SoundNOW is thrilled to once again proudly present the very best in classical contemporary music as performed by Atlanta’s premiere new music ensembles. From January 27 - February 2, 2025, Atlanta audiences will once again have an opportunity to experience an incredible week of contemporary music as many of Atlanta’s best new music ensembles come together for a dynamic showcase of the city's vibrant new music scene! It will be another full week of wildly eclectic musical styles and chamber experiences performed by some of the finest musicians in the United States!
We are thrilled to announce this year’s line up of amazing ensembles! In 2025, we will welcome the following groups to the festival:
Monday, January 27: Javelinas (Scott Burland, theremin/Ryan Taylor, guitar/synthesizers) & viola soloist Meghan Yost.
Tuesday, January 28: Atlanta Improvisors Orchestra & the Kruziki + Toulouse Duo.
Wednesday, January 29: Chamber Cartel & Benjamin Shirley's Seed Tension.
Thursday, January 30: neoPhonia New Music Ensemble & the Petrasek Duo.
Friday, January 31: Solo percussionist/composer Jeremy Muller & composer/performer Majid Araim presenting works from Otherwhere.
Saturday, February 1: smol ensemble & Terminus Ensemble featuring saxophonist Jack Thorpe.
Sunday, February 2: Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble.
More info coming soon including links to all the ensembles, venue information and concert times. We look forward to once again supporting contemporary classical music and the artists that create and bring it to life!
Featured ARTISTS & Ensembles IN 2024
Calendar of Events | SOUNDNOW 2024
SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2024:
ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE • 7 PM • CORE DANCE STUDIO (DECATUR) • Free Admission!
MONDAY, JANUARY 29. 2024:
NEOPHONIA NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE PRESENTS PERCUSSIONIST JEREMY MULLER • 7 PM • KOPLEFF RECITAL HALL • Free Admission!
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2024:
BENT FREQUENCY • 7 PM • KOPLEFF RECITAL HALL • Free Admission!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024:
CHAMBER CARTEL • 7 PM • KOPLEFF RECITAL HALL • Free Admission!
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2024:
MAJID ARAIM • 7 PM • KOPLEFF RECITAL HALL • Free Admission!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024:
ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COLLECTIVE & ARTIFACTUAL STRING UNIT • 7 PM • KOPLEFF RECITAL HALL • Free Admission!
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2024:
SMOL ENSEMBLE & ATLANTA IMPROVISORS ORCHESTRA • 7 PM • KOPLEFF RECITAL HALL • Free Admission!
SoundNOW 2024 Gallery
The Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble opened the festival at Core Dance in Decatur! Sunday, January 28. Photo: Tracy Woodard.
The Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble gave a multi-disciplined performance featuring beautiful artwork and amazing dance! Sunday, January 28. Photo: Tracy Woodard.
Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble (l-r): Amy Wilson, conductor; Krista M. Jones, artist; Tracy Woodard, violinist.
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble was pleased to present composer/percussionist Jeremy Muller in a solo performance on the second concert of the festival on Monday, January 29 at the Kopleff Recital Hall., He opened his performance with Quociente: Lagos for berimbau (Brazilian instrument) and computer. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Jeremy Muller performing his work Blackwater: the little prince for snare drums, mobile phones, and animation. January 29. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Jeremy Muller performing Arpanet for nine tablets! January 29. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Bent Frequency presented their program PATTERNS & INTERIORS on the third concert of the festival which took place on Tuesday, January 30 at the Kopleff Recital Hall. Pictured above (l-r): Kellen King & Stuart Gerber performing Red by Marc Mellits. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Stuart Gerber & Marc Fleury performing Interiors. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Kellen King & Stuart Gerber performing Sarah Hennies’ memsmorizing Settle Photo: Nickitas Demos..
The full Chamber Cartel ensemble performing Carolyn Chen’s Sky doesn’t talk. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Composer Majid Araim presented his work, Giants’ Moot on the fifth concert of the festival which took place on Thursday, February 1 at the Kopleff Recital Hall. Vocalist Monique Osorio began the work with a beautiful reading of text morphing effortlessly into song. Photo: Nickitas Demos
Majid Araim talking to the audience about his work, Giants’ Moot and contextualizing the composition within his larger composition aesthetic. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The Athens, GA based ensemble, Mixed Media Saxophone Quartet were special guests on the February 2 concert. The group featuring (l-r) Dan Phipps, baritone saxophone; Lindsey Welp, soprano & tenor saxophones; Michael Chapa, soprano & alto saxophones; and Julien Berger, alto & baritone saxophones performed Les fils de Métal by Sylvain Grotto. Photo: NIckitas Demos.
Sleepwalking for voice & vocoder, piano, double bass, vibraphone, percussion composed by Jordan Benator. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
For the seventh and final concert of the festival given on Saturday, February 3, at the Kopleff Recital Hall, the smol ensemble, featuring performers (l-r): Justin Greene; Monica Pearce; Paul Stevens; and Amy O’Dell performed works by members of the group as well as Atlanta area composers. Their concert began with Take It Anywhere! by Olivia Kieffer. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Quiet Rhythms No. 5 by William Susman. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Premiere performance of Amy O’Dell’s playful Can We Play Too? Friend-of-the-group Cecilia Trode-Nguyen joined Amy for the fun! Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The premiere performance of the riveting work, Salt in My Lungs by Monica Pearce & Justin Greene. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The Atlanta Improvisors Orchestra concluded the festival on the second half of the February 3 concert, Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Eccentricities. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Chamber Cartel was the featured ensemble on the fourth concert of the festival which took place on Wednesday, January 31 at the Kopleff Recital Hall. Pictured above: Andrew Uhe, violin and Caleb Herron performing Mirror Universes by Adam Scott Neal. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Chamber Cartel (l-r): Andrew Uhe, Caleb Herron, Megan Williams, Alana Bennett-Garcia, Jennifer Betzer, and Paul Scanling.. Photo: Adam Moore.
