Take your preconceptions of ‘noise’ and toss them out the window. Equal parts “fiendishly good and fiendishly goofy” (Chicago Tribune), ~Nois Quartet is a “prolific, charismatic young ensemble that is swiftly becoming the American saxophone quartet du jour” (Musical America). Founded in 2016, the Chicago-based ensemble is dedicated to championing new music for saxophone and building community through innovative, inclusive, and exceptional musical experiences. The group has premiered over 120 new works that are thought-provoking, engaging, and honestly just really good, by some of today’s most inspiring compositional voices.

~Nois has presented over 200 performances in their nine years of music-making, and has “continued to legitimize the saxophone quartet as a premier ensemble formation for classical music” (thank you Brutal New Music). As educators, ~Nois has held residencies at some of the nation’s top academic institutions including the University of Chicago, Princeton University, Michigan State University, CU Boulder, and more. The ensemble has also been awarded top prizes at numerous prestigious chamber music competitions including the M-Prize International Arts Competition, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and was once deemed, “Too loud for the Farmers’ Market” (Evanston Local, Illinois 1st Ward Constituent).

As proud residents of Chicago, the ensemble members seek to serve the city through an annual season of self-presented concerts and programs. In the past nine seasons alone, ~Nois has presented over 60 world premieres by Chicago composers. Additionally, ~Nois serves Chicago youth through their Young Creators Fellowship, which selects two local high school-aged students each year to collaborate with the ensemble on new compositions.

At the core of ~Nois’ ethos is a fierce dedication to the commissioning of living composers (bonus points if the piece needs an instruction manual to perform). The members of ~Nois have had the privilege of working closely with some of the world’s leading voices in composition to create new works for saxophone quartet, including Viet Cuong, Alex Mincek, Jessie Montgomery, Nico Muhly, Shawn Okpebholo, Jeff Scott, Hans Thomalla, Augusta Read Thomas, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Kari Watson.

~Nois has had the honor of sharing the stage with some of today’s most prolific performers and ensembles including Third Coast Percussion, Sō Percussion, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, My Brightest Diamond, Darian Donovan Thomas, Jessie Montgomery, United States Navy Band, Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the Michigan State University Wind Symphony. ~Nois’ recorded output boasts a wide variety of genres and styles. Most recently, the group released “Kinds of ~Nois” on the label Bright Shiny Things in collaboration with the composer collective Kinds of Kings, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart. The group’s genre-bending third album, “What is ~Nois”, is set to release on New Amsterdam Records in April of 2026.

~Nois is Julian Velasco (he/him), Natalia Warthen (she/her), Jordan Lulloff (he/him), and János Csontos (he/him). For more information, please visit www.noisquartet.org.