One Composer, One Community - Reena Esmail Weekend: April 19-21, 2024

MIC's One Composer, One Community initiative focuses on the life and music of a single, under-represented composer over the course of an academic year.

This year we are proud to feature Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. In addition to highlighting Esmail's music in MIC teaching studios and on stage at Nichols Concert Hall, Reena will visit the Music Institute of Chicago April 19-21 for a special weekend of interactive workshops and a faculty-student showcase concert, all with the goal of connecting our students and audiences to her music.

More about Reena Esmail

Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber music, and choral works. She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Kronos Quartet, and her music has been featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums.

She is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence and is currently an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting music traditions of India and the West. Read her full bio »

Reena Esmail Weekend: April 19-21, 2024

This special weekend includes interactive workshops and a faculty-student showcase concert featuring Esmail's music. Don't miss this unique opportunity to meet an accomplished composer, observe her teach, and hear her speak about her work and what it’s like to be a composer. 

All events take place at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston

Saturday, April 20
PROGRAM NOTES-Reena Esmail Weekend.pdf

9:00 – 10:00 am               Piano Workshop
10:00 – 11:00 am              Interactive Composer Workshop
11:00 am – 12:00 pm      Strings Workshop
1:00 – 2:00 pm                 Woodwind & Brass Workshop
2:00 – 3:30 pm                 Voice Workshop
4:00 – 5:30 pm                 Academy Orchestra – open rehearsal
5:30 – 6:00 pm                 Academy Chamber Music Workshop

7:30 pm                          Faculty & Student Showcase Concert

Sunday, April 21

3:30 – 4:30 pm               Suzuki Workshop

Watch the full Ask Reena! Q&A Video below: