Chicago Tribune Preview: Classical, Jazz and Experimental Music for Winter 2025

by Hannah Edgar

Chicago opera is, inexplicably, hibernating this winter — the city hosts no staged productions until mid-March, with Lyric Opera’s “La bohème.” Thankfully, other groups aren’t following suit. In fact, quite the opposite: I found it hard to winnow my highlights down to a scannable list, which, of course, is great news for music lovers:

Uncommon sounds

Frequency Festival is back with the usual daring, delicious array. Where last year’s lineup was predominantly Euro, this year’s offerings look a bit closer to home, including a first-time collaboration between two enterprising quartets, Varo String Quartet and ~Nois saxophone quartet…

Frequency Festival opening night: Feb. 18 8:30 p.m. at Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave.

In with the new

The October debut of Nova Linea Musica, a new chamber series holding its first season at Guarneri Hall, was auspicious, but its season highlight arrives in March. That program features no fewer than three premieres, composed by Errollyn Wallen, Conrad Tao and Stacy Garrop. ~Nois and string trio Black Oak headline.

“Letters from Home,” 6:30 p.m. March 12 at Guarneri Hall, 11 E. Adams St., 3rd floor; tickets $40, $10 for students; novalineamusica.org.