Composer Highlight
On March 11, 2026, Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon attended the world premiere of her NLM-commissioned work Art Measures for Violin and Piano, performed by Rabia Brooke and Nathanael Canfield at Guarneri Hall in Chicago.
Publish Date:
March 22, 2026
Jennifer Higdon Traveled to Chicago to Hear It FirstBy Michele Mohammadi, President and Executive Director, Nova Linea Musica
On the evening of March 11, 2026, Jennifer Higdon sat in a sixty-seat room at 11 E Adams St in Chicago and heard her own music performed live for the very first time.
That same evening, her works were being performed on multiple continents - Dance Card with the I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra in Montreal, and her Tuba Concerto in Kristiansand, Norway. A composer whose works average 300 performances a year worldwide chose to be in our room.
Art Measures for Violin and Piano is a Nova Linea Musica commission written expressly for our Artist-in-Residence Rabia Brooke. The three-movement work traces the arc of artistic creation: Rosin Grip captures the moment an idea takes hold; Magic Glaze evokes the artist dreaming, ideas rising to the surface; Chisel Bits is the act of making itself.
Rabia was in close dialogue with Higdon throughout the development of the work. That relationship shaped everything about how the piece came to life on March 11.
"I was deeply moved by how intensely and personally Rabia felt the music, especially the slow movement. Her dynamic energy in the first and last movements blew me away."
— Jennifer Higdon
"Working with a composer of Jennifer's stature was truly transformative. Every step of the process was made all the more meaningful by her presence and the depth of her artistry."
— Rabia Brooke, NLM Artist-in-Residence
"My biggest hope is always that the audience is moved to the point where they would like to hear the piece again, and that it is engaging enough to create curiosity about the performers and new music in general."
— Jennifer Higdon
Pianist Nathanael Canfield brought precision and sensitivity to the duo, navigating the work's arc from the kinetic drive of Rosin Grip to the introspection of Magic Glaze with seamless, instinctive rapport.
Those in the room took notice. Composer Marc Mellits called it "an incredibly evocative work, full of color and emotion." Seth Boustead of Access Contemporary Music singled out the middle movement: "this internal dialogue - introspective and absolutely gorgeous." Nicholas Yasillo called it "another stunning success in a string of wonderfully performed premieres brought to Chicago by Nova Linea Musica."
"For a series just in its second season, it's remarkable that Nova Linea commissions a new piece for every concert, and that they've already managed to arrange commissions with world-renowned composers like Jennifer Higdon. The premiere was stunning; it's a brilliant and virtuosic new work that received an appropriately brilliant and virtuosic first performance. This high standard is clearly part of the reason that this series enjoys packed houses for every concert."
— Robert Dillon, composer and percussionist, Third Coast Percussion
"Jennifer Higdon is one of the most humble, gifted, and vibrant artists I have ever encountered. Her articulateness about her own composition is as extraordinary as the work itself. To have her join us on March 11 and hear Art Measures in its world premiere was a moment I will never forget. This is precisely why Nova Linea Musica exists: to create the conditions where music of this magnitude can be born, placed in the hands of dedicated artists like Rabia Brooke and Nathanael Canfield, and given its first breath in Chicago."
— Michele Mohammadi, President and Executive Director, Nova Linea Musica
"As one of the most performed and celebrated living composers today, Jennifer Higdon possesses a rare gift for writing music that is technically dazzling yet deeply accessible. Seeing her collaborate with Nova Linea Musica Artist-in-Residence Rabia Brooke highlights her incredible legacy of mentorship and her unique ability to capture the American spirit in sound. Nothing is more gratifying for a presenter than seeing such an enthusiastic audience response to a new commission, which is exactly what we experienced with Jennifer Higdon, Rabia Brooke and Nathanael Canfield on the Nova Linea Musica series."
— Desirée Ruhstrat, Artistic Director, Nova Linea Musica
Photography: Eric Snoza and Dan Nichols
