Fulcrum Point New Music Project  presents
Urban Classical Funk: A World Turned Upside-down
Nichols Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago, Evanston

Green Sky
Madison Anglin (2024)

Brass Quintet
Ed Bland (1980)

Eucalyptus
Randall Woolf (2001)

Brass Quintet
Alvin Etler (1966)

Stephen Burns, Rebecca Oliverio, trumpets

Momo Hasselbring Seko, French horn 

Robyn Smith, trombone

Kevin Harrison, tuba

A concert featuring virtuoso brass music by 3 generations of Minimalist, Modern, Thirds Stream, and Post-Modern composers reflecting upon the topsy-turvy, social dynamics of our time. Nichols Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago in Evanston.

About the Artists

The Pyrenean String Quartet was founded in July of 2020 during the pandemic. They found comfort together as a "pod" making music during this challenging time by exploring works in depth while isolated from most of their other musical  colleagues, friends and family. Throughout the pandemic they performed, live streamed and recorded a number of traditional and contemporary string quartets for Chicago arts organizations including the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the Chicago Philharmonic. These projects were primarily fund raisers for fellow musicians in need. In 2021 they celebrated Adolphus Hailstork's 80th birthday by performing his first string quartet for him via a Youtube live streaming concert. They were featured at New Music Chicago's Impromptu Fest performing Eleanor Alberga's String Quartet No 3 and later that year recorded a new string quartet called Chants and Antiphons by Lawrence Axelrod for his latest CD.

Group members have participated in workshops and master classes with student and professional composers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago, Merit School of Music, Northeastern Illinois University, DePaul University, Bowling Green University and also under the auspices of Fulcrum Point New Music Project's Discovery series and Picosa.

Stephen Burns, trumpet 


Pyrenean String Quartet

Kate Carter & Rika Seko, violins
Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff, viola
Paula Kosower, violoncello


Special Guests from the Music Institute of Chicago 

Porphyrion String Quartet

Mingshi Xia & Sasha Varchenko, violins

Neena Agrawal, viola
Simon Updegraff, violoncello


Works by Takemitsu, Haas, Balter, Fung, and Al-Zand


General Admission $20
Students $10 (w/student ID)

Click Here for Tickets




NOTE: Individuals with special needs, disabilities, visual, mobility, and speech impairments, and/or are who are deaf and hard of hearing, may contact us at info@fulcrumpoint.org for further assistance.

Discoveries Auxin: Connected: Julián Pujols Quall

“This concert pulls from the work IRCAM has invited me to research at the end of 2025. We will be playing through-composed text-based free-improv and examining the limits that our linguistic skills can be put to musical use.” — Julián Pujols Quall

This 90-minute intermedia program, curated by Julián Pujols Quall, explores the sociological roots of ghost stories in collaboration with scat vocalist Lorin Benedict, experimental electronic musician Qiujiang Levi Lu, and poet/writer Sabrina Alsaffar. The artists will develop the elements and attributes of 3 characters, weaving a narrative in real time, while engaging with the audience in an investigation of the artists’ inspiration, sources, and creative process. 


Discoveries Auxin: Connected: 

Julián Pujols Quall, Curator, pianist, composer
Lorin Benedict, Vocalist 
Qiujiang Lu, Electronics
Sabrina Alsaffar, Poet 

Tickets
- sold at door -

General Admission $20
Students $10 (w/student ID)

Dive into compositions by five composers whose archives consisting of sheet music, photos,

letters, and more reside in the Center for Black Music Research. The goal of this concert, and

possible future collaborations with the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR), is to educate

and inspire audiences through the works and stories of Black composers whose legacies are

preserved within the CBMR's archives. Many of these composers remain largely unknown, even

to musicians who could greatly benefit from their works and stories. By performing these

compositions, sharing their narratives, and celebrating their achievements, I hope to ensure

their continued recognition and performance for future generations. Additionally, I aim to

highlight the invaluable presence of the CBMR within the city of Chicago and raise awareness of

this hidden gem.




