Performance: Chicago Bagatelles Project

Doors at 6:30pm

Tickets:

$10 Student - use code STUDENT at checkout

(Valid Student ID will be requested at the door)

$10 IMSS Members Presale - use code IMSSMEMBER at checkout

(Valid IMSS Membership card will be requested at door)

$15 GA Presale

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$15 Student & IMSS Members (With valid ID & Membership Card) at Door

$20 GA at Door

Join us for an evening of cutting-edge contemporary music at the International Museum of Surgical Science. The program opens with the Chicago premiere of Rädda mig ur dyn (1994) by Karin Rehnqvist, featuring soprano Kristina Bachrach, alongside Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VIIb, Marcos Balter’s Strohbass with flutist Sasha Ishov, and Amy Williams’ Child’s Play with percussionist Kyle Flens.

After intermission, experience the world premiere of the Chicago Bagatelles Project, twelve inventive short works for solo saxophone performed by Phil Pierick. Commissioned from Chicago-based composers, these pieces are inspired by art, science, nature, and the city itself, including contributions from Carlos Bandera, Baldwin Giang, Jonathan Hannau, Molly Jones, David Clay Mettens, Osnat Netzer, Paul Novak, Shawn Okpebholo, Phil Pierick, Sean Shepherd, Augusta Read Thomas, and Ania Vu.

The program blends virtuosic solo performance, chamber collaboration, and interactive audience moments—including a participatory "sing-along" version of Berio’s Sequenza VIIb—filling the Museum’s Hall of Mortals with sound, creativity, and energy.

Classically trained and experimentally minded, Chicago-based saxophonist, improviser, composer, singer, and educator Phil Pierick has been called “the Swiss Army knife of saxophonists.” Though equally at home performing music spanning the past five centuries, he is an emphatic advocate for new music and has commissioned more than 35 new works and presented over 60 premieres. describes his duo Ogni Suono's album as “a tour de force of new possibilities for saxophone and voice.” BBC Music Magazine calls his recording of Augusta Read Thomas’ Laetitia’s Caprice “exquisitely performed.” He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Slovenian Armed Forces Band, and MIT (Taiwan) among others. Phil has taught at the Eastman School of Music, the University of Illinois, Butler University, the College of Wooster, and as a guest at more than 40 universities and conferences around the world.The only prizewinner at both the Jean-Marie Londeix and ISSAC International Saxophone Competitions, Phil studied at Eastman School of Music (DMA), the University of Illinois (MM, BM), and in Vienna (Fulbright Scholar) and Paris (Beebe Scholar). His primary teachers were Debra Richtmeyer, Jean-Michel Goury, Lars Mlekusch, and Chien-Kwan Lin. Phil is a Vandoren Performing Artist. More info at PhilPierick.com.

Soprano Kristina Bachrach has distinguished herself as a dynamic artist, capable of tackling a vast array of repertoire. Recent seasons have seen her debut in Hong Kong performing Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire and her Off-Broadway debut, co-starring in a 39-show run of Because I Could Not Stop: An Encounter with Emily Dickinson. On the operatic stage she has graced the main stage with Opera Philadelphia, Nashville Opera, Opera Naples, and Gotham Chamber Opera among others. She appeared in the New York premiere of To Be Sung by Pascal Dusapin with the Center of Contemporary Opera, and created the role of Lucinda in the world premiere of Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly. A concert veteran, Ms. Bachrach has been featured in recitals of art song and chamber music across the country and around the world with such organizations as Musicians from Marlboro, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Lyric Fest, and the Grossman Ensemble. She recently performed with Nexus Chamber Music in the premiere of Upon Wings of Words by Augusta Read Thomas on the Ravinia Festival's main stage. She is a Grand Prize winner of the Artist Presentation Society of St. Louis Competition, the Ziering Conlon International Art Song Competition, and American Prize in Vocal Performance.

Kyle Flens (b.1991, Baltimore, MD), is a percussionist and drummer. Based in Chicago, IL, he is a member of the chamber music collective Ensemble Dal Niente, one half of the Flannau Duo, and a collaborator with the interdisciplinary percussion group Beyond This Point. Kyle enjoys performing many different genres of music. His mallet playing in ensemble work has been praised by critics, sounding "like the right pinch of seasoning on a good meal" (Hyde Park Herald). This variety of playing styles has led to concerts all across the Western Hemisphere. Kyle also enjoys teaching and talking about all sorts of music. He is on faculty at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. Kyle received his Master of Music with a Performer’s Certificate from Northern Illinois University and his Bachelor of Music from Towson University as a Presser Scholar. He studied with Gregory Beyer, Patrick Roulet, and Michelle Humphreys. Kyle performs on Pearl Drums and Adams Percussion Instruments, and is honored to be an endorsed artist.

Sasha Ishov is a flutist, educator, and researcher dedicated to expanding the flute’s expressive potential and fostering connections across musical communities. Praised for his “well-sounded and lucid” artistry (San Diego Union-Tribune), he has performed at the Ojai Music Festival, BBC Proms, National Flute Association, and with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, NYO-USA AllStars, and San Diego Symphony. 

A champion of new music, Sasha has premiered over 100 works, collaborating with composers including John Luther Adams, Augusta Read Thomas, Matthew Aucoin, and Anthony Davis. He co-leads Offscreen, a duo with percussionist Michael Jones, and has performed with Irvine Arditti, Miranda Cuckson, Renée Fleming, Anthony McGill, JACK Quartet, Ensemble Signal, Wilfrido Terrazas, and Steven Schick. His research project, PrismaSonus, explores technology’s impact on performer-composer communication and has been presented at Harvard and the Qualcomm Institute. 

Sasha holds a DMA from UC San Diego, a BM from Eastman, and is a Miyazawa Artist.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

International Museum of Surgical Science, 1524 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, United States