The special appeal of Network for New Music and its seasons of concerts lies in its choices of compelling composers, adventurous performers, unconventional venues, and curious audiences. Network’s 2025-2026 season dares its audiences to “trust those instincts and celebrate collaboration as our defining practice as we turn into the next quarter of the 21st century.”

Artistic director Thomas Schuttenhelm pointed out in a statement on the organization’s website, “I have been playing Leo Brouwer’s music for 35 years, and it is out of deep respect and reverence that I present a composer portrait concert of his music, including a featured commission and world premiere. Our West Chester University residency brings us both Adam Silverman’s ‘No Time to Total Alone Time,’ a pandemic work that will receive its long-awaited premiere, and Mark Rimple’s new work, ‘Nonstandard Deviations’ for bass clarinet, electric guitar and cello, written specifically for our ensemble, alongside student readings and recordings that showcase emerging talent.”

He continued, “Carla Kihlstedt joins us as both composer and singing violinist for her macabre Edward Gorey cycle, ‘28 Little Deaths,’ the ultimate collaboration between creator and performer. Our return to Haverford College’s Arboretum with Eve Beglarian’s forest of double basses represents our ongoing partnership with spaces that transform how music is experienced, and with audiences willing to follow us into the woods.”

Schuttenhelm pointed to Philadelphia’s 250th celebration of the founding of the U.S. in 1776 becoming a lens for examining how we tell stories differently nowadays. Mandolinist Ekaterina Skliar will be featured in a concert that traces the city’s journey from colonial origins to contemporary complexity in a theatricalized collaboration that asks what history sounds like today.

“We say yes to composers and performers, universities and communities, traditional venues and unconventional spaces, audiences ready for surprises. As we enter this new quarter-century, collaboration isn’t just how we work – it’s how we’re writing the future,” Schuttenhelm said in the statement.

Network for New music opens its 2025-2026 season Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., with its “Leo Brouwer Composer Portrait” in the Esperanza Arts Center, 4261 N. Fifth Street, Philadelphia. “West Chester Partners” will be presented twice: Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m., at West Chester University; and Sunday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m., in the Peter Benoliel/Germantown Branch of Settlement Music School, 6128 Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia.

“Dark Whimsy: Edward Gorey at 100” will be performed Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., in the Germantown Branch of Settlement Music School; and Monday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., in Haverford College’s Jaharis Hall. “A Murmur in the Trees” will be played Sunday, April 18, at 3 p.m., in Haverford College’s Arboretum. Finally, details for “Philadelphia Echoes: A Mandolin Odyssey” will be announced soon.

For more information, call 215-848-7647 or visit networkfornewmusic.org.

You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.