~Nois: Rendezvous Arts

Hailed by Musical America as “the American saxophone quartet du jour,” Chicago’s ~Nois Quartet celebrates its 10th season doing what it does best: pushing four saxophones into places you never expected them to go.

For their Rendezvous Arts debut, ~Nois brings a program as adventurous and versatile as the instrument itself. Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 5 and Paquito d’Rivera’s Wapango bring irresistible rhythmic energy, while a wonderfully unexpected Schumann arrangement reveals an entirely different side of the quartet.

From there, we move firmly into the music of today, with works by Sarah Kirkland Snider, Emma O’Halloran, Augusta Read Thomas, Shelley Washington, and Travis Laplante. These are composers writing with completely different voices, giving ~Nois the chance to move from intimate and atmospheric to playful, explosive, and exhilarating.

Over the past decade, the quartet has premiered more than 120 new works and built a national reputation as an ensemble redefining what the saxophone quartet can be.

Now we get to experience them up close.

Four saxophones. Ten years together. One seriously unexpected hour of music.

Take your preconceptions of ‘noise’ and toss them out the window. Equal parts “fiendishly good and fiendishly goofy” (Chicago Tribune), ~Nois Quartet is a “prolific, charismatic young ensemble that is swiftly becoming the American saxophone quartet du jour” (Musical America). Founded in 2016, the Chicago-based ensemble is dedicated to championing new music for saxophone and building community through innovative, inclusive, and exceptional musical experiences.

~Nois has presented over 200 performances and has “continued to legitimize the saxophone quartet as a premier ensemble formation for classical music” (Brutal New Music). Their performances have spanned 28 states, including invitations to perform at some of the top festivals, concert series, and academic institutions in the nation. The ensemble has also been awarded top prizes at numerous prestigious chamber music competitions including the M-Prize International Arts Competition, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and was once deemed, “Too loud for the Farmers’ Market” (Evanston Local, Illinois 1st Ward Constituent).

At the core of ~Nois’ ethos is a fierce dedication to the commissioning of living composers, leading to over 120 world-premieres to date. The members of ~Nois have had the privilege of working closely with some of the world’s leading voices in composition to create new works for saxophone quartet, including Jessie Montgomery, Nico Muhly, Shawn Okpebholo, and Augusta Read Thomas. ~Nois has had the honor of sharing the stage with some of today’s most prolific ensembles including Third Coast Percussion, Sō Percussion, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the United States Navy Band, and the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

~Nois is Julian Velasco (he/him), Natalia Warthen (she/her), Jordan Lulloff (he/him), and János Csontos (he/him). For more information, please visit www.noisquartet.org.