The ~Group
Take your preconceptions of ‘noise’ and toss them out the window. Equal parts “fiendishly good and fiendishly goofy” (Chicago Tribune), ~Nois Quartet is a “prolific, charismatic young ensemble that is swiftly becoming the American saxophone quartet du jour” (Musical America). Founded in 2016, the Chicago-based ensemble is dedicated to championing new music for saxophone and building community through innovative, inclusive, and exceptional musical experiences. The group has premiered over 120 new works that are thought-provoking, engaging, and honestly just really good, by some of today's most inspiring compositional voices.
~Nois has presented over 200 performances in their nine years of music-making, and has “continued to legitimize the saxophone quartet as a premier ensemble formation for classical music” (thank you Brutal New Music). Their performances have spanned 28 states, including invitations to perform at some of the top festivals and concert series in the nation, including LONG PLAY, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Princeton Sound Kitchen, and the University of Chicago Presents Series. As educators, ~Nois has held residencies at some of the nation’s top academic institutions including the University of Chicago (Don Michael Randel Ensemble in Residence 2020/21), Princeton University (Princeton Sound Kitchen Residency 2023), Michigan State University (MSUFCU Entrepreneurial Ensemble in Residence 2022/), CU Boulder (Composition Department Ensemble in Residence 2020 - 2025), and more. The ensemble has also been awarded top prizes at numerous prestigious chamber music competitions including the M-Prize International Arts Competition, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and was once deemed, “Too loud for the Farmers’ Market” (Evanston Local, Illinois 1st Ward Constituent).
As proud residents of Chicago, the ensemble members seek to serve the city through an annual season of self-presented concerts and programs. Each year, ~Nois’ Curiosity Series brings together Chicago residents and artists for an evening of music exclusively featuring the work of composers and performers with strong ties to the city, with a particular focus on advocating for younger creators in Chicago. In the past nine seasons alone, ~Nois has presented over 60 world premieres by Chicago composers. Additionally, ~Nois serves Chicago youth through their Young Creators Fellowship, which selects two local high school-aged students each year to collaborate with the ensemble on new compositions.
This season the ensemble will be launching new Chicago collaborations with various local institutions including the Chicago International Puppet Theater, the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the composition departments at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The group will also appear on the Frequency Series, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and the One Tree Many Branches Series. ~Nois’ 2025/2026 touring programs will include 40+ performances and educational engagements across 10 states, as well as the group’s first international appearance in Hong Kong.
At the core of ~Nois’ ethos is a fierce dedication to the commissioning of living composers, with a particular emphasis on close collaboration and a commitment to honoring the composer's artistic voice (bonus points if the piece needs an instruction manual to perform). With more than 120 world premieres to date, the members of ~Nois have had the privilege of working closely with some of the world’s leading voices in composition to create new works for saxophone quartet, including Viet Cuong, Alex Mincek, Jessie Montgomery, Nico Muhly, Shawn Okpebholo, Jeff Scott, Hans Thomalla, Augusta Read Thomas, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Kari Watson.
~Nois has had the honor of sharing the stage with some of today’s most prolific performers and ensembles including Third Coast Percussion, Sō Percussion, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, My Brightest Diamond, Eighth Blackbird, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Jessie Montgomery. The group has been featured as concerto soloists alongside some of the top wind ensembles across the country, including the United States Navy Band, Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Michigan State University Wind Symphony, University of Georgia Wind Ensemble, University of Colorado at Boulder Wind Symphony, Northshore Concert Band, and Las Vegas Academy of the Arts Wind Ensemble.
~Nois’ recorded output boasts a wide variety of genres and styles beginning with their debut album, “Is This ~Nois”. Heralded as “fresh and intense” (The Whole Note), the album exclusively features works by composers with ties to the quartet’s hometown of Chicago and was featured in the “Best of Bandcamp” highlights for contemporary classical music in June of 2020. Most recently, the group released “Kinds of ~Nois” on the label Bright Shiny Things in collaboration with the composer collective Kinds of Kings, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart. The group’s genre-bending third album, “What is ~Nois”, is set to release on New Amsterdam Records in April of 2026 and will feature collaborations with performer-composers from a wide variety of popular music disciplines, including Darian Donovan Thomas, Aeryn Santillan, Francisco Del Pino, and Travis Laplante. ~Nois’ fourth album on Cedille Records will be released in the spring of 2027, featuring world premiere recordings of new works by Nico Muhly, Hans Thomalla, Bobby Ge, and Shawn Okpebholo.
~Nois has also been featured on some of the country’s leading classical music radio stations, including WFMT in Chicago and WQXR’s “New Sounds” Series on New York Public Radio. Beyond their full-length albums, you can hear the group on a variety of self-released singles and composer portrait albums with some of our most treasured friends and collaborators, including Augusta Read Thomas, Annika Socolofsky, Vines (Cassie Wieland), Osnat Netzer, and Mischa Zupko.
~Nois is János Csontos (he/him), Jordan Lulloff (he/him), Natalia Warthen (she/her), and Julian Velasco (he/him). For more information, please visit www.noisquartet.org.
