Nova Linea Musica
Welcome to Nova Linea Musica, the latest addition to Chicago's vibrant music scene. We are dedicated to the creation, presentation, and promotion of new music. In our 2025-26 season we are commissioning works from leading composers and pairing them with exceptional performers to deliver world premieres that will resonate deeply with you, the listener. Our commitment to new music will continue as we move forward, ensuring that each performance brings fresh and exciting collaborations to the concert hall. These events seek to close the distance between artists and audiences, fostering relationships beyond the stage.
More Than Just Concerts
At Nova Linea Musica, our devotion to contemporary music goes further than live performances. Through high-quality audio and video recordings, we ensure that the voices of our composers and performers will continue to inspire, reaching music lovers everywhere. Whether you're attending in person or enjoying the performances from afar, these moments will leave a lasting impression.
The Ideal Setting
Located in the heart of Chicago's Loop, Guarneri Hall provides an intimate 60-seat performance space. This season, Nova Linea Musica's concerts will be held at this exceptional venue, just steps away from public transportation and ample parking. It offers access to an extraordinary musical experience, making it easy for you to be a part of something special.
Join Us
Discover the captivating world of classical music with Nova Linea Musica. You'll experience imaginative works from the mid-20th century onward, performed by award-winning emerging and established artists. Begin your evening with a lively pre-concert conversation (5:45 pm), intimate concert, and then enjoy a reception offering with delectables and fine wine (7:30 pm). During the 'Meet and Greet', you'll have the chance to mingle with composers, musicians, and the Nova Linea Musica team, making each event a truly personal and memorable one.
The Visionaries Behind Nova Linea Musica:
President and Executive Director: Michele Mohammadi
Artistic Director: Desirée Ruhstrat (Northwestern University, Lincoln Trio,
BlackOak Ensemble)
Composer-in-Residence: Stacy Garrop
Graphic Designer: Mike Grittani (Grittani Creative, Ltd.)
Audio Engineer: Dan Nichols (Aphorisms Studios)
Treasurer: Ramzan Dhanji
Photographer: Eric Snoza (SnoStudios)
Upcoming Schedule
December 3, 2025
6:30 pm
Catalyst Quartet - Against All Odds
Nova Linea Musica presents GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet, praised for their “invariably energetic and finely burnished” performances and “earthly vigor,” presents "Against All Odds" — a stirring exploration of resilience, identity, and hope through a powerful and wide-ranging program. The program opens with John Adams’ energetic Fellow Traveler and includes a rare arrangement of Madre la de los primores, attributed to Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and arranged by the quartet. Aftab Darvishi’s Daughters of Sol offers a haunting meditation on Persian mythology, while Jorge Amado Molina’s Tríptico Cubano pulses with Afro-Cuban rhythms. The evening features two world premieres commissioned by Nova Linea Musica: Derrick Skye’s Flare and Answer, a vibrant dialogue of rhythmic textures, and Andrea Casarrubios’ Unsaying, a deeply expressive exploration of memory and silence. Also on the program are Jessie Montgomery’s Build, a work of kinetic energy and layered voices, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s String Quartet No. 1 “Cavalry”, a masterful blend of classical form and Black musical traditions. This concert brings together diverse voices and bold new works in a celebration of music’s power to transcend boundaries.
Featuring: Karla Donehew Perez (violin), Abi Fayette (violin), Paul Laraia (viola), and Karlos Rodriguez (cello)
January 21, 2026
6:30 pm
NLM Trio Threads of Melodic Silence
Threads of Melodic Silence brings together a program of rich and reflective works performed by the NLM Piano Trio: Rabia Brooke (violin), Haddon Kay (cello), and Tamila Salimdjanova (piano). The evening features the world premiere of a Nova Linea Musica commission by Chicago’s own Stacy Garrop, written especially for the ensemble. Also on the program are Colors Through Piano Trio by Grammy Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, and Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 28 by Lera Auerbach—a work of vivid emotional contrasts that evokes the spirit of both Bach and Shostakovich.
Adding a personal dimension to the evening, cellist Alexander Hersh performs a set of solo works, including Daniel Pesca’s quietly searching In Solitude, Marc Neikrug’s dramatic Petrus for cello and piano, and the world premiere of a newly composed piece based on the imaginative premise of music for another planet.
Featuring: Rabia Brooke (violin), Lam Wong (piano), Haddon Kay (cello), Tamila Salimdjanova (piano), and Alexander Hersh (cello)
February 25, 2026
6:30 pm
Third Coast Percussion
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.
The Drum Also Sings features the world premiere of an NLM-commissioned work 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 a new rhythmic exploration from Augusta Read Thomas further expand the evening’s soundscape, which culminates in Steve Reich’s iconic Music for Pieces of Wood. Join us at the Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall for a thrilling night where percussion not only pulses — it sings.
Featuring: David Skidmore, Robert Dillion, Peter Martin, and Sean Conners
We believe that new music is an essential element of a thriving world.
We believe that great music flourishes in an environment of ongoing reinvention.
We believe that emerging performers are ideal ambassadors for new music.
We believe that new music deserves exceptional performances documented on audio and video to the highest possible standards.
Latest News
Review: Conrad Tao Opens Season Two of Nova Linea Musica with Echoes and Algorithms
Tao is..."physical and almost trance-like, where he and the piano become one entity"... "extraordinary evening of music"
Review: Guarneri Hall becomes a lab for Tao’s digital experiments in Nova Linea Musica’s season opener
"...piano bristling with energy...and the virtuosity of the performer..."