Composer Highlight
Nova Linea Musica announces the three winners of the NLM Score Call 2025. Freight by Graham Meyer, This Moment by Joel Y. Hoo, and God is in the Details by Jason Zhang will receive their world premieres on May 27, 2026 at The CheckOut in Chicago, performed by the NLM Piano Trio under the mentorship of Grammy-nominated composer Clarice Assad.
Publish Date:
April 1, 2026
(Joel Y. Hoo behind the scenes conducting)
NLM Score Call 2025: Announcing the Winners Nova Linea Musica Editorial
Nova Linea Musica launched the NLM Score Call to answer a simple question: who is writing new chamber music right now, and how do we get it performed? This year, we opened the call to composers across the Midwest, committed to finding and supporting the next generation of voices in contemporary classical music. The selection process was blind. The work was judged on its merits alone. Three works rose to the top.
We are proud to announce the winners of the NLM Score Call 2025:
"Freight" —Graham Meyer, is an arts journalist and musician based in Chicago. His compositions have been performed by the KAIA String Quartet, the San Francisco chamber choir Musae, and Chicago's Vox Venti. Freight arrives with the weight its title implies and the craft to carry it.
"This Moment" — Joel Y. Hoo, is a composer and improviser based in Roselle, Illinois. His work crosses genres and mediums, exploring themes of nature, time, and the human journey. This Moment asks us to stop and listen to what is happening right now, in real time.
"God is in the Details" — Jason Zhang, is a composer, pianist, and programmer from Michigan. His work draws unexpected connections between music, technology, and humor. The title is a provocation, and the score delivers on it.
These three works will receive their world premieres on May 27, 2026 at The CheckOut (4116 N Clark Street) in Chicago, performed by the NLM Piano Trio: violinist Rabia Brooke, cellist Haddon Kay, and pianist Nathanael Canfield.
The Score Call is not simply a competition. Each winning composer receives a live performance, a professional studio recording, and mentorship and workshopping sessions with Grammy-nominated composer Clarice Assad. Work is already underway. Clarice is deep in the mentorship process with all three composers, and NLM has been meeting with them individually as the scores are refined and polished ahead of the Piano Trio's first rehearsals. The goal is to bring each work to the stage in its strongest possible form.
The connection between this program and NLM's broader mission was on display at our March 11 concert, where the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Art Measures drew composers, performers, and listeners into the same room. Score Call winner Joel Y. Hoo was among those present that evening and had the chance to meet with the NLM team. That kind of exchange between established artists and emerging voices is exactly what this organization is built to foster.
More details on the May 27 concert at The CheckOut coming soon.
