On Wednesday, October 28, Nova Linea Musica welcomes Chicago-born flutist Demarre McGill home to honor one of the defining composers of our time, with four extraordinary artists and a world premiere by Alex Weston.
On January 31, 2027, Philip Glass turns ninety. Few composers have changed the way so many people listen. Through his operas, symphonies, film scores, and decades with the Philip Glass Ensemble, he reached audiences in the opera house, the concert hall, the dance world, film, and popular music at once. His music reshaped how we hear time itself: its patterns, its repetitions, its slow accumulations of beauty.
This fall, Nova Linea Musica marks the milestone with Philip Glass at 90: A Celebration, an evening at 11 E Adams that traces both the intimacy and the expansive reach of Glass’s chamber writing. Nova Linea Musica is among the first in Chicago to honor Philip Glass’s 90th birthday, with a full evening of his chamber music.
McGill was born and raised in Chicago and is principal flute of the Seattle Symphony. He has received the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. His Chicago roots run deep: he and his brother, clarinetist Anthony McGill, returned to the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra to record “Winged Creatures,” with world premieres written for the McGills and the youth orchestra. October 28 brings him back to the city where his music began.
McGill joins cellist Wendy Sutter, one of Glass’s most cherished collaborators and the dedicatee of his solo cello suites Songs and Poems (2007) and Songs and Poems 2 (2022). They are joined by Nova Linea Musica Artistic Director Desirée Ruhstrat, Professor and Head of the Chamber Music Department at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music; Nova Linea Musica Artist-in-Residence Rabia Brooke; and pianist Nathanael Canfield.
The evening also features the world premiere of “Through Philip and Lou” by Alex Weston, commissioned by Nova Linea Musica. Weston’s voice was formed in dialogue with Glass, and his new work extends the lineage of mentorship and influence that has long defined Glass’s life in music. Weston will be in attendance to celebrate the premiere.
The evening offers the complete Nova Linea Musica experience of three points of connection: an intimate chamber concert, a conversation with the artists, and a chef curated reception where the dialogue continues.
Wednesday, October 28 | 6:30 PM concert, 8:00 PM reception
11 E Adams, Chicago
This concert is sold out. To be notified if seats become available, join the waitlist.
