Present Music is one of the nation’s leading ensembles specializing in the commissioning and performance of new music. Founded by Kevin Stalheim in 1982 and based in Milwaukee, Present Music engages artists and audiences in imaginative and provocative experiences through ensemble performance and education. Led by Artistic Director Eric Segnitz, the ensemble has worked closely with many of the nation’s most exciting and important composers and has firmly established one of the largest audiences for new music in the country.
Present Music has made a significant contribution to contemporary classical music, commissioning and premiering over 90 major new works from composers around the world and recording many of them for the Argo, Albany, Aoede, Northeastern, Naxos, and Innova labels. Composers who have worked in residence or been commissioned by Present Music include Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, Henry Brant, David Lang, Caroline Shaw, Du Yun, and Raven Chacon, whose Voiceless Mass, commissioned and premiered by Present Music, won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Present Music’s adventurous programming embraces diverse repertoire, innovative concert formats, and performances in unexpected spaces. The ensemble ranges from a core group of seven musicians to an ensemble of twenty or more, adapting to a broad spectrum of musical styles and settings. Described as bringing “the unexpected” (The Shepherd Express), Present Music makes contemporary music accessible with deep expression and serious fun.
Demonstrating Milwaukee’s role as a center for creativity, Present Music has toured extensively across the United States and participated in major international music festivals in Japan, New York City, Turkey, and China. The ensemble is also the unprecedented six-time winner of ASCAP/Chamber Music America’s Adventurous Programming Award.
