Timothy McAllister featuring Mischa Zupko, Civitas Ensemble and ~Nois Quartet
Biographie Timothy McAllister featuring Mischa Zupko, Civitas Ensemble and ~Nois Quartet
Mischa Zupko
writes music for performers who seek depth, risk and mastery, creating immediate and emotionally powerful experiences for audiences. Having been described as a composer both open and exceptionally inventive, his major commissions, international recordings and collaborations with many of today’s most prominent soloists and chamber musicians reflects a voice shaped by urgency, depth and artistic fearlessness.
His works have been described as “harrowing and gripping” (Classical Voice North America), “a powerhouse of the evening” (Chicago Tribune), and “music that simply asserts itself with force and eloquence” (Positive Feedback). Zupko has also received favorable reviews from New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini and the L.A. Times and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Reader for his significant compositional activity in Chicago’s new music scene. Zupko has been a featured guest on David Osenberg’s weekly radio program, “Cadenza” (WWFM).
Zupko’s music has been commissioned, premiered, and championed by leading orchestras and ensembles across the United States, including the Grant Park Symphony and Chorus, Minnesota Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, New York Youth Symphony, Civitas Ensemble, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Western Brass Quintet, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, American Modern Ensemble, Camerata Chicago, St. Olaf Band, Eighth Blackbird, Coigliano Quartet and the Lincoln Trio. Other significant commissions have come from the Fromm Foundation, the Barlow Endowment and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival.
His works have been featured at Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Ravinia, Segerstrom Hall, and the Moscow Conservatory, as well as major festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival.
Timothy McAllister
widely regarded as the most renowned classical saxophonist of the present day, Timothy McAllister has performed with the world’s finest orchestras across more than 20 countries. A champion of contemporary music, he has over 60 recordings to his credit and has given the world premieres of 200 works by prominent composers from around the globe.
John Corigliano composed "Triathlon" for McAllister, who premiered the work with the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Giancarlo Guerrero; he also features on an upcoming recording of the piece with the Nashville Symphony. His long-time collaborator Tyshawn Sorey wrote "Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)" for McAllister, who premiered it with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; the work was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
McAllister gave the world premiere of John Adams’ Saxophone Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and received a Grammy Award for his recording of the concerto—along with Adams’ "City Noir"—performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of David Robertson. He later appeared at the BBC Proms in London with Marin Alsop and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, where his performance of the Adams concerto was met with great acclaim.
His recording of Kenneth Fuchs’ "Rush" with the London Symphony Orchestra and JoAnn Falletta also earned a Grammy Award, and his interpretation of Adams’ "City Noir" with the Berlin Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel is included in a Grammy-nominated anthology of the composer’s work.
Recent highlights include the Spanish and Belgian premieres of Guillaume Connesson’s concerto "A Kind of Trane," conducted by Stéphane Denève—a performance recorded with the Brussels Philharmonic for the Deutsche Grammophon label. Other notable solo appearances include performances with the symphony orchestras of Buffalo, Detroit, Galicia, Hong Kong, Houston, Indianapolis, Lyon, Milwaukee, Minería (Mexico), and Seattle.
McAllister is the soprano saxophonist for the PRISM Quartet and has served as Professor of Saxophone at the University of Michigan since 2014. He holds several degrees from the University of Michigan, where he studied under Donald Sinta.
Civitas Ensemble
In 2011, four of Chicago’s top musicians — Yuan-Qing Yu, Kenneth Olsen, Winston Choi, and Lawrie Bloom — joined forces to found Civitas Ensemble, a chamber music group dedicated to presenting engaging live performances of new and traditional works, inspiring a young generation of classical musicians, and bringing the healing power of music to those with limited access to live performances.
What make Civitas unique is its artistic excellence, its cross-disciplinary programming, its daring presentation of both old and new works, its connection with living composers, its international reach, and its robust outreach program. Civitas has presented many interdisciplinary programs such as showcasing Ravel and Poulenc’s music with French posters by Lautrec and Chéret, and has commissioned and premiered numerous pieces by living composers. The Ensemble is regularly invited to perform at prestigious venues such as Chicago’s Art Institute, Symphony Center, and WFMT.
As an advocate of music education, Civitas offers free tickets to all current students, free masterclasses to several Chicago Public Schools, and serves as the Ensemble-in-Residence at Valparaiso University in Indiana, where it gives three public chamber music concerts and six coaching sessions annually.
Praised for the quality of its performances, its innovative programming, and its community engagement efforts, Civitas Ensemble was invited to perform with Yo-Yo Ma at the Chicago Humanities Festival and participate in a panel discussion on the topic of “Artist and Citizenship.” Since its inception, Civitas has performed over 40 outreach concerts for hospitals and senior living facilities across Chicagoland and in other major cities while on tour. Civitas receives rave reviews from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Classical Review, and Chicago on the Aisle for its artistic excellence and its devotion to the community.
