In a one-time performance, Chicago-based composer and sound artist Lia Kohl presents the world premiere of her latest composition "Music for Union Station," a chamber work responding to the Great Hall of Chicago's central train station. Inspired by the historic space's expansive acoustics, and an ongoing interest in the mundane and profound possibilities of sound, Kohl offers a soundscape for intentional audiences and train passengers alike.

NPR has described her music as "pure poetry", and Pitchfork says of her most recent album, " it's remarkable: she finds meditative grace in the city's most annoying sounds". "Music for Union Station" continues this trajectory, weaving together the sounds of the station and this new immersive chamber work.

Co-produced by Experimental Sound Studio, the piece features an ensemble of ten Chicago-based musicians: Dorothy Carlos (cello), Zachary Good (clarinet), Gerrit Hatcher (tenor saxophone), Riley Leitch (trombone), Nick Meryhew (trombone), Beth McDonald (tuba), Zach Moore (upright bass), Jason Stein (clarinet), Macie Stewart (violin) with Kohl performing as well on cello.

This work is supported by the Illinois Arts Council and Zach Smith.

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025

Time: 6-7pm

Location: Great Hall of Chicago's Central Train Station

Cost: Free and open to the public

ABOUT LIA KOHL

Lia Kohl's music revels in the mundane. Whether she's using field recordings of the din of the urban soundscape, or snippets from radio broadcasts, the composer, sound artist and cellist seems to dance with what others may hear as distractions, harmonizing the world around her in ways that change the listeners perceptions, too. Kohl's music is slyly revelatory, returning our fragmented attention.

Kohl has presented work and performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Walker Art Center, Chicago Symphony Center, and Eckhart Park Pool. Recent releases include The Ceiling Reposes on American Dreams Records and Normal Sounds, on Moon Glyph. She was the 2023/24 Wave Farm Radio Art Fellow.

Her work has been featured in Pitchfork, The Quietus, The Chicago Tribune, The Wire, and Downbeat Magazine, and on NPR, NTS Radio, Kunstradio, and WFMU. Recent collaborative releases include a duo with Whitney Johnson (Drag City), Honestly Same (Moonglyph), and ZRL (American Dreams Records).

As an improviser and collaborator, she has participated in cultural exchanges in Mexico, France, Germany, Denmark, China and the UK, and toured on four continents. An active recording artist, she has arranged strings and recorded with Makaya McCraven, Circuit des Yeux, Steve Gunn, claire rousay, and Steve Hauschildt, among others. As a sound and visual artist, she has presented gallery shows at Roman Susan Art Foundation and Experimental Sound Studios' Audible Gallery. She has been a resident artist at ACRE, Vashon Artist Residency, High Concept Labs, dfbrl8r Performance Art Gallery, Mana Contemporary, Stanford University, and Mills College. She tours regularly with puppet theater company Manual Cinema.

ABOUT ESS:

Experimental Sound Studio is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic evolution and the creative exploration of sound. As an international hub for sonic experimentation, ESS nurtures artists, heralds new works, and builds a broad, supportive community of makers, enthusiasts, and creative partners through production, presentation, education, and preservation.