Year-End Reflection 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on the upcoming plans for the 2025 festival and our commitment to Chicagoland’s new music community.
The Ear Taxi Festival continues to be a powerful force in contemporary music, providing a platform for artists to push boundaries and connect with audiences in ways that go beyond the traditional concert experience. From groundbreaking world premieres and collaborations to community workshops, the upcoming festival will once again bring national attention to Chicago’s thriving contemporary music scene, defining our city as a destination for this living art form.
As the largest contemporary music festival in the Midwest, ETF '25 will spotlight Illinois and Chicago’s talented artists with an unprecedented number of commissions for Illinois-based composers—22 through the Composers Showcase and up to 15 more through the Taxi Performances—making it the largest single commissioning initiative in Illinois history. This work would not be possible without the support of our community, including you.
As we look ahead to the festival of concerts, workshops, and programs that inspire and uplift, we ask you to consider making a special year-end gift to support New Music Chicago’s Ear Taxi Festival. Your generosity will enable us to keep amplifying innovative voices, introducing new artists, and cultivating spaces where artists and audiences come together to experience the power of music.
The Ear Taxi Festival is excited to announce a special dollar-for-dollar matching opportunity for contributions up to $40,000. Now through the end of 2024, you can double your impact.
When you make a contribution to the Ear Taxi Festival, you help us:
Support Emerging Artists: Your funding provides opportunities for performances, commissions, and professional development, allowing us to nurture the next generation of innovative composers and performers.
Expand Community Engagement: Our workshops, interactive events, and outreach programs connect people of all ages and backgrounds with contemporary music, sparking creativity and fostering connection.
Present New and Diverse Voices: We are dedicated to featuring music that reflects the diversity of our city and our world. Your gift will help us showcase voices that too often go unheard.
We’re asking for your help to ensure that the Ear Taxi Festival can continue to make Chicago a home for adventurous music and a space for meaningful artistic exchange. A gift of any amount will make a tremendous difference and help us sustain our mission well into the future. Please consider a year-end gift that will bring even more music, inspiration, and community to Chicago and beyond.
Thank you for your passion, for being part of the Ear Taxi Festival family, and for investing in the future of contemporary music. Together, let’s keep the music going.
Thank You for Supporting Chicago’s Music Community