Musicians: 

Caitlin Edwards, Violin

Khelsey Zarraga, Violin 

Josef Fischer, Viola 

Tahirah Whittington, Cello   

Daniel Schlosberg, Piano 

Repertoire: (in no particular order)

Zenobia Powell-Perry - Excursion for Piano trio

Talib Rasul Hakim- Currents for string quartet

George Walker- Music for 3. (violin, cello, piano)

Lettie Beckon Alston- Memories for piano trio

Dorothy Rudd Moore- Modes for String Quartet

Works for Organ and Trumpet
Fourth Presbyterian Church, Sanctuary



Dr. Douglas Cleveland (organ)

Featuring
Fulcrum Point New Music Project 
Stephen Burns (trumpet)
Hamed Barbari (trumpet/flugelhorn)



Pre-concert meet & greet for Friends of Music members from 5:30-6:30 PM (RSVP required)

December 17, 2024  
7pm  Buchanan Chapel at Fourth Presbyterian Church 
126 E Chestnut St, Chicago, IL 60611

This music is our  response to the violent repression the government executed against civilian protesters, repression that costed lives and the continuous violation of human rights. With longing of times of peace and prosperity, the piece engages with dream-like sections in which a color-saturated imagery of a perfect future is tinted with crispy dissonances. — Carolina Heredia

They bury their dead with great ululations               Osnat Netzer 

Ius in Bello                                                               Carolina Heredia

Mioritza: Requiem for Rachel Corrie                     Alice Shields 

Lamentation on the Disasters of War                        Karim Al-Zand 

Lo Yisa Goy                                                       Stacy Garrop 

Pianist and AuxIn: Connected co-curator Angelo Hart is back with a talented quartet of musicians. This November 20th at Elastic Arts come take part in Conversations: A Night of Community, Belonging, and Connection. This performance promises to be an evening of communion, exchange, and gratitude for the gift that music is and the space art creates to hear one another. The musicians will engage the audience and each other in an exercise of active listening as they push to create new sonic pallets and improvisational brilliance. We hope to see you there.

- Performers -

Angelo Hart on piano
John Sutton on Bass
Clif Wallace on Drums
Mai Sugimoto on alto, flute and percussion

Co-curator Dalia Chin


- PERFORMERS -

Fulcrum Point New Music Project

Ben Bolter, Guest Conductor

Stephen Burns, Artistic Director and trumpet

Ed Harrison, maracas soloist

Diana Lopez, trumpet soloist

Rachel Castellanos, trombone

Jeremy Ruthrauff, soprano sax

Andrew Lawrence, piano

Paul Mutzabaugh, electric bass

Fonema Consort

Accordion, Julia Williams

Soprano, Nathalie Colas

Flute, Dalia Chin

Guitar, Sam Rowe

David Cubek, conductor

Beyond This Point

John Corkill, percussion

Adam Rosenblatt, percussion


LOCATION
Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (SRBCC)
4048 West Armitage Avenue
Chicago, IL, 60639 United States

Celebrate an extraordinary evening of music and collaboration at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center. Join us for a unique performance where Fulcrum Point, Fonema Consort, and Beyond This Point come together for a night of unforgettable music honoring the life and work of Javier Álvarez.

TICKETS
This event is FREE to the public.
Fulcrum Point is accepting $20 suggested donations (Donation not required for admission).

This concert is a calling for the voice of spirits in a ritualistic tone to remember Álvarez’s legacy.

Meditations: Reflections on John Coltrane

Curated by Angelo Hart, piano

with

Greg Artry, drums
Sarah Clausen, saxophone/bass clarinet
Hunter Diamond,  electronics/sax
Marion Mallard,  bass

*** Tickets Sold At Door ***

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID

Performers

Shi-An Costello, piano
Stephen Burns, trumpet

Program will feature works by

Paul Hindemith

Viet Cuong

Toru Takemitsu

Igor Santos

Sômei Satoh

Shi-An Co

Leonard Bernstein

“Music for Trumpets and Trees” by Dick Higgins

What would it sound like if you could hear the visual patterns of the world, not the sounds of the wind or waves or a city street – that’s John Cage’s idea for 4’33” of ‘silence’ -- but the lines, colors and shapes, as if they were the notes? Music for Trumpets and Trees ( 1976) by seminal Fluxus Artist/Composer Dick Higgins, uses graphic notation as a guide for a group improvisation. What does the soft edge of a cloud sound like? Does a blue sky sound blue? How about the jagged edge of a leaf? A solid tree trunk? What about playing trees, or playing in trees? How about trumpets in trees?

Echoes from the Archives: Celebrating Composers from the Center for Black Music Research

Curated by
Caitlin Edwards
Rob McKay, Host

Date: July 25th at 7PM

Join us July 25th for a concert celebrating the works and lives of composers from the archives of the Center for Black Music Research. 

Featuring works by: Irene Britton Smith, Frederick J Work, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Coleridge Taylor Perkinson. 

Musicians:

Caitlin Edwards 

Khelsey Zarraga

Wilfred Farquharson 

Lindsey Sharpe

Student $10
Gen. Admission $20

Angelo Hart Album Preview

Constellation Chicago
3111 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

Event Date: June 13, 2024

Show Time: 8:30pm

Doors Open: 8:00pm

Set Length: Minimum two (2) 40-minute sets

Ticket Price: $15


Musicians:

Angelo Hart- Piano

Tomasso Moretti- Drums

Jake Wark-Sax

Ben Dillinger-Bass


“I am very excited to be presenting some new music with such great musicians! This night is all about digging into our creative wells to create a memorable experience for everyone involved. This is an album preview. I had a different idea ahead of my next album. Instead of creating the music alone, I am getting some of my favorite musicians together in a sort of think tank . The idea is to keep the creative process as organic as possible, while keeping the creative direction open to endless possibilities. Then I take what we come up with into the studio and build off of it. I am so thrilled to have a live audience in the process!” — Angelo Hart

Program Title
"Josh Henderson's One More Night"
85 min. set with 9-piece ensemble

7:30 Doors
8pm Show
$15 Suggest Donation
FREE PARKING


Description

A Tour de force evening-length performance piece created by multi-instrumentalist Josh Henderson and inspired by "The Day the Music Died" and Rock & Roll Legends - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson - One More Night is a musical odyssey that takes the audience from the Blues to experimental Opera to Punk Rock with metaphysical pit stops along the way exploring this grand journey of life that we're all on together. Henderson is joined by an All-Star band featuring Sylver Wallace (Voice), Caroline Davis (Alto Sax), Brendon Randall-Myers (Electric Guitar), Rick Martinez (Drums), and The Desdemona String Quartet.



Bios

The One More Night Band is a special collaborative performance project that brings together a diverse group of artistic powerhouses who in their own rights are faculty members at various colleges and universities, have been profiled by the New York Times and other publications, and are recipients of numerous awards and honors in their field.



The Ensemble

Josh Henderson - Composer, Violin/Viola, Electric/Synth Bass

Desdemona - String Quartet

Caroline Drexler (violin)
Rose Kow Xiu Yi (violin)
Kayla Williams (viola)
Julia Henderson (cello)

Caroline Davis - Alto Sax

Rick Martinez - Drum Set

Brendon Randall-Myers - Electric Guitar

Danielle McKnight - Vocalist

Gen. Admission: $30/Student $15

"Espirales" is a dynamic new quintet of Gold Medal Awarded Cuban musicians who perform new art music bridging jazz, classical, and Cuban popular music. Its members (Tania Haase, Olivia Rodríguez, Alejandro Aguiar, Jesús Estrada and Rodrigo García) have extensive national and international experience in multiple genres, giving "Espirales" a unique style in the panorama of current Cuban music. This year they have been featured at the prestigious "Cuban International Jazz Plaza Festival" and the "Havana Clásica Music Festival" among others. Their first tour of the USA will bring them to Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. 

