How's this for an accurate—and site-specific—forecast? There will be ICE in Finney Chapel Thursday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m.

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), a uniquely structured chamber group consisting of dynamic, versatile young musicians and composers from around the world, most of whom are Oberlin alumni, recently received first prize in the Chamber Music America/ ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Their Oberlin concert, part of Oberlin's Artist Recital Series, features Dai Fujikura's moromoro (for piano, video, and electronics), George Crumb's Vox Balaenae, The Lost Garden: Concerto No. 2 for 8 Players by Huang Ruo '00, and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King. Tenor soloist for the Davies work is Peter Tantsits '01, with stage direction by Lydia Steir '00.

When Ruo's Lost Garden was performed in Chicago, Ten Shen of the Chicago Tribune wrote that it "stole the show … with its brash percussive romps and unexpected (yet totally sensible) Buddhistic chants."

Huang Ruo and flutist Claire Chase '01 began forming ICE while they were still students at Oberlin, collaborating on a Theodore Presser Foundation-funded project to commission, premiere, and record five new works in 2000. One year later, ICE was incorporated and chartered as a nonprofit organization.

The ensemble's modus operandi? To create, perform, and advance the music of our time. Through innovative programming, multimedia collaborations, and performances in nontraditional venues, ICE redefines classical music as it brings together new works and new listeners.

ICE is "bi-metropolitan," actively performing in both Chicago and New York City, and has served as ensemble-in-residence at both Columbia College Chicago and New York University.

ICE's debut at Columbia University's Miller Theater, which featured Ruo's music, was chosen by the New York Times as one of the "top 10 classical music concerts of 2003." In November 2003, in conjunction with an exhibition by painter Linda Schrank, the ensemble gave the world's first performance of the entire cycle of Luciano Berio's 14 Sequenzas for solo instruments at Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art. The three-day event, which culminated with the New York premiere of Sequenza XIV for Cello (performed by Assistant Professor of Cello Darrett Adkins) was presented as part of Sound/Image Events, a new series launched by ICE in which contemporary chamber music is paired with contemporary visual art, leading to new understandings of both media.

The previous year the ensemble founded Chicago ICE Fest, an annual weeklong festival of new music projects held in various venues throughout Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. The performances are free to the public, fulfilling part of ICE's mission to build audiences, promote the work of emerging composers, and cultivate a diverse new following for the music of our time.

Reserved seat tickets are still available and are $7 for students, $16 for senior citizens and those with an Oberlin College I.D. (faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and area educators), and $20 for the general public. Tickets purchased at the door the night of the concert are an additional $3. Please call Oberlin's Central Ticket Service at 440-775-8169 for more information.

International Contemporary Ensemble Oberlin College Artist Recital Series Musicians Without Borders Claire Chase's Presser Project Expands to Include More New Music and Performers