20th Anniversary of Dal Niente

Ensemble Dal Niente celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a three-concert series. The opening concert, part of Chicago’s Frequency Festival, features a world premiere by Lei Liang for two sopranos and mixed ensemble, commissioned with support from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University. Built from oceanic acoustic data, the piece reflects Liang’s research into underwater soundscapes “from the birth of Arctic ice to the social calls of beluga whales and the echolocations of diverse marine mammals.” Works by Chaya Czernowin, Tania León, and Helmut Lachenmann are also included on the program.

The second event brings Dal Niente together with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians to perform George Lewis’s Artificial Life 2007 and Roscoe Mitchell’s Cards, two structured improvisations performed collectively by twelve musicians. The series concludes with PARTY, the ensemble’s non-traditional, multi-set concert launched in 2012. This year’s edition includes premieres by Tomás Gueglio—continuing his “murmur” cycle for two sopranos and ensemble—and by Santiago Diez Fischer, whose new chamber concerto for pianist Mabel Kwan blends instrumental writing with the sonic and theatrical possibilities of everyday objects.

This concert series is supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further Information:
dalniente.com

Dates

February 27, 2026
Constellation, Chicago

March 28, 2026
Elastic Arts, Chicago

May 16, 2026
Hairpin Center for the Arts, Chicago