The full ensemble (l-r): Monique Osorio, soprano; Majid Araim, mandolin, voice, and composer; Benjamin Shirley, cello and voice; Ofir Klemperer, Korg MS-20 and voice; Chris Childs, percussion and voice; Alexandria Smith, trumpet; and Jeff Albert, trombone. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Artifactual String Unit kicked off the sixth concert of the festival which took place on Friday, February 2 at the Kopleff Recital Hall. The group featuring Chip Epstein, violin; Benjamin Shirley, cello; and Gabriel Monticello, double bass performed pieces composed by members of the ensemble. Pictured above, their performance of Mother of Pins. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The newly formed Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective rounded out the February 2 concert. Pictured above, the full ensemble (Vicki Lu, flute; Allyson McKoon, clarinet; Taylor Bandon, trombone; Dominic Ryder, percussion; Jordan Benator, electronics & percussion; Cole Hankins, electric guitar; Aly Soriano, piano; Sydney Dremel, violin; Will Ruff, viola; Christopher Jeffrey, double bass, and Bryan Wysocki, conductor) performing Waiting for Billy Floyd by Eve Beglarian. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The full ensemble concluded the February 2 concert with a performance of Fool’s Journey by Jared Tubbs. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Fifth member of the group, Olivia Kieffer joins the ensemble in a premiere performance of pulse piece by Paul Stevens. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Premiere performance of Immediate Action by Stefanie Lubkowski. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The Toy Robot’s Mechanical Heart by Christopher Adler. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
smol ensemble concluded their portion of the program with a premiere performance of Hip/no-tech by Michael Kurth. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Subject to Change by Majid Araim. Photo: Nickitas Demos.
The epic final improvisational work concluded the 2024 SoundNOW Festival! Photo: Nickitas Demos.
Information for Participating Ensembles
SoundNOW Contemporary Music Festival is intended primarily to celebrate Atlanta-based ensembles and artists specializing in contemporary classical music (concert music composed between 1960 - 2025).
Organizational Committee
The SoundNOW Organizational Committee coordinates the ensembles into a unified calendar of events, provides oversight of the festival's mission, maintains consistent vision, and provides a platform for cross promotion of all events. The committee has secured the Kopleff Recital Hall at Georgia State University as an available venue for the evenings of January 29, 30, 31, and February 1. If ensembles do not already have a preferred concert venue, each is welcome to perform in Kopleff as room permits on a first come, first serve basis.
Members of the SoundNOW Organizational Committee will attend all events and will give a brief greeting from the stage prior to the performance. This pre-concert announcement will include promoting all remaining dates, times, ensembles, and venues for the festival. The announcement will also include a recap of all festival events that have occurred prior to that evening. This will help to promote all the participating ensembles at each event and demonstrate the scope of the festival to each audience.
Ensemble Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each participating ensemble to plan its own program, organize performers, curate and present a concert as it would during a normal season. This will also include securing a venue should the ensemble choose not to perform in the Kopleff Recital Hall or if that venue is already booked by other groups on the available dates at Georgia State University.
Each ensemble may choose its own repertoire; however, all music should fall under the broad description of contemporary classical music (concert music composed between 1960 - present).
Additionally, to accommodate the number of ensembles participating in the festival, it is very likely that an ensemble will share a concert with another ensemble and split the program for that evening. If two ensembles are sharing the same evening concert, each must limit the duration of its entire program to no more than 40 minutes of total stage time. For a concert featuring only one ensemble or artist, please do not exceed 60 minutes of total stage time.
The concert date for each participating ensemble will be arranged in advance in cooperation with the SoundNOW Organizational Committee based on the festival schedule and availability.
Calls for ensemble participation generally go out in MARCH. At that time, ensembles must fill out and submit an Application Form which will be located on the SoundNOW website no later than AUGUST 1.
Ensembles will be notified concerning acceptance into the festival no later than two weeks following the deadline for submission.
Final specific program information for each concert will be due no later than OCTOBER 1.
Ensemble Information
For the Organizing Committee to create promotional materials and printed documents, and minimize any changes to that information once submitted, each participating ensemble is kindly asked to provide the Organizational Committee with the following information which may be submitted via the application form:
Group biography (incorporating a mission statement if desired)
Group picture
Official URL for group website
Short written description of the concert theme and planned content
Intended venue and start time (If performing in Kopleff Recital Hall at Georgia State, the start time is already set at 7:00 p.m. for each concert)
When possible, the concert program, anticipated staging, and approximate duration
Please do your best to minimize changes to this information. Not only is it difficult or impossible to change the promotional material once it is printed, but the festival is planned to facilitate the participation of multiple ensembles and numerous events. Changes in schedule and/or location may cause inconvenience to the other ensembles.
Participating Ensemble Requirements
In our continuing efforts to improve the festival and provide a consistent presentation, the Organizing Committee has established a list of basic requirements for all participating ensembles:
Program - The Organizational Committee will provide a printed program booklet containing all information provided by the respective ensembles via the application form.
There is an expectation that each respective group will promote the festival by displaying the SoundNOW 2025 poster on their respective websites and social media channels.
If applicable, each group should create a Facebook Event to advertise their respective concert as being a part of the SoundNOW Festival.
Promotional Materials - All promotional materials for each group’s SoundNOW concert should list all other festival concerts and events