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A Chicago native, Doug Lofstrom has been composing prolifically since the 1970’s; his wide-ranging style reflects his ongoing involvement in dance, film, theater and symphonic music.  Currently residing in Villa Park, IL, he has been composer-in-residence for the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra and musical director of Chicago's Free Street Theater.   His works have been performed by the St. Louis, Atlanta and Oregon Symphony Orchestras, and the Present Music and CUBE chamber ensembles.  He has taught music at Columbia College since 1986, and was a full-time faculty member from 1999 - 2015.  He is founding director of their New Music Ensemble, which he conducted from 2000-2016.

His most recent endeavors include The Incomplete Gesture, for Natya Dance Theatre and a series of three Concertinos for solo instrument and orchestra (oboe, harp & trumpet), commissioned, performed and recorded by the New Philharmonic Orchestra.  Two of the Concertinos have been released on CD by Origin Classical.

In 2001, Lofstrom formed The New Quartet, a versatile chamber ensemble which performs his original music and arrangements of modern classics, jazz and world music.  Most recently, he has been creating and posting music videos based on his original music with contributions from artists, photographers and filmmakers along with his original photographs and video. 

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New Quartet Members

James Sanders, violin – a force in Chicago music in his own right – leads several other groups which explore a wide range of styles: Conjunto, Latin and Afro-Caribbean, ProyectoLibre, free jazz, and Blue Violin, focusing on the history and repertoire of jazz violin.  Pianist Leandro Lopez Varady is a mainstay of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and leads his own trio.  Multi-woodwind virtuoso Michael Levin has performed and recorded with a large sampling of local and international artists, including Diane Schuur, Clark Terry and the Temptations.  Percussionist Sarah Allen is equally at home in the classical and jazz worlds with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, the Northbrook Symphony and numerous Chicago jazz artists.