Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 6:00PM
Studebaker Theater
Fine Arts Building 410 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL
Chicago Philharmonic Presents Artist in Residence
Njioma Grevious Njioma Chinyere Grevious, Violinist
The Chicago Philharmonic
Scott Speck, Principal Conductor & Artistic Director
This concert is free! Registration is required. A suggested donation is encouraged to support this program.
Program:
Camille Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andantino quasi allegretto
III. Molto moderato e maestoso – Allegro non troppo
Elżbieta Sikora Liquid Air
On April 1, the Chicago Philharmonic presents the U.S. Premiere of Liquid Air by Elżbieta Sikora, one of today’s most distinguished voices in contemporary music. A pioneer whose work bridges sonic experimentation and expressive orchestral writing, Sikora represents a generation of women composers whose contributions continue to reshape the classical canon.
Composed in 2021 and commissioned by the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Liquid Air explores uncertainty and transformation through shifting orchestral textures. Contrasting forces – density and lightness, motion and suspension – interact and evolve, leaving the work suspended between states.
The evening also spotlights Artist in Residence Njioma Chinyere Grevious, one of classical music’s most electrifying young stars. Celebrated for her passionate artistry and virtuosic command, Grevious has earned the Robert F. Smith First Prize at the Sphinx Competition, a 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and recognition as one of Classic FM’s 2024 Rising Stars.
For her second annual Artist in Residence showcase, Grevious joins the Chicago Philharmonic under Artistic Director Scott Speck to perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3, bringing radiant brilliance and commanding presence to this jewel of the repertoire.
Together, Sikora’s groundbreaking compositional voice and Grevious’ dynamic artistry illuminate the contemporary landscape of classical music, as the program highlights the voices of women in classical music.
Elżbieta Sikora, Composer
After graduating from the Sound Engineering Department in Warsaw, Elżbieta Sikora studied electroacoustic music in Paris at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales under Pierre Schaeffer and François Bayle. She continued her studies at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University with John Chowning, and at IRCAM in Paris.
She later completed composition studies in Warsaw with Tadeusz Baird and Zbigniew Rudziński, and in Paris with Betsy Jolas. Together with Krzysztof Knittel and Wojciech Michniewski, she co-founded the composers’ group KEW. Since 1981, she has lived in France while maintaining strong artistic ties to Poland. From 2011 to 2017, she served as Artistic Director of the Musica Electronica Nova Festival in Wrocław.
Elżbieta Sikora has received numerous distinctions and composition awards, most recently the French Presidential Prize for Lifetime Achievement awarded by the Académie Charles Cros in Paris in 2023.
Her work frequently combines instrumental and vocal writing with electronic media. Published by PWM Edition (Kraków), her compositions are performed internationally and widely recorded.
Learn more at Elżbieta Sikora
PROGRAM NOTE
Liquid Air
Uncertainty, transience, interpenetration. Air transforms from liquid to gaseous state; captured in this moment of change, it assumes a new form – mysterious, unstable, in motion.
The work opens with a low sonority. Around it, a dense orchestral texture gradually accumulates, pierced by brief high-register woodwind gestures that enter like sudden gusts of air. This interplay of opposites – weight and lightness, density and breath – defines the first section, slow and contemplative in character.
The second section introduces contrast and propulsion. Rapid string passages form the structural backbone of the music, undergoing continuous transformation and set against sharp brass accents. A quieter, more delicate episode follows, recalling earlier material before rhythmic intensity returns. The section culminates in an ascending progression that flows through the orchestral groups, creating a sense of expansion and release.
The third section opens with a subdued motif that functions as a leitmotif. Fragments from earlier sections reappear as echoes or recollections – never fully restated, but transformed, refracted, and reshaped. The work closes not with resolution, but with an evolving resonance – an atmosphere suspended between states. – Elżbieta Sikora
Njioma Chinyere Grevious, Violinist
Praised for her expressive tones, elegant playing and a “dazzling performance” with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, DC, violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious is a passionate and versatile solo, chamber and orchestral musician. A winner of the prestigious 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, she has been described as “superb” by the Chicago Classical Review.
A graduate of the Juilliard School in 2021, Njioma was awarded the John Erskine Prize for scholastic and artistic achievement. In 2023, She won the Robert F. Smith First Prize and the Audience Choice awards in the Senior Division of the Sphinx Competition as well as the Grand Prize of the Concert Artist Guild (CAG) and the Young Classical Artist Trust (YCAT) Elmaleh Competition.
As a soloist, during the 2024-25 season Njioma made her debut at the world-renown Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Brussels Philharmonic and at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Sphinx Virtuosi. She also debuted at the iconic Wigmore Hall, undertaking a UK tour as a YCAT artist. Njioma has performed in solo recitals across the United States including at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Cal Performances, Strathmore Mansion, Mesa Arts Center and Pepperdine’s Wengler Center for the Arts. Named this year as the Chicago Philharmonic’s inaugural Artist in Residence, Njioma will be a featured soloist over the next three years in addition to building upon her outreach and mentoring of local children. In past years, Njioma has performed with the Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Florence Symphony Orchestra and Western Michigan Symphony, among others.