~Nois Quartet
Take your preconceptions of ‘noise’ and toss them out the window. Equal parts “fiendishly good and fiendishly goofy” (Chicago Tribune), ~Nois Quartet is a “prolific, charismatic young ensemble that is swiftly becoming the American saxophone quartet du jour” (Musical America). Founded in 2016, the Chicago-based ensemble is dedicated to championing new music for saxophone and building community through innovative, inclusive, and exceptional musical experiences. The group has premiered over 150 new works that are thought-provoking, engaging, and honestly just really good, by some of today's most inspiring compositional voices.
Hailed as a “genre-pushing saxophone quartet that takes what is understood about classical music to whole new levels” (The Deli), and renowned for their “supremely sensitive balance and control” (Chicago Classical Review), ~Nois Quartet has presented over 200 performances spanning 31 states over the past 10 years. As they “continue to legitimize the saxophone quartet as a premier ensemble formation for classical music” (thank you, Brutal New Music), the ensemble has received invitations to perform at some of the top festivals and concert series in the nation, including Big Ears, LONG PLAY, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Princeton Sound Kitchen, and the University of Chicago Presents Series. As educators, ~Nois Quartet has held residencies at some of the nation’s top academic institutions including the University of Chicago (Don Michael Randel Ensemble in Residence 2020/21), Princeton University (Princeton Sound Kitchen Residency 2023), Michigan State University (MSUFCU Entrepreneurial Ensemble in Residence 2022 and 2027), CU Boulder (Composition Department Ensemble in Residence 2020 - 2027), and more. The ensemble has also been awarded top prizes at numerous prestigious chamber music competitions including the M-Prize International Arts Competition, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the 2026 CAG Louis and Susan Meisel Prize, and was once deemed “too loud for the Farmer’s Market” (Local Evanston, Illinois 1st Ward Constituent).
As proud residents of Chicago, the ensemble members seek to serve the diverse neighborhoods of the city through an annual season of self-presented concerts and programs. Each year, ~Nois Quartet’s Curiosity Series brings together Chicago residents and artists for an evening of music exclusively featuring the work of composers and performers with strong ties to the city, with a particular focus on advocating for younger creators in Chicago. In the past nine seasons alone, ~Nois Quartet has presented over 60 world premieres by Chicago composers. The ensemble is a regular in the Chicago music community, having been featured on some of the city's most prestigious series including the Dame Myra Hess Series, Ear Taxi Festival, Frequency Series, Frequency Festival, U Chicago Presents, Rendezvous Arts, Nova Linea Musica, and more. Additionally, the organization serves Chicago youth through their Young Creators Fellowship, which selects local high school-aged students each year to collaborate with the ensemble on new works for saxophone. Through this program, the group aims to encourage young Chicago-based artists to create new work, provide a platform for young artists to have their work performed for a larger audience, and to offer real-world collaborative experience to prepare them for a future career in music.
At the core of ~Nois Quartet’s ethos is a fierce dedication to the commissioning of living composers (bonus points if the piece needs an instruction manual to perform). With more than 150 world premieres to date, the members of the group have had the privilege of working closely with some of the world’s leading voices in composition to create new works for saxophone quartet, including Clarice Assad, Chris Cerrone, Viet Cuong, Alex Mincek, Jessie Montgomery, Nico Muhly, Shawn Okpebholo, Jeff Scott, Hans Thomalla, Augusta Read Thomas, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Kari Watson.
Across their 10 years of music making, ~Nois Quartet has had the honor of sharing the stage with some of today’s most prolific performers and ensembles including Third Coast Percussion, Sō Percussion, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, My Brightest Diamond, Darian Donovan Thomas, Jessie Montgomery, the United States Navy Band, the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the Michigan State University Wind Symphony.
~Nois Quartet’s recorded output boasts a wide variety of genres and styles across more than a dozen albums. Most recently, the group released their genre-bending third album “What is ~Nois” on New Amsterdam Records. The album released to critical acclaim, being heralded as “utterly gorgeous and gripping” (Cast The Dice) and rated “four stars” (BBC Music Magazine), as well as being featured on NPR’s “Best Albums out April 10th, 2026.” Created in collaboration with the Kinds of Kings composer collective, their sophomore album Kinds of ~Nois released on Bright Shiny Things, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart. The group’s recorded output has been featured on some of the country’s leading classical music radio stations, including WFMT in Chicago and WQXR’s “New Sounds” Series on New York Public Radio. Their music can be heard on New Amsterdam Records, Cedille, New Focus, Carrier Records, Bright Shiny Things, Sawyer Editions, Better Company Records, and Records to Burn labels.
~Nois Quartet is János Csontos (he/him), Jordan Lulloff (he/him), Julian Velasco (he/him), and Natalia Warthen (she/her). The four members are Yamaha Performing Artists and perform exclusively on Yamaha saxophones.
