NextGen
NextGen
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Experience a remarkable testament to the power of music and community.
Each NextGen experience features the opportunity to: • Meet a renowned composer • Experience a concert of pieces exclusively by the resident composer • Hear amazing singers from collaborating youth or high school choirs • Share the inspiration of a combined piece where CMS and the students surround the audience and sing together • Grasp what you're about to experience in a pre-concert conversation with the composer and CMS Music Director John C. Hughes • Have a space to reflect on the experience during an informal post-concert reception with the composer, Music Director, CMS members, collaborating singers, and audience members |
NextGen 2027: Jocelyn Hagen
Friday, February 26 at 7:30pm
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Perhaps our most inspirational concert of the season. Share the space with nearly 200 singers, ranging from pre-teens to octogenarians, as they raise their voices together in a remarkable testament to the power of music and community. Composer Jocelyn Hagen will join us for a concert of her music, including the innovative multimedia work The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci with the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra. CMS collaborates with singers from New Trier High School (Amy Branahl, Director) and Stevenson High School (Roland Hatcher, Director). |
Previous NextGen Collaborations
NextGen 2026: Michael John Trotta
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The third NextGen featured composer Michael John Trotta, the Metropolis Chamber Ensemble, singers from Campanella Children's Chorus led by Marianna Kosaya, and singers from Vernon Hills High School led by Jeremy Little. The concert featured Surge Illuminare, O Nata Lux, and Trotta's new Requiem setting performed by CMS, Ubi Caritas and Caritas Abundat by Campanella Concert Choir, Tu Sola Remedio and Two American Folk Songs by Vernon Hills Concert Choir, and Our Birth Is but a Sleep performed by the combined ensembles. |
Left to right: John C. Hughes, Michael John Trotta,
Marianna Kosaya, and Jeremy Little |
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Michael John Trotta conducts Our Birth Is but a Sleep with an intergenerational choir of nearly 180 singers
NextGen 2025: Jake Runestad
CMS was honored to work with composer Jake Runestad, cellist Paula Kosower, pianist Lyudmila Lakisova, singers from Conant High School led by Tim Koll, and singers from Glenbard West High School led by Andy Jeffrey.
The concert featured Cello Songs, American Triptych, and I Will Lift Mine Eyes performed by CMS, Your Soul Is Song and Ner Ner performed by the high school ensembles, and Let My Love Be Heard performed by all 160 singers.
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Hear directly from the participants by clicking here.
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Composer Jake Runestad works with high school singers
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Singers from CMS, Conant High School, and Glenbard West High School rehearse during NextGen 2025
NextGen 2024: Elaine Hagenberg
The inaugural NextGen concert in 2024 featured composer Elaine Hagenberg, the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra, pianist Lyudmila Lakisova, Fremd Chamber Singers led by Christina Collins, and Lake Zurich Concert Choir led by Nick Juknelis.
The concert featured a selection of Ms. Hagenberg's beautiful and inspiring works, including I Will Be a Child of Peace, Illuminare, Alleluia, By Night, and The Music of Stillness.
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Hear directly from the participants by clicking here.
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Left to right: Elaine Hagenberg, Nick Juknelis,
Christina Collins, and John C. Hughes |
Singers from Lake Zurich and Fremd High Schools work with composer Elaine Hagenberg during a half-day clinic
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