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Welcome to our 2024-2025 season!

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Takács String Quartet
Jordan Bak, Viola

Sep 25 | 6:00PM EDT
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Virtual programs that connect you to the artists you love, anywhere you are—

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New Works Commissioned by
Princeton University Concerts

Princeton University Concerts is committed to commissioning new works by contemporary composers, writers, filmmakers, and interdisciplinary artists. The list below represents past commissions (since 2012) as well as works-in-progress:


Music

Demons by Frederic Rzewski (2018)

COMMISSIONED as part of the music accord consortium

Premiered by the Benjamin Beilman, Violin and Roman Rabinowich, Piano | March 16, 2022

VIEW EVENT
Strange Folk by Donnacha Dennehy (2018)

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

Premiered by Quartet 212 with Emily D’Angelo, Soprano | December 2, 2018

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All Roads by Anthony Cheung (2018)

co-commissioned FOR THE ESCHER STRING QUARTET AND GILLES VONSATTEL, PIANO

You by Libby Larsen (2018)

co-commissioned FOR THE CANTUS VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Lost Songs by Juri Seo (2019)

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

Premiered by Musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic | January 7, 2019

VIEW EVENT
Measuring by Steven Mackey (2019)

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

Premiered by Musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic | April 23, 2019

VIEW EVENT
Sergeant McCauley for String Quartet and Wind Quintet by Jessie Montgomery (2019)

co-COMMISSIONED FOR THE CATALYST QUARTET AND IMANI WINDS

Breathing Statues by Anna Clyne (2020)

COMMISSIONED as part of the music accord consortium

Premiered by the Calidore String Quartet | February 20, 2020

VIEW EVENT
Circles by Bryce Dessner (2021)

COMMISSIONED as part of the music accord consortium

Premiered by the Takács String Quartet with Julien Labor, Accordion | February 17, 2022

VIEW EVENT
Piano Quintet No. 2 by Mark Neikrug (2021)

CO-COMMISSIONED FOR THE DOVER STRING QUARTET AND PIANIST HAOCHEN ZHENG

Standing Witness by Richard Danielpour with text by Rita Dove (2021)

CO-COMMISSIONED FOR MUSIC FROM COPLAND HOUSE

Drink the Wild Ayre by Sarah Kirkland Snider (2022)

co-COMMISSIONED FOR THE EMERSON STRING QUARTET’S FAREWELL TOUR

Premiered by the Emerson String Quartet | April 27, 2023

VIEW EVENT
Glowing Embers by Cécile McLorin Salvant (2023)

co-COMMISSIONED BY Princeton University Concerts, THE Princeton University Library , AND the McCarter Theatre Center INSPIRED BY THE TONI MORRISON ARCHIVES

Premiered by Vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and Pianist Sullivan Fortner | April 12, 2023

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Companion Piece for Brahms’ Zwei Gesänge for mezzo, viola and piano, Op. 91 by Joel Thompson (In Progress)

COMMISSIONED as part of the music accord consortium for mezzo-soprano jamie barton, violist matthew lipman, and pianist tamara sanakidze

Work for String Quartet by Billy Childs (In Progress)

COMMISSIONED as part of the music accord consortium for THE ISIDORE STRING QUARTET

Work for Piano Trio by Andrew Norman (In Progress)

COMMISSIONED as part of the music accord consortium for THE JUNCTION TRIO

Interdisciplinary

Choreography by Mark Morris to Songs by Johannes Brahms & Hector Berlioz (2012)

commissioned for a recital with countertenor david daniels, pianist martin katz, and dancers from the mark morris dance group

Premiered May 3, 2012

Original choreography by Mark Morris to songs by Johannes Brahms: Auf dem See, Op. 59, No. 2; Standchen, Op. 106, No. 1; Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen, Op. 32, No. 2; Mein Madel hat einen Rosenmund Heimweh II, Op. 63, No. 8 and selections from Hector Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été: Villanelle; Le Spectre de la rose; L’Ile inconnue

VIEW EVENT
Poems by C.K Williams for a Recital with Pianist Richard Goode (2014)

commissioned for a recital BY PIANIST RICHARD GOODE INTERSPERSED WITH POETRY BY C.K. WILLIAMS IN RESPONSE TO THE MUSIC PERFORMED

Premiered March 9, 2014

VIEW EVENT
Stage Sculptures by Marsha Levin-Rojer (2015)

Displayed hanging over the stage as part of the 2015-16 Performances Up Close series.

MORE INFO
Gil Shaham: Bach Six Solos with Original Films by David Michalek (2016)

co-commissioned

Projections for the 2016-17 Performances Up Close Season by Experiential Designer and Adobe Creative Resident Craig Winslow (2016)

Multimedia transformations of the stage, tailored for each program on the 2016-17 Performances Up Close series by Artist-in-Residence Craig Winslow.

