If you’re looking to expand your own repertoire, why not explore the music of living composers? Check out these 10 composers changing contemporary classical music today who also all happen to be women.

Maestro Muti sat down with Sheila Jones, coordinator of the CSO’s African American Network, years ago to ask, “How do we bring the African American community into Symphony Center?”

You may know Stewart Copeland as a founding member of the band the Police, but did you know he’s also composed works for orchestra, ballets, and even operas? His music has also been featured in countless films and even video games. With such an incredibly diverse output, what has inspired this chart-topping composer and musician to create new operas? In …

“Restoration is an act of defiance against decay,” composer William Neil said. His new work, “Out of Darkness into Light,” celebrates the restoration of Chicago’s historic St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.

“Music and worship started out together…” composer and conductor Victoria Bond explains. “In Jewish worship, prayers are not spoken, they are sung.”

National Opera Week 2016 is from October 28 to November 6. Why not celebrate by experiencing the Chicago premiere of a contemporary opera? You can see not one, not two, but three new-to-Chicago operas.

David Lang (Photo: Peter Serling) It’s not every day you can hear the world premiere of a piece composed by a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer for free. You can hear David Lang’s latest work, composition as explanation, at the Arts Club of Chicago, during its open house celebrating its 100th anniversary this Saturday, October 22, 2016, from 12-5 pm. “One of …

Composer Carl Vine and trombonist Michael Mulcahy are both Australians, and both Sydneysiders – Carl by choice, Mick by birth. Though the two had crossed paths occasionally over the year, their first major collaboration takes place over 9,000 miles from Sydney. Mick is the trombone soloist in Five Hallucinations, Carl’s concerto for trombone and orchestra, which has its world première October …

Philip Glass is simultaneously one of the best known and most misunderstood composers of our time. Though he has many fans, he also has many critics.

A fourteen-time Grammy Award winner, Cuban-born saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera is revered in both the jazz and classical worlds.

“I try to take Rostropovich’s example, who had incredible relationships with composers and of course was the muse to Shostakovich and Prokofiev,” Alisa Weilerstein said. “Without him, we might not have these titanic 20th century cello works.”

Pulitzer-winning composer Paul Moravec: “A supernatural story makes total sense for an opera…”

During March, Women’s History Month, we draw special attention to the music of women composers past and present on WFMT. Here are 10 living composers who are changing music today, along with 10 albums featuring their music you might want to add to your library.

“One of the things I really like about film is the size of the audience. There are potentially millions and millions of people who want to see film, who are open to hearing music, and who know that music can be an important part of the film experience.”

When Karpman encountered Langston Hughes’ poem, she was instantly fascinated.

Growing up, composer Jonathan Berger reflects, “there was an enormous amount of talk in my house about what really constitutes patriotism, what is a right war and a wrong war…”

DownBeat magazine gave Vijay Iyer the honors of Jazz Artist & Jazz Group of the Year in its 63rd Annual Critics Poll. But to Iyer, jazz is a bit of a four-letter word.

Chicago-based author Sara Paretsky is known for her crime and detective novels, but what may be less well-known is that Paretsky is a longtime fan of classical music.

David Bowie, who passed away January 10, 2016 at age 69, inspired artists in every medium over the decades. Philip Glas is one of them: his Symphony No. 1 “Low,” composed in 1992, is based on Bowie’s album, Low, and his Symphony No. 4 “Heroes” is based on Bowie’s Heroes.

“But for some reason, people are surprised to learn that American Indians compose ‘classical’ music.”

Chicago audiences will know pianist Conrad Tao from his time as Composer-in-Residence with Music in the Loft, and from WFMT’s airwaves.

“I wrote Ex Patria in 2011 to honor the 19,336 victims of homicide that year in Venezuela.”

“I’ve been working towards this my whole career,” Lopez said excitedly as he observed summer technical rehearsals for Bel Canto.

If you’re not familiar with these 9 composers, we’ve got 2 things to say: 1. You’re missing out on a lot of great music. 2. Now’s your chance to catch up! June is African-American Music Appreciation Month, and while you shouldn’t limit your appreciation of music by African-American composers to the month of June, it’s a nice excuse to explore …

A conversation with Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Finnish composer-conductor widely considered to be one of the most important in his field.