Schedule of the Event:

April 14, 2025

Gateway

AWE Chicago 2025 opens in a place of deep spiritual significance for Aotearoa New Zealand - in front of Ruatepupuke II, the wharenui (M?ori meeting house) from Tokamaru Bay within Chicago’s Field Museum.

Celebrating 120 years of Ruatepupuke II’s place within the museum’s collection, join us for a powerful cultural exchange through the prism of chamber music, where music from Aotearoa New Zealand, Chicago, and beyond creates a bridge between past and present. Set on sacred ground, this wharenui was built as a gateway for the living to connect with their ancestors, history, and new communities—a spirit we honor as AWE brings its performance to this special space.

Presented in partnership with the Field Museum. Entrance Fee to Museum applies, with free entry into performance.

Program:

- Augusta Read Thomas (Chicago) Dream Catcher for solo violin
- Georg Telemann (Germany) Gulliver’s Travels for two violins
- Gareth Farr (NZ) Wakatipu for solo violin
- Eleanor Alberga (UK) Shining Gate of Morpheus for horn and string quartet

Performers:

Ben Goldscheider - French Horn
Benjamin Baker - Violin
Natalie Lin Douglas - Violin
Zoe Martin-Doike - Viola
Julia Yang - Cello

Attendance:

Entrance fee to museum applies, with free entry to performance within the Marae Gallery.

Time: 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Location: Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605

April 15, 2025

HOMMAGE

The second waypoint in AWE Chicago 2025’s journey is at the intimate Guarneri Hall—described as a “classical music speakeasy” and “one of Chicago’s best-kept secrets,” hidden within an unassuming office building.

Paired with New Zealand wines from Chasing Harvest—a Central Otago winery founded by two Chicagoans—this program showcases two masterpieces for violin, horn, and piano: György Ligeti’s 20th-century hommage to Johannes Brahms’ 19th-century trio, and Mata-Au, a string trio by New Zealand composer Salina Fisher, inspired by the breathtaking landscapes of the Queenstown Lakes.

Program:

- György Ligeti Trio for horn, violin and piano
- Salina Fisher Mata-au for string trio, AWE 2021 Commission
- Brahms Horn Trio, op.40

Performers:

Ben Goldscheider - French Horn
Benjamin Baker - Violin
Zoe Martin-Doike - Viola
Julian Yang - Cello
Albert Cano Smit - Piano

Attendance:

This is a private invite event with limited space available, however should you be interested to attend, please contact us to register your interest: [email protected]

Koha/donation suggested.

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Guarneri Hall NFP, 11 E Adams St Ste 350A, Chicago, IL 60603

April 16, 2025

HOMELAND

AWE Chicago 2025’s final concert unfolds in the grandeur of the Driehaus Museum’s Murphy Auditorium, a tribute to Chicago’s Gilded Age. The programme opens with Samuel Barber’s deeply expressive String Quartet in b minor, op.11, composed shortly after he moved to Europe, and featuring his famous Adagio which is often associated with his personal struggles.

The US Premiere of AWE’s 2023 Commission follows - Ensemble for horn, violin and cello from New Zealand composer Victoria Kelly, a reflection on musical and personal connections across time and space. AWE Chicago 2025 then concludes with the rich sounds of the French horn in Edwin York Bowen’s Horn Quintet in c minor, op.85. A celebrated British composer, his works brim with lyrical beauty and perhaps the sounds of a bygone era.

Presented in partnership with the Driehaus Museum, within their Third Wednesday Free Series.

Program:

- Samuel Barber String Quartet in b minor, op.11
- Victoria Kelly Ensemble for horn, violin and cello, AWE 2023 Commission
- Edwin York Bowen Horn Quintet in c minor, op.85

Performers:

Ben Goldscheider - French Horn
Benjamin Baker - Violin
Natalie Lin Douglas - Violin
Zoe Martin-Doike - Viola
Julia Yang - Cello

Attendance:

Presented in partnership with the Driehaus Museum, within their Third Wednesday Free Series.

The museum is open with free entry prior to the performance.

Though the concert is free entry, registrations are recommended so as not to miss out.

Time: 6:00pm

Location: The Richard H. Driehaus Museum(Murphy Auditorium), 40 East Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60611

April 17, 2025

Following our three festival performances at the Field Museum, Guarneri Hall and the Driehaus Musuem, AWE Festival Artists will spend a day performing in Chicago public Schools on Thursday 17 April.

Schools programme presented in partnership with the Chicago Philharmonic

Location: Chicago public Schools

Date: April 14-17, 2025

Location: Various Venue in Chicago, IL

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