Boundary-pushing ensemble announces new works, exciting composers and acclaimed guests in Milwaukee’s most distinctive venues
For 45 years, Milwaukee has quietly cultivated one of the country’s leading ensembles devoted to living composers, helping establish the city as an unlikely national center for contemporary music. While most orchestras primarily perform the established classical canon, Present Music has commissioned more than 100 new works. Today, Present Music announced its landmark 2026–27 season, celebrating more than four decades of commissioning groundbreaking works and proving that a city the size of Milwaukee can lead the nation in one of classical music’s most adventurous and specialized fields.
The ensemble enters its 45th year with an unwavering commitment to underrepresented composers, presenting a season that masterfully balances the outrageous with the contemplative, the serious with the whimsical, and the challenging with the accessible at Milwaukee’s most distinctive venues.
Artistic Director Eric Segnitz leads Present Music’s remarkably small nonprofit staff, which includes Operations Manager Krista Hettinger and Development Strategist Daniel Petry, who has been part of Present Music since its earliest years and continues to help steward the organization’s growth. Longtime collaborator David Bloom serves as the ensemble’s Conductor and Artistic Advisor.
“Present Music continues to push the boundaries of what a concert experience can be,” said Segnitz. “As we celebrate 45 years in Milwaukee, we remain excited about amplifying diverse voices and bringing our community together through powerful, adventurous musical storytelling.”
Founded in 1982 by visionary conductor Kevin Stalheim, Present Music spent nearly four decades under his leadership transforming Milwaukee into an unlikely national destination for adventurous new music. The ensemble has collaborated with internationally acclaimed composers – including Pulitzer Prize winners – earned six ASCAP Adventurous Programming Awards, released 17 albums, and toured internationally.
2026–27 Present Music Season
September 17, 2026 — Composed for the WCW: 150th Anniversary Celebration at Women’s Club of Wisconsin
Present Music partners with New York City’s Luna Composition Lab to celebrate the Woman’s Club’s 150th anniversary through two world-premiere commissions by Luna Lab alumnae: a new work by mentor Alex Temple and music by Luna Lab co-founder Missy Mazzoli.
October 30, 2026 — Forty Something! at UWM Zelazo Center
The official 45th anniversary season kickoff features a world premiere by Alex Temple, a new piano concerto by Donnacha Dennehy featuring pianist Michael Mizrahi, a work by Nico Muhly and Aviya Kopelman’s reimagining of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41. Conducted by Deanna Tham, the evening concludes with a celebratory reception featuring the Extra Crispy Brass Band.
November 22, 2026 — A Hundred Ways: Thanksgiving at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
One of Milwaukee’s favorite holiday traditions returns with world premieres by Angélica Negrón and Mikhail Johnson, the Milwaukee debut of Samuel Carl Adams, performances by vocalists Eliza Bagg and Kathryn Shuman, and the annual appearance of the Little Priest Singers, a southern Ho Chunk family drum based in Wisconsin Dells. David Bloom conducts.
February 11–12, 2027 — Wanderlust featuring Sam Amidon at Jan Serr Studio
Alt-folk artist Sam Amidon joins Present Music for two evenings exploring the intersections of folk, jazz, classical, bluegrass and electronic music. Conducted by Georgia Mills, the program features works by Nico Muhly, Pascal Le Boeuf, Anna Webber and The Punch Brothers.
March 24–25, 2027 — Bird is the Werd at Jan Serr Studio
Centered around Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ landmark Eight Songs for a Mad King, featuring acclaimed Berlin baritone Thomas Florio, this imaginative program also includes works by Hannah Kendall, John Luther Adams, George Frideric Handel and The Trashmen.
May 12, 2027 — Modern Myths at Milwaukee Art Museum
The season concludes with Steve Reich and Beryl Korot’s groundbreaking video opera Three Tales, excerpts from Nicole Lizée’s R.U.R.: A Torrent of Light, and Pisachi by Indigenous composer Jarod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, presented in conjunction with the Milwaukee Art Museum exhibition Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe.
Information on programming, subscriptions and single tickets is available now at presentmusic.org.
Present Music’s 2026-2027 Season is made possible by major funding from the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), Bader Philanthropies, CAMPAC, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Herzfeld Foundation, PieperPower, Heil Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Rockefeller Foundation, Laskin Family Foundation, Amphion Foundation, CAMPAC, Randall Lindert, Richard & Suzanne Pieper, Jan Serr & John Shannon, and Tim & Sue Frautschi.
Three composer Commissions in 2026-2027 have been made possible with major funds from Nora Finnigan Werra, Mark Van Hecke, Michael & JoAnne Barndt, Christine Rundblad, and Anonymous (2).
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