~Nois Quartet is a Chicago-based ensemble dedicated to championing new music for saxophone and building community through innovative, inclusive, and exceptional musical experiences.

Discover classical music reimagined. Curated by olula negre and Julian Otis, AfriClassical Futures celebrates visionary Black artists shaping the genre's future. Experience powerful performances followed by honest, open conversations. Together, we explore the rich intersections of the African Diaspora and Western art music in a welcoming, boundary-breaking community.

Art Song Chicago seeks to make Chicago a world-class home for the study and performance of art song and vocal chamber music repertoire by curating performances and providing educational opportunities.

Chicago-based collective ensemble Beyond This Point transforms the live performance experience by presenting adventurous programs that synthesize musical performance with other creative disciplines.

The Chicago Hip Hop Heritage Museum is a cultural institution dedicated to preserving, documenting, and celebrating the history and ongoing impact of hip hop in Chicago. Through exhibitions, programming, and community partnerships, it elevates the voices, contributions, and legacy of artists while connecting hip hop culture to education, storytelling, and civic engagement.

"The mission of the CJSS is to recognize outstanding improvising string players - past and present - and encourage the future! CJSS brings new audiences to the global community of 21st c. string players who are expanding the boundaries of artistic expression. "

Founded in Chicago in 2004, the Gaudete Brass strives to build community through music. We perform, crafting memorable, meaningful experiences with music. We educate musicians and non-musicians alike by deepening understanding and connection through music. We expand the chamber repertoire through inventive programming and collaboration with composers.

Missing Piece is a south side Chicago-based ensemble commissioning new works and providing transformative musical experiences through performance and education. Founders Dan Galat and Kelly Quesada collaborate with other artists and organizations to inspire audiences to connect with their community, care for our environment, listen deeply to ourselves and others, and speak out against injustice.

playOUT! is a Chicago-based LGBTQIA+ performing arts organization amplifying queer voices in classical music through performances, commissions, and community partnerships. Through inclusive artistic experiences and community-centered storytelling, playOUT! celebrates LGBTQIA+ artists and fosters spaces of belonging, creativity, and cultural connection.

The.BlkRoom is a Chicago-based co-creation studio empowering Black and Brown artists and creatives since 2021. Our space offers a safe, inclusive space for emerging and seasoned artists with a tiered membership program catered to meet creatives where they are and propel them to where they hope to be. With a vibrant community of over 7,000 community members and growing, the organization hosts showcase events, educational workshops, and holds space for special projects —most recently launching our Corridor Visual Arts Gallery, and the Bloom Residency for Black women — featured on Block Club Chicago. Committed to fostering inclusivity, creativity, and empowerment, The.BlkRoom strives to continue to grow as a hub for Chicago’s artistic community on the west side.

TRQPiTECA is a platform dedicated to creative expression in dance music. Founded by artists Natalie Murillo (La Spacer) & Jacquelyn Carmen Guerrero (Disc Jacqui) in 2015, TRQPITECA has staged 500+ artists from Chicago and around the world. TRQPITECA RECORDS is an emerging boutique retail shop and production studio celebrating Chicago’s dance music legacy with space for new music and visual media.

Chicago’s leading voice in new music, WFC seeks to redefine “choir.” At the forefront of Chicago’s contemporary music scene for over 50 years, and with over 200 premiere performances, we expand choral repertoire through the performance of living composers sharing exciting, unexpected sounds.

Angel City Arts is a non-profit organization committed to cultivating and revitalizing jazz culture in Los Angeles by producing concerts by established and emerging music innovators who have brought forward a significant contribution to the evolution of jazz and improvised music.

Bridge to Everywhere creates transcultural musical experiences that bring together contemporary musical styles from around the world in fresh and innovative ways that reflect our globally interconnected lives. We encourage collaboration, inspire empathy and curiosity, and celebrate the richness of our shared human journeys.

Brightwork newmusic enlivens and expands contemporary classical music through performing cutting-edge works, presenting innovative programming, and mentoring the next generation of creative artists.

DC6 Singers Collective is a Los Angeles-based vocal ensemble that reimagines classic and contemporary music through gospel-inspired harmonies and cultural authenticity, creating transformative experiences that preserve Black musical traditions while advancing new sound.

