Immersive Residency
Join us for the sixth annual Cali Immersive Residency Program at the John J. Cali School of Music, where week-long residencies with world-class artists and ensembles offer students immersive opportunities to collaborate, learn, and explore the evolving, often nontraditional landscape of music today.
Cali School of Music 2026-27 Artist-in-Residence
Photo by Jason Quigley
Gabriel Kahane
COMPOSER, SINGER-SONGWRITER, CONDUCTOR, and THEATER ARTIST
Gabriel Kahane is a composer, singer-songwriter, conductor, theater artist, and writer whose work moves fluidly between concert music, indie music, and theater. Over the past fifteen years, he has collaborated with artists including Paul Simon, Phoebe Bridgers, Sufjan Stevens, Caroline Shaw, Pekka Kuusisto, and the Danish String Quartet.
His concert works have been performed by orchestras across the United States and Europe and include emergency shelter intake form, an oratorio exploring economic inequality and homelessness, and Heirloom, a piano concerto released by Nonesuch Records in 2025. Kahane has also conducted ensembles including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Oregon Symphony.
His theater work includes The Ambassador, February House, and the Broadway production of The Waverly Gallery. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. He received a 2021 Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
2026-2027 Residency Guests
PUBLIQuartet
Genre-bending and Improvising String Quartet
October 13 – 17, 2026
PUBLIQuartet is a multi-GRAMMY-nominated improvising string quartet known for expanding the language of chamber music. Blending classical tradition, improvisation, contemporary music and American multiculturalism, PUBLIQuartet creates performances that feel immediate, exploratory and deeply connected to the present moment.
During their Cali Immersive Residency, PUBLIQuartet will work with students on creative collaboration, improvisation, chamber music, new music and genre-expansive performance. Their visit offers students a model for how a 21st-century ensemble can build repertoire, reimagine tradition and engage with urgent cultural questions through sound.
Photo by Lelanie Foster
The Hands Free
Acoustic Quartet, Classical, Folk, Jazz and Improvisation
November 16 - 22, 2026
The Hands Free is a whimsical acoustic quartet featuring composer-performers James Moore on guitar and banjo, Caroline Shaw on violin, Nathan Koci on accordion, and Eleonore Oppenheim on bass. Drawing from classical, jazz, folk, theater, and experimental traditions, the group creates a vivid blend of joyful melodies, lush textures, and explosive improvisation.
Friends and collaborators for more than 20 years, the members of The Hands Free first came together through New York’s vibrant music and arts scene. The quartet grew out of informal after-hours folk jams and a shared love of creativity, spontaneity, and musical adventure.
Individually, the artists have built wide-ranging careers across concert music, theater, dance, opera, recording, and interdisciplinary performance. Their collective credits include Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning work, Broadway productions including Illinoise and Oklahoma!, collaborations with leading composers and ensembles, and performances across classical, folk, jazz, and experimental music.
Chloe Flower
Pianist, Composer, Producer, Activist
February 9 - 14, 2027
Chloe Flower is a pianist, composer and producer who bridges classical music and pop culture through her signature “popsical” style. A classically trained artist with a bold visual and musical identity, Flower has brought piano performance to major mainstream stages while advocating for music education and social change.
Her work connects virtuosity, glamour, entrepreneurship and advocacy, offering students a powerful example of how classical training can lead to expansive, contemporary artistic pathways. During her Cali residency, Flower will engage students in conversations and workshops around performance, artistic identity, career-building, media, crossover work and the role of musicians as public voices.
Glen Velez
Frame Drummer, Percussionist, Composer, Educator
February 22 - 24, 2027
Glen Velez is a four-time GRAMMY Award-winning percussionist, composer and educator widely regarded as a founding figure in the modern frame drum movement. His work draws on global rhythmic traditions, improvisation, vocalization and decades of teaching, creating an approach to percussion that is physical, expressive and deeply connected to culture.
Velez’s residency will offer Cali students an opportunity to explore rhythm as a full-body practice. Through workshops, classes and performances, students will encounter frame drumming, hand percussion, rhythmic language, improvisation and the power of pulse as a foundation for musical connection.
Jake Runestad
Composer, Conductor
February 25 – 27, 2027
Jake Runestad is an EMMY-winning and GRAMMY-nominated composer and conductor whose choral, orchestral and wind ensemble works are performed around the world. Known for emotionally direct, community-centered music, Runestad writes works that connect performers and audiences through themes of hope, humanity, resilience and transformation.
Runestad’s return to the Cali School of Music will bring students into close contact with a leading contemporary composer whose music is especially meaningful for singers, conductors, composers and ensemble musicians. His residency will include rehearsals, conversations and public events connected to choral music, composition and the creative process.
Photo by Travis Anderson
Lawrence Brownlee
Tenor
March 21 - 22, 2027
Lawrence Brownlee is one of the leading opera singers of his generation, celebrated internationally for his artistry, technical brilliance and expressive power. A major figure in the bel canto repertoire, Brownlee has performed on the world’s leading stages and is also known as an important voice for activism, representation and diversity in opera.
During his Cali Immersive Residency, Brownlee will work with voice students, singers, collaborative pianists and the broader Cali community. His visit will offer students rare insight into vocal artistry, operatic style, career development and the responsibility artists can hold as cultural leaders.
Seraph Brass
Brass Ensemble
April 19 - 24, 2027
Seraph Brass is a dynamic brass ensemble founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with a mission to showcase the excellence of women brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups through both personnel and programming. The ensemble has been recognized for its exceptional artistry, adventurous programming and commitment to education.
Seraph Brass will work with Cali students through master classes, ensemble coachings, performance and conversation. Their residency will offer brass students and the wider school community an inspiring look at chamber music, professional ensemble life, inclusive programming and the future of brass performance.
About the Cali Immersive Residency Program
The Cali Immersive Residency Program brings leading professional artists to the John J. Cali School of Music for sustained, meaningful engagement with students and the public. Each residency contributes to an ongoing exploration of music today, introducing students to a future that will be, at times, less traditional, more collaborative and deeply connected to the world around them.
Residency activities may include public performances, master classes, classroom visits, ensemble coaching, workshops, side-by-side collaborations and special projects across the school.
Previous Season Highlights
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The John J. Cali School of Music is centered on preparing the creative leaders of tomorrow. The school is dedicated to a premier artistic and academic education, offering exceptional conservatory-level training in best-in-class facilities.
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