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Interwoven Stories of Healing with Music project with textile artist Diana Weymar (2023-24)

Guided by textile artist Diana Weymar, Princeton University Class of 1991, music lovers across the U.S. and Canada embroidered their response to the question “What does Healing with Music mean to you?” as an extension of the Princeton University Concerts (PUC) Healing with Music series. In addition to this community art project, PUC commissioned pieces stitched by Weymar which capture quotes from PUC audience members, PUC artist insights, and other key voices in the arts that speak to music’s impact in our lives.

VIEW PROJECT

Film

Sing For Today with Joyce DiDonato (2020)

CO-COMMISSIONED BY UMS (University of Michigan)

In a series of short videos, GRAMMY Award-winning opera star Joyce DiDonato responds to current events and global concerns through the lens of song and conversation, calling on great songs to permeate profound events of the present day.

WATCH
Unmasking the Arts with Helga Davis (2021)

CONVERSATION SERIES ON THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE ARTS

The multidisciplinary artist and incomparable WNYC host Helga Davis converses with arts industry leaders who have confronted and adapted to the challenges posed by COVID-19, focusing on the resiliency and hope inherent within the performing arts, and the impact this time will have on the role of the arts in our society in future. Participants include clarinetist Anthony McGill, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, pianist Wu Han, opera director Yuval Sharon, New York Times arts critic Jason Farago, former Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette, New York Review of Books editor Maya Chung, and musician Rhiannon Giddens.

WATCH
Healing with Music Video Series (2022 – Present)

reflecting on music’s impact

Humans have been using sounds as a way to exist and endure since the start of time. The artists on our Healing with Music Series share their stories of facing illness and personal upheaval to shed light on music’s profound impact. Produced by There We Go Films.

WATCH

Writing

“Going Spatial” by Laurie Anderson

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Music as a Family Affair” by Ruth Bader Ginsburg & James Ginsburg

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“On Chopin’s Ballade No. 2, Op. 38” by Jamie Barton

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Loud Dreaming: Of Mothers and Sisters and Lessons in Listening” by Daphne A. Brooks

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Celebrating 125 Years” by Scott Burnham

commissioned for THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY SERIES

READ
“History of Structuring a Discourse on Color” by Carlos Cruz-Diez

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

“Work Song” by Jeff Dolven

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Fidelio’s Echo” by Gustavo Dudamel

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“A Winter Drive” by Edward Dusinberre

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa” by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Spaces for Music” by Frank Gehry

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Art and Faith” by Wendy Heller

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

“Ghazal for the End of Time” by Jane Hirshfield

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“The Joy inside Sorrow” by Pico Iyer

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Art is Indivisible” by Alexander Kluge

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“A Long Song Log: Ten Entries on Seriality, to the Accompaniment of Charles Mingus’ Black Saint” by Nathaniel Mackey

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Jessye Norman Sings Die Nachtigall by Alban Berg” by Alicia Hall Moran & Jason Moran

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Here and Now, Above and Beyond: Music, Society, and Politics” by Simon Morrison

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

“Edward Elgar, Cello Concerto in E Minor, 1919” by Paul Muldoon

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Interval/Notation” by Maureen N. McLane

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Holy Song of Thanks” by Elaine Pagels

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Adagio” by Robert Pinsky

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“One, Two, Three…Infinity” by Richard Powers

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“See the Music” by Brian Seibert

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“On Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-Flat, Op. 130, with the Grosse Fuge” by Arnold Steinhardt

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“leyelP” by Susan Stewart

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“On the Art of Change” by Darren Walker

COMMISSIONED ON OUR 125TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR THE GUSTAVO DUDAMEL RESIDENCY

“Wusuli Boat Song” / “Water is Wide”: History of a Cross-Cultural Duet” by Abigail Washburn & Wu Fei

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“A Change Is Gonna Come” by Carrie Mae Weems

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Your Brother Called” by Susan Wheeler

commissioned for “Ways of Hearing: reflections on music in 26 pieces”

An anthology, conceived in celebration of Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, in which notable musicians, artists, scientists, thinkers, poets, and more explore the influence of music on their lives and work.

LEARN MORE
“Beethoven Invents the Species Again” by C. K. Williams

commissioned for a recital BY PIANIST RICHARD GOODE INTERSPERSED WITH POETRY BY C.K. WILLIAMS IN RESPONSE TO THE MUSIC PERFORMED

Premiered March 9, 2014

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Woolworth Center, Room 301
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609.258.2800
|pucmail@princeton.edu

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