Contemporary – Upcoming Concerts
30th Seattle Improvised Music Festival
Thursday, February 5, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Featuring the beginning points of Seattle’s creative improvised music.
$5-$15 donation
30th Seattle Improvised Music Festival
Friday, February 6, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Featuring the beginning points of Seattle’s creative improvised music.
$5-$15 donation
UW World Series: eighth blackbird
Saturday, February 7, 2026 @ 7:30pm – 7:30pm (PST)
Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse Theater, Seattle, WA, United States
Bryce Dessner – Murder Ballades
Sean Griffin – Pattycake
Richard Reed Parry – Duo for Heart and Breath
Lee Hyla – Wave
Gabriella Smith – Number Nine
Tom Johnson – Counting Duets
György Ligeti – Études (arr. for sextet)
Sean Griffin – Pattycake
Richard Reed Parry – Duo for Heart and Breath
Lee Hyla – Wave
Gabriella Smith – Number Nine
Tom Johnson – Counting Duets
György Ligeti – Études (arr. for sextet)
$25
30th Seattle Improvised Music Festival
Saturday, February 7, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Featuring the beginning points of Seattle’s creative improvised music.
$5-$15 donation
New Sounds Northwest – Tacoma
Sunday, February 8, 2026 @ 3:00pm – 4:30pm (PST)
Trinity Lutheran Church, Tacoma, WA, United States
New music by Northwest composers, including Grammy nominee Morten Lauridsen, PLU Professor Brian Galante and Eric William Barnum.
$5-$15
The Fretless live at Empty Sea
Thursday, February 12, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
Empty Sea Studios, Seattle, WA, United States
This unique band is taking string music to fascinating places as it transforms fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate, beautiful, high-energy arrangements.
$15-$18
Lori Goldston, cello
Thursday, February 12, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Lori Goldston plays solo cello, amplified and/or acoustic, improvised and not.
$5-$15 donation
Messiaen Around With Time
Friday, February 13, 2026 @ 7:30pm – 9:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Cesar Franck – Sonata for cello and piano (I. Allegro moderato)
Erwin Schulhoff – Duo for violin and cello (II. Zingaresca: Allegro giocoso)
Robert Muczynski – Time Pieces (IV. Andante molto – Allegro energico)
Olivier Messiaen – Quartet for the End of Time
Erwin Schulhoff – Duo for violin and cello (II. Zingaresca: Allegro giocoso)
Robert Muczynski – Time Pieces (IV. Andante molto – Allegro energico)
Olivier Messiaen – Quartet for the End of Time
$30 ($25 seniors; $15 students)
[untitled 2]
Friday, February 13, 2026 @ 10:00pm – 11:30pm (PST)
Benaroya Hall - S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Seattle, WA, United States
Jacob Druckman — Synapse for tape
Jacob Druckman — Valentine for solo double bass
Vladimir Martynov — Schubert Quintet (Unfinished)
John Adams — String Quartet
Jacob Druckman — Valentine for solo double bass
Vladimir Martynov — Schubert Quintet (Unfinished)
John Adams — String Quartet
$20
SMCO presents: Larsson, Bruch, Rachmaninoff
Saturday, February 14, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 8:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Lars-Erik Larsson – Pastoral Suite
Max Bruch – Romanze for Viola and Orchestra
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Vocalise (arr. for Viola and Orchestra)
Antonin Dvořák – Serenade for Strings in E major
Max Bruch – Romanze for Viola and Orchestra
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Vocalise (arr. for Viola and Orchestra)
Antonin Dvořák – Serenade for Strings in E major
$15 ($10 student/senior)
Messiaen Around With Time
Sunday, February 15, 2026 @ 2:00pm – 4:00pm (PST)
Town Hall Seattle, Seattle, WA, United States
Cesar Franck – Sonata for cello and piano (I. Allegro moderato)
Erwin Schulhoff – Duo for violin and cello (II. Zingaresca: Allegro giocoso)
Robert Muczynski – Time Pieces (IV. Andante molto – Allegro energico)
Olivier Messiaen – Quartet for the End of Time
Erwin Schulhoff – Duo for violin and cello (II. Zingaresca: Allegro giocoso)
Robert Muczynski – Time Pieces (IV. Andante molto – Allegro energico)
Olivier Messiaen – Quartet for the End of Time
$30 ($25 seniors; $15 students)
New Sounds Northwest – Kenmore
Sunday, February 15, 2026 @ 3:00pm – 4:30pm (PST)
Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, WA, United States
New music by Northwest composers, including Grammy nominee Morten Lauridsen and Eric William Barnum.
$5-$15
Bang on a Can Marathon
Sunday, February 15, 2026 @ 4:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA, United States
NYC’s celebrated music collective takes over the Moore Theatre with their incomparable super-mix of boundary-busting music from around the corner and around the world! The Bang on a Can Marathon is a 6-hour festival of innovative music featuring some of the most pioneering local and national musicians in classical, rock, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, and musics yet-to-be categorized.
$45
Racer Sessions
Sunday, February 15, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
Cafe Racer, Seattle, WA, United States
A collectively organized composition and improvisation series for new and experimental music.
Free
Jason E Anderson + RM Francis
Friday, February 20, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Contemporary works by two Seattle artists.
$5-$15 donation
Gwenk
Saturday, February 21, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
Gwenk is a collaborative quartet that focuses on original, creative compositions. This music challenges assumptions about stereotypical beauty by engaging with the unexpected and absurd.
$5-$15 donation
Racer Sessions: Janna Webbon
Sunday, February 22, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
Cafe Racer, Seattle, WA, United States
The musicians will improvise while the audience paints primary colors on a person.
Free
Apollo String Quartet
Monday, February 23, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 9:30pm (PST)
Seattle University - Pigott Auditorium, Seattle, WA, United States
Dedicated to the exploration of the cultural heritage and folkloric inspirations of classical composers, the Apollo Chamber Players present their Seattle debut.
$5-$10
Music of Today: Christina Valdes and Greg Sinibaldi
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 @ 7:30pm – 7:30pm (PST)
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater at Meany Hall (formerly Meany Theater), Seattle, WA, United States
Faculty pianist Cristina Valdes performs Helmut Lachenmann's Ein Kinderspiel and Giacinto Scelsi's Quattro Illustrazioni. New Jazz Studies appointee Greg Sinibaldi leads an orchestral ensemble of musicians from across UW Music programs through a guided improvisation.
$20 ($12 student/senior)
Tom Varner & Friends
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (PST)
The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, WA, United States
French hornist/composer Tom Varner is joined by percussionist Paul Kikuchi, field recordists Steve Barsotti and Steve Peters (both members of the Seattle Phonographers Union), and a group of top Seattle brass players who will be moving about the beautiful space of the chapel, “Gabrieli style.”
$5-$15 donation
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