Don’t miss these exciting emerging artists! 

Come discover the coolest of new art music in our ongoing collaboration between trumpeter Stephen Burns, Fulcrum Point New Music Project and ~Nois Saxophone Quartet. Featuring the World Premiere of Shawn Okpepholo’s “Black Music”, which in the composer’s words… “embraces and captures elements of Black artistry, experience, and joy” this concert invokes the horn lines of Motown and the improvisations of Hard Bop in Scott Johnson’s “Raised By Wolves”.

Raised By Wolves    Scott Johnson 

Black Music  Shawn Okpebholo (World Premiere)

One Tree, Many Branches

Presents

Fulcrum Point New Music Project

Stephen Burns, Artistic Director

Brass Fantasy

Colchester Fantasy                  Eric Ewazen

         The Rose and The Crown

         The Marquis of Granby

         The Dragoon

         The Red Lion

Brass Quintet #1                      Jorge Amado

         Adagio

Moderato Grazioso

Drammatico – Allegro Vivace

Brass Knuckles                                Mischa Zupko

         Sucker Punch

         Shadow Boxing 

Stephen Burns & Rebecca Oliverio, trumpet

Momoko Hasselbring Seko, French horn

Robyn Smith, trombone

Kevin Harrison, tuba

EVENT DETAILS:

Fulcrum Point New Music Project 25th Annual Concert for Peace: Border Crossings

Doors: 5PM for Golden Hour 

Showtime: 7:30PM 

Tickets: $30 - General Admission | $80 - VIP table for 2 | $160 - VIP table for 4 | $15 - Student

‘Service charges apply to ALL ticket purchases (online and box office)’ - Credit card only at door

The purchase of a VIP table for 2 or 4 includes an exclusive invitation to the post-concert meet and greet reception. 



AGE REQUIREMENT:

Must be 21+


ABOUT:

Take our musical journey of new art music from minimalism to Negro Spirituals. Featuring the exquisite soprano Joelle Lamarre with the Fulcrum Point String Orchestra, this concert takes us on a sonic adventure from Sômei Satoh’s Zen-inspired “Toward the Night” through Brit Rocker Steve Martland’s “Crossing the Border” leading us to Tania León’s “Green Pastures” and Jessie Montgomerie’s “5 Freedom Songs”

Stephen Burns, Artistic Director

Joelle Lamarre, soprano

Five Freedom Songs             Jessie Montgomery

Toward the Night                    Sômei Satoh

Green Pastures                       Tania León

Crossing the Border              Steve Martland

Chicago Humanities Festival Presents - Experience the Midwest premiere of “The Melodic Version (1984) of The Second Dream of The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer from The Four Dreams of China (1962) in Dream Light" by legendary minimalist artists La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela—This transformative work, performed by Fulcrum Point (led by Stephen Burns and Ben Neill), bathes the audience in magenta light while the tones from 8 muted trumpets flood the space.

Join Fulcrum Point and The Chicago Humanities Festival for a wholly unique experience that will transport you into the sonorous and luminous minds of these singular, creative artists.

Performers
Stephen Burns, Ben Neill, Nicolas Bejarano, C.J. Camerieri
Joe Drew, Rob Frear, Jim O’Connor, John Charles Thomas
La Monte Young Artistic Representative
Jung Hee Choi

In a time of division, polarity, and isolation, being connected is essential! Fulcrum Point New Music Project partners with The Bridge in curating a soulful, immersive musical experience in The Sanctuary of Epiphany Arts. Tapping into their intuitive creativity these internationally acclaimed musicians explore blues, jazz, electronics, and free-improv in a communal expression of curiosity, collaboration and joy. This one-time confluence of artists is not to be missed!