Laós Chamber Music is a local chamber music series offering free and public concerts in the San Gabriel Valley. Laós celebrates local musicians through musician-led curation and advocacy for the creation of new works by Los Angeles based composers.

Founded in 1939 by Peter Yates and Frances Mullen in their modest Rudolf Schindler-designed Silverlake home, Monday Evening Concerts (MEC) is the world's longest-running series devoted to contemporary music. Originally envisioned as a forum for displaced European emigrés and virtuoso Hollywood studio musicians to sink their teeth into the most challenging solo and chamber music of the day (such as the works of Charles Ives, Alexander Scriabin, Erik Satie, John Cage and Béla Bartók), MEC has blossomed its way to international acclaim for its presentation of demanding, uncompromising and poetically-charged music – whether new or ancient.

Oracle Egg is an artist-run incubator supporting new and ambitious work by both emerging and established artists in the field of experimental music and performance. Central to our mission is our residency series, which grants 3 to 7 day of unrestricted access to our downtown loft space to develop new, boundary-pushing work.

Piano Spheres supports and encourages the composition and performance of major new works for the piano while, mentoring the next generation of emerging pianists. It enlarges the piano repertoire by commissioning new works and sustaining a concert series that focuses primarily on works by contemporary composers.

The Resonance Collective inspires and nurtures collective spirit by expanding our understanding of sound and music as a mystical experience. We create interdisciplinary theatrical narratives based on spiritual transformation for our Original Works program. We curate music from traditions around the world in the Golden Thread Concert Series. We educate musicians during the annual N.E.O. Voice Festival.

Dr. Marcus Norris founded South Side Symphony with the idea “What if orchestras didn’t exist, and were invented today by a young Black man?” He describes the sound as “like if Quincy Jones grew up on 90s R&B and Rap.”

2640 Space is a non-commercial, collectively operated events space in Charles Village that offers accessible, affordable rental space for social justice, grassroots, and performing arts events.

Blakwater Production House is a 3600 square foot creative sanctuary. The genesis of Blakwater stems from a vision by Husband and Wife power couple Kariz Marcel and B-FLY. Blakwater is here to establish a cultural pathway throughout the diaspora, using music, film, events, and the arts as mediums of expression and connection. This funding will help us to get the word out to the public about the services and events we offer.

Contemporary Arts Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization co-founded in 1997 by Carl G. Grubbs, saxophonist, recording artist, educator and Barbara Harrell Grubbs, retired educator. Now in its 26th year of operation, the organization will utilize the funds from New Music USA to transition with a change in leadership and a look to increasing its efforts for sustainability in the coming years.

Every Person Is Coming From A Memory EPIC FAM is a Baltimore, Maryland based entertainment & media company with a mission to bring national attention to the city's wealth of artists. The company's goal is to develop music, television and film projects featuring & highlighting Baltimore's unique flavor & boundless talent.

Founded in 1996 in Baltimore, High Zero Foundation produces more than 150 performances of experimental and avant garde music annually featuring performing artists from Baltimore, the United States, and around the world.

Based in downtown Baltimore, Le Mondo is an artist-run venue dedicated to the development, creation, and elevation of new performance work in Baltimore City.

Mind on Fire is a chamber orchestra making music by living composers and an arts organization showcasing the talents of performing artists, building creative access and collaborative partnerships in Baltimore.

MRI Studios Inc promotes the artistic growth, entrepreneurial development, and overall advancement of young and emerging music creatives through accessible and equitable platforms for learning, sustainability, and wholeness.

a•pe•ri•od•ic is a Chicago-based ensemble specializing in notated, acoustic, experimental music that explores the indeterminacy of various musical elements including instrumentation, structure, pitch, and/or duration.

Àkójọpọ̀ is dedicated to creating accessible means for Pan-African musicians to pursue their artistic visions.

The AACM’s mission is to uplift humanity and enhance cultural understanding through the celebration of Great Black Music, to cultivate young musicians in the practice of creative music, and to push the boundaries of contemporary music through composition and improvisation, while providing an environment that encourages the development of its member-artist.

