Tim Corpus
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The End of the Ear Taxi Festival

After two-and-a-half years of work, the Ear Taxi Festival has concluded. It was an honor to be invited by the New Music Chicago Board of Directors to serve as Executive Director and I hope that my work on the festival was beneficial to Chicago’s music community.

This was a massive undertaking that brought over 750 musicians to audiences across Chicago for 75 world premieres, 28 commissions, and 60+ hours of programming.

A festival of this magnitude would not have been possible without the brave and dedicated work of the team:
LaRob K. Rafael, Amy Wurtz, Justin Peters, Zoe Markle, Malcolm Bamba, Renata Rangel, Zoë Denson, Ben Zucker and the NMC Board of Directors.

The historic Ear Taxi Festival has come to a close.

So many Illinois composers and performers showcased their talents and hearts for the community. It was such an honor to watch you all bring music to life.

A festival celebrating new music is a rarity and producing one in our current cultural atmosphere is a complex and bold endeavor. Music – especially live music – is a unique, imperfect, and evocative experience. Keep going to things, keep supporting artists.

Thank you to everyone who came out, donated, bought tickets, told their friends, reshared posts, performed, created, rehearsed, shared your music, and made this a historic festival.

About the Festival’s Success

  • The Festival achieved ticket registrations of ~2,000 audience members across all events. 
  • The Ear Taxi Festival 2025 included a total of 56 events.
    • Concerts (48)
    • Professional Development (8)
  • 751 Artists involved
    • 524 Performers 
    • 219 Composers 
  • 114 Illinois-based composers
  • 75 World-premiere performances
  • 8 Midwest-premiere performances
  • 57 Events
    • 23 Accent Concerts
    • 17 Taxi Concerts
    • 4 Composer Showcases
    • 4 Anchor Performances
    • 6 Professional Development Events

Arts Management Conclusion

Now that the festival has concluded. I will no longer be the Executive Director, leaving the organization back in the hands of New Music Chicago. I look forward to seeing how this festival continues to grow and leave a mark on Chicago’s history.

”Corpus’s writing is consistently inventive: It’s never quite clear whether the soloists are teasing one another or casually trying to one-up each other, and you’ll never hear a xylophone sound more mournful than it does at the middle of the movement. I’s always a high endorsement, to both performer and composer, when people start hooting in the middle of a classical music piece like they’re at a stadium show.”

Hannah Edgar Chicago Tribune

Tim Corpus is a composer with a genuine lyric impulse. He writes music that is at the same time challenging and appealing - which should be the ideal of any composer. He has a wonderful ear for sound and for shape. This is a composer with a real and important voice.

Henry Fogel Retired Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts and CEO/President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

...`{`Three Pieces for Five Timpani`}` is an outstanding addition to the literature for timpani and great for advanced recital programs.

George Frock Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas

Tim Corpus is a wonderfully skilled composer who has important things to say with his music. His debut album, Breath, is extremely impressive. Beautiful and exciting music to be sure!

Larry Alan Smith Composer

Tim Corpus' music is complex, original and steeped in tradition. His Three Pieces for Five Timpani is clearly an extension of the composers, such as Elliott Carter, that came before him. The pieces are challenging but fulfilling to learn and perform. Possibly the most important thing about Tim's timpani writing is that audiences will enjoy listening to his compositions. He is taking solo timpani writing to the next level.

Ed Harrison Timpanist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago

The melodic gestures in Tim Corpus' masterful piece for strings, ``Breath``, are paced so that a listener’s respiration pattern aligns itself instinctively with the slow and even pulse of the piece. Breath creates a powerful performer/listener symbiosis, a remarkable accomplishment on the part of the composer.

Steven Gryc Composer

Tim Corpus’s music is beautifully lyrical, nicely voiced and technically well-realized. In person, he is a pleasure to work with. We very much enjoyed recording his first two string quartets and hope to see more from him in the future.

Jen Leckie Violinist, Grant Street String Quartet

I recently had the pleasure of conducting the premiere of First Flight. It is artfully written, fresh, unique, and best of all – a beautiful piece of music! Tim is a major talent with big things in store for his future. It clearly deserves a permanent place in the repertoire of any serious wind ensemble. I can't wait to program it again!

Stephen Squires Conductor, Chicago College of Performing Arts Wind Ensemble

I have worked with Tim Corpus as a performer, composer and teacher. He brings passion and energy to his craft. He is a young lion who is making his mark on the Chicago music scene.

Kevin Miller Retired Band Director, Schaumburg High School

I've had the pleasure of knowing Tim for years now, and I learned very quickly that his passion and talent as a performer and composer are unquestioned. Everything he does is handled with a rare combination of intensity and care, and his works display such attributes. His lyricism in particular, along with his rich, beautiful harmonies and intricate polyphony set him apart from many of his colleagues. In a world littered with simple, non-intellectual music, Tim is breaking through and creating a new, exciting, accessible, and, most importantly, intelligent style of music that is imperative to the future of our art form.

Matt Bronstein Axiom Brass Quintet

Breath is very professionally produced, and the overall impression is of a lyrical and rhapsodic voice. I think Breath is a great starter, very ample and serene, even ecstatic. The second quartet is lively and engaging throughout.

Dr. Robert Carl Composer

© 2026 Tim Corpus.