Fulcrum Point & The Bridge 

Creative Intuitive Music 

Epiphany Arts: Sanctuary

210 S Ashland Ave, Chicago

November 9, 2023

7:30 p.m.

featuring

Fulcrum Point: 

Co-Curator of AuxIn: Connected Angelo Hart, piano; 

Marion Mallard, bass; Corey Wilkes, trumpet

&

Bridge Artists:

Quentin Biardeau, sax & synths and Étienne Ziemniak, drums 

With special guest

Françoise Dô, poet

Fulcrum Point New Music Project has been invited to participate in this year’s Pegasus Awards. The Pegasus Awards are hosted annually by the Poetry Foundation and are among some of the most prestigious award given in American poetry. Fulcrum Point’s contribution to the celebratory night will include performances by the following:


Dalia Chin-flute & co-curator

Constance Volk - flute

Caitlin Edwards - violin & co-curator

Julimar Gonzalez - violin

Wilfred Farquharson - viola 

Lindsey Sharpe - cello

For more information please contact: info@poetryfoundation.org

Fulcrum Point Presents: Fernanda Navarro- Premiere of Reflex on Wednesday October 18th!

Fernanda Aoki Navarro is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music, developing concert music, intermedia works, performance art and installations. She is interested in sound, in the idiosyncratic relationship between the corporeality of the performers and the physicality of their instruments, in the exploration between music and language, the use and misuse of technology, and in the transformational power that experimental music can exert on issues related to feminism and social otherness.

Her music has been performed nationally and internationally by soloists and ensembles such as NY Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea, Yarn/Wire, Fonema Consort, Gnarwhallaby, Platypus, Nadar, among others. Her works have been featured at festivals such as June in Buffalo, Banff music festival, Domaine Forget, Festival Internacional de Campos do Jordão, New Music Gathering, Visiones Sonoras, MATA, SEAMUS, NYC Electronic Music Festival, Darmstadt Summer Festival and others.

LINEUP:
Stephen Burns, trumpet/flugelhorn; Diana Lopez, trumpet; Julia Bentley, mezzo soprano; Rika Seko, violin; Sara Dailey, mezzo soprano

PROGRAM:

Lejanía: Ricardo Lorenz; Stephen Burns, trumpet/flugelhorn; Diana Lopez, trumpet

Folk Songs:

Luciano Berio; Sara Dailey, mezzo soprano

Déjate Caer:
Carolina Heredia; Rika Seko, violin

Reflex, Fernanda Aoki Navarro (World Premiere):
Julia Bentley, mezzo soprano

Music for Trumpets and Trees by Dick Higgins (1:30pm on North side of The Cloud Gate sculpture)

What would it sound like if you could hear the visual patterns of the world, not the sounds of the wind or waves or a city street – that’s John Cage’s idea for 4’33” of ‘silence’ -- but the lines, colors and shapes, as if they were the notes? Music for Trumpets and Trees ( 1976) by seminal Fluxus Artist/Composer Dick Higgins, uses graphic notation as a guide for a group improvisation. What does the soft edge of a cloud sound like? Does a blue sky sound blue? How about the jagged edge of a leaf? A solid tree trunk? What about playing trees, or playing in trees? How about trumpets in trees?

Josh Berman, cornet

Stephen Burns, trumpet

Ben Lamar Gay, cornet

Chad McCullough, trumpet

Corey Wilkes, trumpet

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman by Joan Tower (6pm open the concert on Pritzker Stage, Millennium Park)

Joan Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman #5” (1993), features four trumpets in pairs exploring the trumpet's heroic, melodic and virtuosic character. The 4-minute work opens with a lone, laconic trumpet answered by others. The work gains momentum and new rhythmic impetus, only to return temporarily to its former, quieter nature. In the last quarter of the work, the “Fanfare” truly lives up to its name, releasing radiant, joyous, poly-tonal salvos of joy.

Burns, trumpet

William Denton, trumpet

Diana Lopez, trumpet

Rebecca Oliverio, trumpet


To enhance your festival experience, you can purchase a Producer's Pass. Click HERE for more.

