GRAMMY Award-winning Third Coast Percussion with a World Premiere work by JaRon Brown Wednesday, February 25 at Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall;
then NLM Resident Artists with two World Premieres by GRAMMY Award-winning composers Jennifer Higdon and Michelle Barzel Ross Wednesday, March 11 at Guarneri Hall
CHICAGO, IL (January 22, 2026) Nova Linea Musica (NLM), an innovative local chamber music series and new-music incubator, continues its second season this February and March with two varied concerts exploring the broad range of contemporary chamber music. As with all NLM concerts, both feature at least one NLM-commissioned world premiere. First, the Chicago based, GRAMMY-Award-winning percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion will present The Drum Also Sings featuring and this too, shall pass an NLM-commissioned world premiere by JaRon Brown on Wednesday, February 25 at Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall 38 S Peoria St. The following month, Nova Linea Musica Resident Artists violinist Rabia Brooke and violist Sam Rosenthal with pianists Nathaneal Canfield and Tamila Salimdjanova perform a program titled Beyond The Art of Measures featuring two NLM-commissioned world premieres- Art Measures by three time GRAMMY-Award winning composer Jennifer Higdon and a work by GRAMMY-Award winner Michelle Barzel Ross on Wednesday, March 11 at Guarneri Hall 11 E Adams St.
Like all NLM concerts, both The Drum Also Sings and Beyond The Art of Measures will begin at 6:30 p.m., enhanced with a pre-concert panel discussion at 5:45 p.m. and a catered post-concert reception where audiences can mingle with artists. Single tickets are $40 (with a limited number of discounted student tickets available) and include access to both the pre- and post-concert events. Tickets are now available at novalineamusica.org.
The Drum Also Sings will mark NLM’s first partnership with Merit School of Music – a nonprofit with a mission of removing barriers to high-quality music education for Chicago area youth from a wide range of backgrounds. In support of this mission, and NLM’s own goals to elevate the next generation of musicians, NLM will give away fifty free tickets to Merit students for this concert.
“These two concerts exemplify artistic excellence,” said NLM Artistic Director Desirée Ruhstrat. “Both programs bring together GRAMMY recognized artists and composers whose work is shaping the future of contemporary music. We are thrilled to partner once again with outstanding performers and creators, including Jennifer Higdon—one of the most celebrated American composers today—and the extraordinary musicians of Third Coast Percussion.”
“Presenting The Drum Also Sings at Merit School of Music marks an exciting new chapter for NLM,” said NLM Founder & Executive Director Michele Mohammadi. “By presenting this concert at Merit, we can foster meaningful dialogue between Third Coast Percussion and young musicians in a setting that encourages genuine connection and artistic curiosity. We believe that the music shaping the future of our art form should be heard, experienced, and sparked in spaces where young musicians are already active. We look forward to this new partnership, and to returning to Guarneri Hall for Beyond the Art of Measures as we continue championing artists and composers through adventurous new work.”
Program details for Nova Linea Musica concerts held at Guarneri Hall:
Third Coast Percussion: The Drum Also Sings
World Premiere by JaRon Brown
February 25, 2026 at Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall
Grammy Award-winning Third Coast Percussion, praised by BBC Music Magazine for “impressively combining creative fearlessness with reverent precision,” presents The Drum Also Sings, an evening that celebrates the boundless possibilities of rhythm and sound where percussion not only pulses - it sings. The Drum Also Sings features the world premiere of NLM-commissioned and this too, shall pass by JaRon Brown, along with premieres and recent works by today’s leading composers. The program also includes a new piece by TCP ensemble member Robert Dillon, Andrea Venet’s electrifying Bulldog, Ivan Trevino’s luminous Watercolor Sun, and Jessie Montgomery’s striking Study No. 1, Jlin’s driving Derivative, Alexis Lam’s evocative Matters / Mind, and culminates in Steve Reich’s iconic Music for Pieces of Wood.
Third Coast Percussion is made up of David Skidmore, Robert Dillion, Peter Martin, and Sean Conners
NLM Artists in Residence: Beyond the Art of Measures
World Premieres by Jennifer Higdon and Michelle Barzel Ross
March 11, 2026 at Guarneri Hall
Nova Linea Musica’s Artist-in-Residence series continues with Beyond the Art of Measures, an evening that celebrates the artistic journey from idea to realization. Violinist Rabia Brooke and pianist Nathaneal Canfield give the world premiere of Art Measures for Violin and Piano, a Nova Linea Musica commission by Jennifer Higdon, one of America’s most acclaimed composers and a three-time GRAMMY Award and Pulitzer Prize winner. The work traces the evolution of a creative idea—from the first spark of inspiration through the shaping and refinement of form—capturing both the mystery and physicality of the artistic process. Higdon honors the vital role performers play in bringing new music to life, measure by measure. The program also includes a meditative work by Jessie Montgomery Peace for violin and piano along with the virtuosic Anthèmes 1 Pierre Boulez. Then, Sam Rosenthal performs four works for viola and piano: Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel or "mirror in the mirror" which unfolds through endlessly repeated piano fragments, gently echoing the viola’s serene lines; Keoni Bolding’s Paraphrase Act II; and two pieces by GRAMMY AWARD winner Michelle Barzel Ross, including Where Things Weigh Nothing at All and a commission by Nova Linea Musica. Collaborative pianist Tamila Salimdjanova joins both these artists in this compelling celebration of sound and creation.
Performing artists include Rabia Brooke (violin), Nathaneal Canfield (piano), Sam Rosenthal (viola), and Tamila Salimdjanova (piano)
Nova Linea Musica’s season continues with Arianna Zukerman, Heather Johnson, and Jason Wirth performing L’dor v’dor: A Celebration of Jewish American Composers with world premiere by David Hanlon on May 6, 2026 at Guarneri Hall; and Black Oak Ensemble with guests Mak Grgić and Rabia Brooke performing Blooming Under Blue Skies with a world premiere by Clarice Assad on June 3, 2026 at Guarneri Hall.
About Nova Linea Musica
Nova Linea Musica is a Chicago-based contemporary classical chamber music presenter, concert series, and new music incubator that launched its debut season in 2024. Led by Artistic Director Desirée Ruhstrat—a highly sought-after chamber musician in her own right—and Founder & Executive Director Michele Mohammadi, NLM’s mission is threefold: 1) to infuse the new-music ecosystem with the resources essential to the creation and presentation of new works, 2) to close the distance between composers, performers, and listeners, and 3) to elevate Chicago’s reputation as a world-class city for new music. For more information about Nova Linea Musica, visit novalineamusica.org.
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