Njioma can also be heard with Tai Murray collaborating on the high-energy, cross-genre “Double Down” Invention No. 1 for Two Violins by contemporary composer Curtis Stewart. The piece is featured on the upcoming Sphinx Virtuosi album “American Mirror” to be released by Deutsche Grammophon in August.
A founding member of the Abeo Quartet, Njioma completed graduate studies with Ryan Meehan and the Calidore String Quartet at the University of Delaware where she was a fellow in the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence Program. Abeo is the Third Prize winner of the 2023 Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition. In 2022, Abeo won First Prize and the Audience Favorite Prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition and was invited to participate in the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition. The quartet was also a finalist in the 2022 Young Concert Artists competition and has been a winner of Silver Medals in the Chesapeake International and Fischoff chamber music competitions. Abeo has appeared on WQXR Midday Masterpieces and WETA Classical Radio as well as in performances in the Schneider Concert Series, Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center, Emerald City Music, in Montreal, Oslo, Norway, and in residence at the Glenstone Museum, where they premiered “Moonshot” by Alistair Coleman. At Juilliard, the quartet studied under the tutelage of the Juilliard String Quartet and has also been coached by members of the Alban Berg, Quatuor Ebene, Takács, Artemis, Brentano, Miró and Emerson quartets.
In 2024, Njioma became a member of New York City’s self-conducted, collaborative Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. She has also been invited to perform in numerous series and festivals including the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Jupiter Chamber Players, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Gateways Music Festival, North Shore Chamber Music Festival, Chiarina Chamber Players, CMSCVA, ChamberFest Cleveland, Music@Menlo, Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Montreal International String Quartet Academy, Meadowmount, Fontainebleau Schools, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
When she was four years old Njioma began her violin studies, becoming a scholarship recipient through Boston’s Project STEP string training program for Black and Latino youth as well as through Winsor Music. Her other principal teachers have included Ronald Copes, James Buswell, Irina Muresanu, Mariana Green-Hill and Farhoud Moshfegh. With her siblings at first, Njioma has performed in hundreds of outreach concerts. As a Juilliard Gluck Fellow she performed regularly for the medically vulnerable, retirees and children. Njioma also taught composition and collaboration to NYC elementary and middle school students from underrepresented communities through the Opportunity Music Project.
Njioma is the recipient of an outstanding violin by Pietro Guarneri of Mantua c. 1679 on generous loan from the Stradivari Society.
Learn more at www.njiomagrevious.com
Scott Speck, Artistic Director & Principal Conductor
With recent performances in London, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, Scott Speck has inspired international acclaim as a conductor of passion, intelligence, and winning personality. Scott Speck was named Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Chicago Philharmonic in June of 2013 and has been Music Director of the Joffrey Ballet since 2010. He has become a frequent guest for the Chicago Symphony’s family concerts. His work with Chicago Philharmonic earned him the award “2021 Conductor of the Year” from the Illinois Council of Orchestras.
Scott Speck is the co-author of two of the world’s bestselling books on classical music, Classical Music for Dummies and Opera for Dummies. These books have received stellar reviews in both national and international press, have garnered enthusiastic endorsements from major American orchestras, and have been translated into twenty languages. His third book in the series, Ballet for Dummies, was released to great acclaim as well.
For more information visit www.scottspeck.org
Chicago Philharmonic
Founded in 1989 by musicians of the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic Society is dedicated to reimagining the orchestra concert experience. With nearly 200 musician members and a unique system of musician governance, Chicago Philharmonic is recognized as one of the most versatile, innovative, and ambitious orchestras in the country.
Chicago Philharmonic proudly collaborates with the world’s greatest artists across multiple genres. Past partnerships include Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Joshua Bell, Kishi Bashi, The Joffrey Ballet, English National Ballet, Tank and the Bangas, William Basinski, American Ballet Theatre, Ryan Speedo Green, and more.
Since Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 honoree Terell Johnson became Executive Director in 2021, the orchestra has continued to expand its artistic reach and push the boundaries of symphonic performance. Notable recent milestones include a history-making debut at Lollapalooza as the first orchestra to perform at the festival, a sold-out Carnegie Hall debut with Sleeping At Last, and a world premiere tribute to Whitney Houston at Ravinia Festival. From groundbreaking live film concerts to dynamic collaborations with today’s most exciting artists, Chicago Philharmonic remains at the forefront of innovation and inclusion in the city’s performing arts landscape.
For more information visit Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra
This program is presented by Chicago Philharmonic and supported by:
