refracted | mythos
Saturday October 25, 2025 - 7:30pm
St James Cathedral
65 E Huron St | Chicago
PROGRAM
The 2025-2026 Season is sponsored by the Katherine L. Griem and Anthony G. Montag Charitable Fund in memory of Anthony Montag
Section Sponsors:
Tobias Lincoln Tran-Silberstein Woodwind Section
Aaron Heller Azlant Memorial Percussion Section
Pre-Concert Talk Sponsors:
Linda Branscome & Mark Marotto
1.
Star / ghost / mouth / sea
In the beginning of Franny Choi’s book of poetry called Soft Science, the author lists the four keywords—star, ghost, mouth, and sea—that she uses repeatedly throughout the poems in which she explores the themes of identity, technology, gender, and violence, among many. These keywords are used not literally, but metaphorically; “star,” for example, stands for “bright, ancient wound I follow home”; “sea” means “cold ancestor; bloodless womb.”
star / ghost / mouth / sea is a set of four miniatures for orchestra that explore these four metaphors. The miniatures are not literal translations, but my interpretation of Franny’s words. Her poems not only inspired me but comforted me in times when I struggled to make sense of what it means to look like me, to sound like me, and to be me in this world, in this country.
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2.
As the light begins to drift
When I lived in Houston, I loved the the unusual cloud formations that appeared in the vast East Texas sky. As the light begins to drift was inspired by their subtle interplay of light and shadow and their flowing, hazy geometries. The work opens with a burst of swirling texture, with spiraling runs and swells entangling in a chaotic sound world. The brass interjects with jagged, syncopated hits as different instruments emerge from and then vanish into the ensemble. After a spiraling downward run, a plaintive English horn melody is accompanied by a canopy of string harmonics and trills. In the second section, crystalline percussion instruments merge with subtle orchestral textures. A clarinet solo leads into a pulsing triplet ostinato, which is passed throughout the ensemble, growing in intensity until it reaches a furious climax. The work closes gently with the return of the English horn, fading to nothing in a halo of shimmering sounds.
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3.
Sirens
I wrote my orchestra piece Sirens in 2011 as a student and recently revised it for this performance of it by the Chicago Composers Orchestra. In working on the revisions, I found myself wanting to interact with the piece compositionally in ways that involve my more recent musical languages, including using large microtonal sonorities that build on the piece's previously existing sonorities. I've still had in my mind the original mythical inspiration for the piece, but I've also now begun to meld my interpretation of the piece's meaning with newer perspectives, including the concept of sirens as relating to microtonal sonorities that pull me in and the gravity and directionality of each note in those sonorities. Sirens has, for me, changed into something like an answer to its older self. I’m excited about the ways in which the piece has changed and about how this newer version of it connects me to my musical past.
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4.
The Quick and the Dead
The phrase “the quick and the dead” appears a few times in the Christian tradition, most notably the Nicene and Apostle’s Creeds, both referring to the belief that Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and those who have already died.
Of course, modern English speakers usually equate the word “quick” to mean the same as “fast” or “brief” as opposed to this antiquated usage meaning “living” or “alive.” Thus, a double meaning may form, that life is brief and fleeting, and that death may be unexpected, but is indeed inevitable.
The Quick and the Dead is essentially a fantasia on the Dies Irae chant, which of course speaks of the 1inal judgment and the end of the world in the Christian faith. The work alternates between quick and lively gestures to static and lifeless ones, musically portraying the dichotomy between life and death. The Quick and the Dead was written for the Helix New Music Ensemble at Rutgers University.
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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
Yulia Price
Viola
Traci Huff*
Christina Karakos
Raven Huang
Cello
Meghan Lyda*
Roxanne Fritton
Bass
Bradley Modjeski
Flute
Lesley Swanson (dbl piccolo)
Oboe
Becca Dora
Clarinet
Shaun Flynn
Bassoon
Randal Dennler
Alto Saxophone
Amos Gillespie
Horn
Stephanie Diebel
Trumpet
Kai-Chun Chang
Trombone
Kevan Feyzi
Tuba
Juan Peinado
Percussion
Cameron Marquez*
Socrates Hwang
Piano
Justin Ortez
*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.
$5,000+
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
Illinois Arts Council Agency
The Katherine L. Griem and Anthony G. Montag Charitable Fund
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
$1,000-$4,999
Anonymous
The Amphion Foundation
Aaron Copland Fund for Music
The Alice M. Ditson Fund
The Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation
Kathleen Guarna
Brandon Harrington
New Music USA
Zana Tran & Aaron Silberstein
Jayne Swanson
$500-$999
Paul Marusek
Randall West
$100-$499
Anonymous
Stephen Anderson
Geoffrey Fichtl
Katherine Griem
N. Alexandra Hannau
Grace Healy
Jane Heron
Paul Johnson
Wayne Kumingo & Michael LaFauce
McLeod-Lory Charitable Fund
Daniel Lory
Josette Lory
Andrew Lyon
Jensine Ines Madera
Caitlin Meeter
Karen Mommsen
Bruce Oltman
Essi Ronkko
James Schenck
Beverly Tinkham
Nikkie West
$50-$99
Peter Civetta
Cohen & Hacker Architects LLC
Deb DeVoe
Chris Huff
Jennifer Johnson
Paul Johnson
David Keller
Albert & Amanda Kim
Hyunbin Lee
Ilya Levinson
Annabel Lucas
Shaun Marusek
Bradley Modjeski
Kelly Modjeski
Joel Mulder
Paul Novak
Gerald Rizzer
Allyson Swanson
Kate Hadley Toftness
$1-$49
Anonymous (2)
Erica Binelli
Kristin Brostrom
Aleksandra Ciric
Camille Ellison
Lauren Hayes
Meghan Jankovich
Lynn & John Keller
Robert Rand
Alessandro Tenorio-Bucci
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
Staff
Lesley Swanson, Executive Director
Jonathan Hannau, Artistic Director
Allen Tinkham, Music Director
Meihui Piao, Administrative Intern
Artistic Fundraising Group, Development
Board Alumni - Circle of Giving
Rachel Cantzler
Jensine Ines Madera, 32peces Arts & Culture
Dan Lory
Contact
General: info@chicagocomposersorchestra.org
Giving: development@chicagocomposersorchestra.org
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:
