Renée Baker has created sonic arenas and compositions for many museums, including MCA CHICAGO, MOFA St. Petersburg, Fl., Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MOMA, NY, ARTS CLUB OF CHICAGO, DESTEJILK MUSEUM, Zwolle, NL, MOMA NY, Spurlock Museum Champaign, Il, Krannert Art Museum, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Stony Island Arts Bank, DuSable Museum Chicago, Gardener Museum Boston, alongside prestigious music organizations: Symphony Center, Chicago.
She had the privilege of being the
Visiting Resident Artist of the CHICAGO SYMPHONY
African American Network 2017-2020.
Her film scores for BODY AND SOUL, THE SCAR OF SHAME, along with two new opera projects, BALDWIN CHRONICLES MIDNIGHT RAMBLE and A SOVEREIGN POUT, both premiered at Symphony Center in 2019 and upcoming in 2020. In addition, films with her scores have aired on NETFLIX and TCM.
Renee' Baker is the founding music director and conductor of the internationally acclaimed Chicago Modern Orchestra Project (CMOP), a polystylistic organization that grew from the plums of classical music as well as jazz.
A member of the world-renowned collective Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Critical acclaim for her graphic scores novels has come from performances in Berlin, Poland, London, Scotland, and as far-reaching as Vietnam.
From the Archives: Symphony Center (Chicago)
As a disruptive composer and visual artist, there are few barriers to the creative turns of this composer, conductor, artist, and instrumentalist. As a featured ensemble, CMOP has been chosen to work with NewMusicUSA and the EarShot program of the American Composers Orchestra.
An expert at ensemble development and training, Renee’ developed the Mantra Blue Free Orchestra (Chicago), PEK’ Contemporary Project (Berlin), the progenitor of Bleueblue Walkers/Bass Kollektief, Twilight Struggles (Berlin) as well as being involved in starting over 20 cutting edge new music ensembles. Among them: TUNTUI, Wrinkled Linen, Chocolate Chitlin’ Caucus, Red Chai Watch, FAQtet, Project 6, Renee’ Baker’s AWAKENING, Baker ArTet, a Butoh ensemble BODY STRATA, and Strings Attached.
Ms. Baker has performed globally from Bimhuis (Amsterdam) to Symphony Center (Chicago) and was a founding member and Principal Violist of Chicago Sinfonietta for 26 years. Ms. Baker has composed over two thousand works for ensembles ranging from solo instruments, ballet, opera to significant orchestral works that bridge the classical, jazz, and creative music genres. Her ability to embrace various creative parameters in her work has led to commissions for the Chicago Sinfonietta, Berlin International Brass, PEK’s Contemporary Project, and DanceWright Project.
From the Archives:
As a disruptive force in composition, Ms. Baker’s eclectic visual score compositions led her to create a gestured conducting language she calls CCL/FLOW (Cipher Conduit Linguistics), which she employs when working with numerous cutting edge groups in Cologne, Berlin, Netherlands, London, Chicago, Portland (OR), and other ensembles around the world.
From the Archives:
A further aspect of her composition skills is the development of her painted score exploratorium pieces for ensembles of variable sizes. Ms. Baker is also in demand as a lecturer and expert in nontraditional composition techniques and large ensemble “comprovisation”/ improvisation development.
Aspects of the art world permeate Ms. Baker’s work. Her performance artwork SUNYATA: TOWARDS ABSOLUTE EMPTINESS premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA, Chicago) in May 2015. Her tactile score sculpture works were featured at the MCA Chicago as part of the Sunyata premiere.
Ms. Baker is the composer of four operas. Currently, she is working as a film score composer, having composed and released a new score for Oscar Micheaux’s “race film” masterpiece BODY AND SOUL (1925) with the music performed by her Chicago Modern Orchestra Project ensemble.
From the Archives:
Called the latest AACM visionary by Downbeat Magazine, Ms. Baker is one of the brightest and most fertile minds active in composition today.
From the Archives:
2020 Film Society Series Canceled due to COVID -19 Pandemic
Renee’ C. Baker, Conductor/Composer
Chicago Modern Orchestra Project /PEK’ Contemporary Project
reneebaker@comcast.net
reneebakercomposer.com
reneebakercomposer.net
chicagomodernorchestraproject.org
For more information:
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