Counting Down to Liquid Music / by Liquid Music

Originally posted on the SPCO Blog on AUGUST 12, 2014

As we approach the third season of Liquid Music, curator Kate Nordstrum shares some of her thoughts and a new video preview of the upcoming season.

In less than two months, SPCO’s boundary-defying Liquid Music series will open its third season with a collaborative performance by composer/Wilco percussionist Glenn Kotche and Third Coast Percussion, who the Chicago Reader called “one the country’s finest new music ensembles.” It will be an amazing start, and I’m ecstatic about the robust season that will follow — once again full of musical discovery, surprises and dynamic artistry.

Today, we’re releasing our new video trailer on YouTube (embedded below). Talented editor Justin Staggs was able to capture the energy and excitement of past Liquid Music events and give you a first look at the upcoming season’s projects and performers. (Thanks to McNally Smith College of Music for their support of the trailer project.)

I consider it to be a real privilege to serve as curator of the Liquid Music series. I tell people that in this role I “invite adventurous audiences of all ages to explore the new and the fascinating in the colorful landscape of classical music today.” And while that’s absolutely true, it’s also starting to become a bit of a stump phrase. Among friends, I simply say – this is cool stuff, just trust me and check it out. Artists of varying backgrounds are collaborating and composing in very exciting ways and the Liquid Music performance experience is decidedly without pretense. We are all learning together and reveling in the social and communal pleasure of live music and the birthing of new, forward-thinking projects. Let’s open our ears, eyes and hearts together. New music is a cause for celebration!

In 2014-15, our roving series will hit the Music Room at SPCO Center, Walker Art Center’s William and Nadine McGuire Theater, Amsterdam Bar & Hall, and the NEW Ordway Concert Hall. Season tickets recently went on sale, so now is your best chance to lock up seats for the most popular events before they sell out. Read all about the individual projects and artists on our Liquid Music page.