes’s text, a cornerstone of the Harlem Renaissance, documents the systemic racism and hypocrisies of white society. Dawid maps these narratives onto the orchestral score to demonstrate that the exclusionary dynamics Hughes identified nearly a century ago remain the active structural blueprints for contemporary classical institutions.

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The work utilizes the traditional three-movement concerto format—a dialogue or contest between a soloist and an ensemble—to represent the Black artist navigating a Eurocentric establishment. Dawid employs the standard Western frameworks of the genre: a first movement in Sonata form, a slower second movement in Ternary form, and a fast third movement in Rondo form. She utilizes these specific structures to show they are not impenetrable or uniquely difficult. While she enjoys the intellectual challenge of these traditional "rules," she uses them as a weapon of protest, mastering the frameworks of the Western canon only to deny their traditional resolution, mirroring the ongoing systemic injustices identified by Hughes. 

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This composition carries an absolute performance mandate: the solo clarinet part is written exclusively for Black clarinetists. This "FUBU" (For Us, By Us) requirement is a strict mandate that applies to all contexts, including professional stages and scholastic juries. It is a corrective measure designed to address the profound underrepresentation of Black wind players in classical music. By requiring the soloist to be Black, the work forces an institutional shift from tokenism toward sustained representation and leadership.

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To establish the work's structural and harmonic strength, Dawid applies the Golden Ratio, to the time domain of the score. Tracing these mathematical proportions back to the ancient geometric traditions of Kemet and the Moors, reclaiming these principles to align the concerto with patterns found in nature. By placing specific harmonic coordinates at these mathematical intervals, Dawid centers her own heritage and voice within the mathematical lineage of the instrument.

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Ultimately, this concerto functions as an "Afrofuturist portal," using the very tools of the Western canon to signal a new territory of Black creative leadership. By combining a mastery of traditional forms with a strict mandate for Black performance, Dawid transforms the concert hall into a space of active systemic intervention. The work does not merely ask for inclusion; it mandates a reality where Black artistry is the central, driving force of the musical narrative.

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2.

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Students of MUSIC Inc.

Drawn Together: Graphic Scores​

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Drawn Together is a set of composition workshops + performance designed to inspire a new generation of composers and new music enthusiasts. This year, CCO partnered with MUSIC Inc., an organization providing free music education to youth on Chicago’s southwest side. 

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Our February workshops were led by Artistic Director Jonathan Hannau, Executive Director Lesley Swanson + CCO musicians. Students learned how to create their very own graphic scores - compositions using non-traditional symbols, drawings and color to represent pitch, tempo and dynamics to make composition accessible by removing the need for traditional music notation. After tonight's concert, our student composers will receive a video recording of the performance to share with family + friends.

 

We are grateful for special funding from Arts Midwest + the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation for helping make this year's project a reality!

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3.

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Igor Santos | Jonathan Hannau, piano

Antiphonals

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Antiphonals, which translates from the Greek as “voice against voice,” unfolds its concept in three ways. First, it presents a dialogue between the voices of piano and the orchestra. Second, it engages the form as a kinda of dialogue, through alternating tableaux. Lastly, and most prominently, it explores a dialogue of harmonic language: the meta-piano (piano + electronics) operates within hybrid microtonal systems that stand in direct contrast to the harmonies of the orchestral sound world.

 

The work is dedicated to pianist and composer Jonathan Hannau, with whom I have enjoyed many collaborations, and to the CCO family, in recognition of their remarkable dedication. I am grateful to have been selected for this commission and to revisit Chicago (!), which was my home base for many years.

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4.

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Ahmed Al Abaca

Hummingbird

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My mother passed away half way through writing this piece. She was a complicated woman who had life long struggles, struggles that made it difficult for us to have balanced relationship. Even with all of that I saw my mother for who she was-a loving, funny, thoughtful, powerful woman. Instead of writing a piece that reflects on her struggles, I really just wanted to honor her by writing something beautiful, fun, engaging and sweet. She would sing “Jesus Loves Me” to me when I was a kid, listen for it-its sometime embedded in the orchestration other times its the main theme. During my mother’s service, my little cousin Robert wrote and recited a beautiful poem title “Hummingbird”-it is the best reflection on who my mother was and how much she meant to him. I felt it to be the perfect title to adopt for this piece. Love you mom.

