KP Photography

MusicNOW will be March 21-22 at the Cincinnati Music Hall. This year MusicNOW has collaborated with Louis Langree and the CSO to present a unique program of exciting new music. The festival will feature the solo electric guitar talents of Bryce and Aaron Dessner (of The National) performing Bryce's "St. Carolyn by the Sea" as well as global premieres by influential composers Nico Muhly and Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang.

Full Festival Schedule:

March 21

Bryce Dessner: St. Carolyn by the Sea (featuring Bryce and Aaron Dessner)

Bryce Dessner: Murder Ballades (featuring eighth blackbird)

Nico Muhly: Pleasure Ground (featuring baritone Nathan Wyatt), World Premiere

Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy

March 22

Krzysztof Penderecki: Polymorphia

Johnny Greenwood: 48 Responses to Polymorphia

David Lang: mountain, world premiere

Prokofiev: Scythian Suite

Individual show tickets and festival passes are available here.

MusicNOW was founded in 2006 by Bryce Dessner of The National. Through the years, the festival has invited contemporary musicians and risk-taking artists who do not fit neatly into genre defined categories. Past performances have included festival-only collaborations, world premiere compositions, and sold out audiences. The festival has featured Sharon Van Etten, The National, Justin Vernon, Joanna Newsome, Andrew Bird, Toumani Diabate, Bang on a Can, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, Glenn Kotche, and Kyaw Kyaw Naing among others.