Chicago Composers Orchestra, one of the few orchestras worldwide to place exclusive focus on living composers, will shape a strategic plan to guide our growth over the next several years and ensure we steer mindfully toward our equity and sustainability goals while continuing to advocate for contemporary music and building a community of musicians, composers and audiences.

The mission of Crossing Borders Music is to use music to promote the dignity of people from all cultures. To this end, Crossing Borders Music shares moving music and compelling stories of people from under-represented cultures in a way that affirms and uplifts.

Hearing in Color is a Chicago-based organization dedicated to sharing the music and stories of communities that have been historically excluded from musical spaces. The New Music USA grant will be instrumental in helping us establish a successful business structure to promote and continue the work we do!

Lampo will use funds from this program to identify new opportunities to improve development efforts, for long-term, organizational benefit.

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune for its "stirring contributions to the art song genre", LYNX Project is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that amplifies diverse voices through new song commissions, inclusive concerts, and educational programming. Founded in 2015, LYNX was formed to revitalize the genre of art song and share it with new audiences.

New Music Chicago (NMC) advocates for the importance of a vital, vibrant music scene in our city and its geographical region, serving emerging and established member artists with professional development, community building, and performance opportunities ranging from our monthly hybrid Presents series to the nationally-regarded Ear Taxi Festival.

NON:op Open Opera Works engages diverse Chicago and Illinois communities with experiential performances and projects where people use the arts to create a more just society.

Pleiades is a performance series focused on increasing the visibility of women, trans and non-binary artists and building community among femme and nonbinary performers from diverse backgrounds.

The Chinese Fine Arts Society (CFAS) is a Chicago-based organization dedicated to promoting the appreciation of Chinese culture, enhancing cultural exchange, and pursuing excellence in Chinese music, dance, and visual arts. CFAS plans to use the funding awarded by New Music USA towards staff development, fundraising initiatives, and strategic planning.

We will use the grant funds to finalize and release our recorded singles, ensuring they reach a wide audience through targeted marketing efforts. Additionally, we will chart four of our songs into brass band sheet music, specifically designed for educational use by high schools and colleges. This funding will also cover essential administrative and legal expenses, supporting both the growth of our music and the creation of valuable resources for educational institutions.

Batalá New York is the premier all-women Black-led percussion ensemble, promoting Afro-Brazilian culture and empowerment of women through high energy, visually stimulating dancing and drumming performances.

Bergamot Quartet is fueled by a passion for exploring and advocating for the music of living composers with creative programming, community-oriented audience building, and frequent commissioning.

ChamberQUEER highlights LGBTQ+ voices in classical music; creates intersectionally inclusive spaces; and applies a queer lens to the experience of classical music in the 21st century.

Irreversible Entanglements are a liberation-oriented free jazz ensemble formed in 2015 by saxophonist Keir Neuringer, poet Camae Ayewa, bassist Luke Stewart, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, and drummer Tcheser Holmes.

LayeRhythm Productions, Inc. (LPI) highlights freestyle dance and music voices under-recognized in the traditional performing arts landscape. The generous New Music USA funds will be used for musical capacity building geared toward street and club dance styles.

We as Pathos Trio plan to use our 2023 New Music Inc. Grant funds towards expanding on booking more live, in-person concerts with presenters and venues, and towards general operating expenses in order to keep our ensemble up and running, which in turn would then help ease our overall financial burdens in realizing our upcoming commissions, projects, and educational programs to their fullest potential.

Inspired by Moki Cherry’s motto “the stage is home and home is a stage,” Pique-nique prioritizes community, curiosity, and unbridled creativity through events, music production, and distribution.

Resonator provides administrative support and artistic development for self-managed artists so that they can focus on what matters to them: the art.

Founded on the principles of curiosity, change, and collaboration, TAK is dedicated to commissioning new works and direct partnership with composers and other artists, and they have premiered hundreds of works to date. The ensemble has released seven albums to critical acclaim. In 2019, TAK their in-house media label, TAK editions, on which they have released several albums and seasons of the TAK Editions Podcast.

The Healing Project is a constellation of creative works by a collective of artists aimed at dismantling structural violence and offering healing spaces.