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About CCO

The Chicago Composers Orchestra presents music by living composers, extending the orchestral tradition to be open and vibrant, to speak to contemporary life and bring diverse people together.

We envision the orchestra as a powerful vehicle for contemporary music, filled with energy and purpose for composers, performers, listeners, and their communities.

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CHICAGO COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA

 

Conductor

Allen Tinkham

 

Violin 1

Katie Klocke* concertmaster

Rebecca Faber

Raquel Gonzalez

Mara Logan

Violin 2   

Noah Jenkins*

Tony Krempa

Eva Nicholson

      

Viola

Traci Huff*

Christina Karakos

Raven Huang

  

Cello

Roxanne Fritton*

Kaitlin Grady

 

Bass

Bradley Modjeski

 

Flute

Lesley Swanson (dbl piccolo)

 

Oboe

Becca Dora

  

Clarinet

Shaun Flynn

 

Bassoon

Randal Dennler

 

Horn

Mitchell Hansen

 

Trumpet

Hamed Barbarji

 

Trombone

Colin Marusek

 

Tuba

Akshat Jain

 

Percussion

Cameron Marquez

 

Piano

Justin Ortez

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*denotes principal

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Support

Thanks to you, we are able to bring orchestral music by living composers to the Chicago community. The CCO is a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization. Support the CCO with a tax deductible at www.chicagocomposersorchestra.org/support. 

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$5,000+

Arts Midwest

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)

Paul M. Angell Family Foundation

 

$1,000-$4,999

Anonymous (2)

Aaron Copland Fund for Music

The Alice M. Ditson Fund

The Amphion Foundation

The Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation

The Katherine L. Griem and Anthony G. Montag Charitable Fund

Kathleen Guarna

Brandon Harrington

Illinois Arts Council Agency

John R. Halligan Charitable Fund

Zana Tran & Aaron Silberstein

Jayne Swanson

 

$500-$999

Randall West

 

$100-$499

Linda Berna

Seth Boustead

Linda Branscome & Mark Marotto

Mathew Corso

Steve Davis

Deb DeVoe

Geoffrey Fichtl

Drew Grein

Paul Johnson

Wyna Liu

Daniel Lory

Jensine Ines Madera

Karen Mommsen

Bruce Oltman

Adrian Randolph & Essi Rönkkö

Kasu & Janet Sista

Mark Taveros

Allen Tinkham Sr. & Beverly Tinkham

Nicole West

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$50-$99

Anonymous (1)

Rebecca Bach

Maggie Bless

Peter Civetta

Cohen & Hacker Architects LLC

Richard Harrington

Grace Healy

Martha Horst

Chris Huff

David Keller

Albert & Amanda Kim

Simon Lach

Ilya Levinson

Kelly Modjeski

Gerald Rizzer

Allyson Swanson

 

$1-$49

Anonymous

Stephen Anderson

Brian Baxter

Aleksandra Ciric

Stephanie Diebel

Rebecca Faber

Emily Harkins-Widen

Christina Karakos

Lynn & John Keller

Katie Klocke

Paul Novak

Justin Ortez

James Schenck

Nicole Zebrowski

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Interested in sponsoring your favorite section, an upcoming concert, or CCO’s season? Contact development@chicagocomposersorchestra.org for details.

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Board of Directors

Brandon Harrington, President

Kathleen Guarna, Secretary

Paul Johnson

David Keller

Caitlin Meeter

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Staff

Lesley Swanson, Executive Director

Jonathan Hannau, Artistic Director

Allen Tinkham, Music Director

Meihui Piao, Administrative Intern

Artistic Fundraising Group, Development

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Board Alumni - Circle of Giving

Rachel Cantzler

Jensine Ines Madera, 32peces Arts & Culture

Dan Lory​

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Contact

General: info@chicagocomposersorchestra.org

Giving: development@chicagocomposersorchestra.org

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Interested in getting involved with CCO? We would love for you to join us whether as volunteer, board member, you name it! Email us at info@chicagocomposersorchestra.org.

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Supporting Organizations

We thank these organizations for their generous support:​​​​