About the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), described recently in the New York Times as “one of the most adventurous and accomplished groups in new music” and by the New Yorker as “a powerhouse of new-music programming on a Chicago-New York axis…brilliant and unexpected” is a uniquely structured chamber music ensemble comprising thirty dynamic and versatile young performers who are dedicated to advancing the music of our time. Through innovative programming, inter-disciplinary collaborations, commissions by young composers, and performances in nontraditional venues, ICE brings together new music and new audiences.

ICE was founded in 2001, and has rapidly established itself as one of the leading new-music ensembles of its generation, winning first prize in the 2005 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Awards, and performing over fifty concerts a year in the US and abroad. Recent engagements include headline performances at the Musica Nova Festival (Helsinki, Finland), the Mostly Mozart Festival of Lincoln Center, the opening ceremonies of the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, and multiple engagements at Miller Theatre, including the US Premiere of Xenakis’ Oresteia. In addition to ICE’s performances at major venues throughout the world, the ensemble has self-produced eight large-scale contemporary music festivals in venues as wide-ranging as nightclubs, galleries and public spaces, many of which are free and open to the public. ICE has released critically acclaimed recordings on the Bridge, Naxos, Tzadik and New Focus labels.

A champion of music by emerging composers, ICE has given over 400 world premieres to date. In 2004, ICE launched the 21st Century Young Composers Project, a worldwide call-for-entries by composers under the age of 35, which has culminated in the world premieres of works by young composers in 27 different countries.

An interest in multimedia productions has led to collaborations with Ridge Theater, with the New York City ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, with director Luca Vegetti on the US Premiere of Xenakis’ opera Oresteia, and with director Lydia Steier on the co-production of a touring version of Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King. As a recipient of a MAP Fund award last, ICE commissioned the Brooklyn-based songwriter Corey Dargel for an evening-length art-pop song cycle tailor-made for the ensemble, which premiered at Performance Space 122 in May 2009, and will perform again at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art in the Spring of 2010. This season also brings exciting collaborations with the John Jasperse Dance Company and DJ Hahn Rowe, as well as Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. Dj Spooky.

Additional highlights of the 2009-10 season include Composer Portraits of Iannis Xenakis and Kaija Saariaho at Miller Theatre and Chicago's MCA; a collaboration with the conductor Ludovic Morlot and the composer Georges Aperghis; ICE-produced series at The Tank, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Chicago's Velvet Lounge and Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP); a featured performance at the Darmstadt Festival in July 2010; and forthcoming releases in 2010 on the Mode, Bridge, Tzadik and New Amsterdam record labels.

How does ICE work?

Ensemble and Organizational Structure

ICE is comprised of a flexible group of thirty chamber musicians, including strings, woodwinds, piano, percussion, voice and composers, which enables great flexibility of programming. ICE performs works scored for ensembles from solos and duos to chamber orchestra, as well as multi-media works, works utilizing extended techniques and non-western instruments, and improvisatory and electro-acoustic works.

ICE has a five-part organizational structure comprised of:

ICE Advisory Board

A distinguished panel of internationally-acclaimed musicians, music educators, composers and administrators with extensive experience in the field of contemporary music, the Advisory Board advises ICE on matters of artistic programming, fundraising, and marketing/development.

ICE Executive Board of Directors

A growing body of board members who are committed to fundraising, managing ICE’s finances, overseeing ICE’s organizational and artistic growth, and developing links to the community.

ICE Staff

A paid staff consisting of Executive Director, Program Director, Managing Director, Director of Development, a Chicago Administrative Assistant, a Graphic Designer and a Webmaster.

ICE Artist Roundtable

Thirty distinguished, accomplished young chamber musicians who make up the ensemble.

ICE Roundtable Committee

A committee of 5-7 leading Roundtable players who are cooperatively responsible for personnel management, contracting guest soloists, conductors and collaborators. The RC also discusses programming with the Executive and Program Directors on a regular basis, and fields inquires and ideas from the Roundtable at large for consideration by the Executive and Program Directors.