Experimental Sound Studio

Next week, NMCP features the Lumina Piano Duo! Hyejin Cho and Jun-Hee Han present a piano four-hands program exploring the spirit of dance across centuries.

Featuring solos and duos by Mike Cornick, Victor Marquez-Barrios, Lowell Liebermann, Jun-Hee Han, and an arrangement of Ravel’s iconic “La Valse”.

Join us at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, September 15 at Experimental Sound Studio, or on our livestream! NMCP concerts are FREE, but donations are encouraged. More info and links in our bio!

Sonic Pavilion Festival 2026 kicks off next weekend, Sept. 12-14! Swipe through to read about each artists’ 24-channel composition, commissioned specifically for playback at Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Free to attend.

Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh’s Palimpsest is an electroacoustic portrait of the steel-working communities that forged America’s industrial might. By recording, processing, and recontextualizing sounds from landmark steel bridges and retired steel mill furnaces in Pittsburgh, the work invites listeners to contemplate the labor, history, and resilience that built the nation. This work connects the Rust Belt’s specific industrial legacy to the broader national experience, framing the Pritzker Pavilion not merely as a concert venue but as a resonance chamber for the beating heart of America.

Courtney Werner and David Henderson (Many Hands) bring the sound and spirit of Appalachian stringband festivals to Sonic Pavilion. Their piece builds off of recordings taken at Clifftop, a fiddle convention that brings together thousands of players in West Virginia each summer. The work celebrates “old time,” a uniquely American musical form that evolved from the blending of European and West African folk traditions as far back as 1736, and the vibrant and tight-knit regional folk music culture that keeps it alive today.

The Chicago Wind Map, conceived and composed by Chicago saxophonists Artie Black and Hunter Diamond (Black Diamond), was created by superimposing the Millenium Park 24-channel speaker map over the neighborhood map of Chicago. Woodwind and brass players from each speaker-neighborhood intersection point were then invited to make recordings in their homes, which were then assembled and arranged by Black Diamond. The result is a quasi-interactive sonic “map” of Chicago’s deep roster of horn-playing musicians.

Sound artist Kikù Hibino and footwork pioneer Traxman transform Chicago footwork into immersive spatial sound across the Pavilion’s 24-channel array — a sonic portrait of a city continually renewed through migration and creative exchange. The collaboration brings together footwork’s living tradition and the experimental practice of a Japanese-born immigran

Mark your calendars! On Oct. 17th, we’re celebrating 40 years of Experimental Sound Studio with a free, all-day anniversary event at our space. Live performances, DJs and other surprises throughout the day; more details to come.

Recently added in the Creative Audio Archive: “FA-015,” an undated performance led by Fred Anderson and jazz singer Maja Rios. Listen now at ESS.org in the Fred Anderson Collection.

“I enjoyed Fred’s Music. It was very challenging, which it still would be. It was all improvisation - as a matter of fact I probably did the most improvising vocally that I ever did with Fred’s band. Because of the nature of the horns, with no chordal instrument, you have a lot of freedom as a vocalist to make up your own melodies. I would start with Fred’s melody, and I would s**t and vocalize whatever came to my mind at that time.

I had a book of African chants, and I thought ‘Why not put them to music?’ So what I would do is write a very short line, and fit the chants to the melody that I wrote. Fred really liked it, and he’d play the melody, and then the whole band would improvise off of these riffs. It was very close to call-and-response, and it was this great stew of improvising.” - Maja Rios, 2026

Tonight (8/18) at ESS! Join us for a special evening presented by New Music Chicago. The +Pan Quartet performs works by 20th and 21st century composers combining piano trio and the unique sounds of the steel pan.

NMCP is free to attend, but donations are encouraged to ensure NMC can continue presenting its members’ work to the maximum of its ability! RSVP required via our website.

That’s a wrap on this OPTION season! This past Sunday, Matt Robidoux and their touch-controlled corn synth system graced us with a delightfully ear-popping performance in the ESS studio; keep your eyes peeled for the full performance video.

ESS’s 40th anniversary celebrations continue with our next sold-out shirt reissue! Available for one week only; preorders end Aug. 19th, ships early Sept. Grab one at the link in bio.

This tee was originally designed for Experimental Sound Studio in 2019 by Lisa Alvarado (Natural Information Society). Lisa selected a fresh new color for the 2026 re-release; the design is printed on a 100% cotton crewneck, with a subtle glitter detail in the purple & a woven ESS 40th logo on the front hem.

About the artist: Lisa Alvarado is a visual artist and musician who works with painting, wall murals, light, sand, sound and musical performance. Alvarado plays harmonium in the group Natural Information Society, using her free-hanging works as mobile stage sets (2010 - ongoing). She was recently the subject of solo exhibitions at The Fabric Workshop (Philadelphia), the Joslyn Museum (Omaha), and The Kitchen (New York); She will be included in the 2026 Counterpublic Triennial, opening September 12 in St. Louis, MO.

Florasonic returns Aug. 23rd - Oct. 11th at Lincoln Park Conservatory. Admission is FREE with advance reservation. Opening reception on Aug. 23rd, 1-4pm.

This year’s multi-channel sound installations celebrate Florasonic’s 25th anniversary, with three newly commissioned works presented in quadraphonic sound by Jenn Grossman, Oskar Thor Arngrimsson (Ótal), and Regina Martinez with Mario V. Martinez. These artists were selected from an open call for proposals; a first in the series’ history, which yielded 145 submissions. All three installations will run recurrently, one at a time, throughout each day in the Conservatory’s Fern Room.

Florasonic was developed by Experimental Sound Studio and has commissioned 47 original works since 2001, making it one of the longest running ongoing sound installation programs in the U.S. For artists, Florasonic offers a valuable public platform to explore new compositional ideas. For the public, ESS and the Chicago Park District provide a unique opportunity to experience some of the most ambitious sound work being created today.

The 2026 Florasonic series is supported by the Paul M. Angell Foundation. Read more about the artists & installations via the link in our bio.

Artists:
Paradise Is a Frequency
Otal
Jenn Grossman