Tickets for this event can be purchased at: https://seetickets.us/fulcrumnoisjul16

A collaboration of improvisation provided by musicians and soundscapes. During this program, we will use sound art/soundscapes as a foundation to build impromptu and meaningful compositions. The mixed media aspect will provide a different level of creative intensity. The key will be for all musicians to actively be listening, as if in conversation with one another. This will showcase the organic and living nature of the music. 

Curated by Angelo Hart - piano
Hunter Diamond- saxophones/electronics/percussion
Marion Mallard - Bass

Tickets purchased on the Epiphany Center for the Arts’ website (LINK)

Alonso Quijano, AKA Don Quijote, in Miguel de Cervants’ novel plots against the intruders that are invading La Mancha. His otherworldly impetus and strong will sends him off into a lost cause endangering himself greatly. WINDMILLS is a program that pays tribute to all the real-life "Alonso Quijanos" that choose to dedicate their most valuable efforts to creating new works of music, often fighting all sorts of adversities, from financial hardships to biased public exposure and personal vulnerability. From Quijote Duo, we want to recognize and celebrate the courage and drive composers display in venturing themselves into sharing their gifts with the world so us performers and listeners can keep enjoying the thrill of new music.


Tickets can be purchased on the Epiphany Center for the Arts website: https://epiphanychi.com/events/fulcrum-point-new-music-project/

Save the date!

International Trumpet Virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger joins Fulcrum Point New Music Project Artistic Director Stephen Burns, CSO Principal Trumpeter Esteban Batallán, Lyric Opera’s Rebecca Oliverio with DePaul Faculty member Paul Lowry in a program of dazzling trumpet solos, duos, trios, quartets, and Trumpet Ensembles.

Tickets can be purchased on the DePaul School of Music website

Fulcrum Point New Music Project presents our 24th Annual Concert for Peace with the American Premiere of Dutch avant-pop composer JacobTV's The Freedom Songs.

In autumn 2021, Fulcrum Point's Stephen Burns, Steve Roberts and special guest Cynthia Yeh traveled to the Netherlands to join composer Jacob TV for a European tour of The Freedom Songs.

Now JacobTV travels to Chicago to join us for our Annual Concert for Peace, originally scheduled for 2021 but postponed due to Covid travel restrictions.

The Freedom Songs is JacobTV’s multi-media ode to freedom is inspired by the words of The Buddha, Fannie Lou Hamer, MLK, Malcom X, Hegel and others. Composed 75 years after Europe’s liberation from fascism the oratorio takes FDR’s Four Freedoms speech and expands them in a 75’ electroacoustic tone bath with video.

Stephen Burns, flugelhorn/trumpet; Steve Roberts, electric guitar; Cheryl Wilson, voice; Cynthia Yeh, percussion.

Click this button for the complete program notes, including song titles, lyrics, and artist biographies.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project and The Bridge, a Transatlantic Network for Jazz and Creative Music, present their second collaboration of 2022. Join us as we bring together creative improvisors from France and Chicago for a unique, one-time only concert event.

Eight brilliant improvisors in two sets of spontaneous musical creativity in the awesome acoustic space of the Sanctuary at Epiphany Center for the Arts.

Featuring Christian Dillingham, bass; Gaspar Claus, cello; Carmani Edwards, bass; Angelo Hart, piano; Gerrit Hatcher tenor sax; Erwan Keravec, bagpipes; Chad McCullough, trumpet; with Marvin Tate, voice.

The Bridge is a transatlantic organization that associates nearly 150 French and North American musicians divided into quartets and quintets. This long list respects the sociological diversity of the jazz field: men and women of all generations and backgrounds, who will be brought together, one after another, configuration after configuration. And its aesthetic diversity: music as a means of expression and as a means of experimentation, music as a domain of possibility. All of them show invaluable capacities to share their knowledge and craft, both on- and off-stage.