Blending the finesse of a classical ensemble with the drive and precision of a finely tuned rock band, Latitude 49 has been energizing audiences with the most exciting music of our time since 2012. With members coming together from across the United States and Canada, Latitude 49 epitomizes a diverse, unconventional family of sounds, instruments, and experiences. 

 

Latitude 49’s work with living composers is at the heart of its mission, yielding nearly 100 premieres since the group’s founding in 2012 by a multitude of composers ranging from aspiring students to Pulitzer prize-winning masters. An ensemble deeply committed to telling the unique stories of our time, L49 strives to engage diverse audiences with new sounds and specially curated programs that reflect the world in which we find ourselves, with all its beauty and curiosities. The group has released four full-length albums and appears on numerous other recordings, including 2016’s Curious Minds (called “an impressive debut” by Peter Margasak), 2020’s Wax and Wire (“A must-have album for lovers of contemporary music” - The College Music Symposium), and 2023’s Don’t Say A Word with composer and avant-folk vocalist Annika Socolofsky (“Rebellion with a purpose.” - Avant Music News). In 2021, L49 released The Bagatelles Project, a 36-track collection of miniatures by many of today’s most exciting composers, all proceeds from which go directly to support the important work of our friends at the Coalition for African-Americans in the Performing Arts.

 

L49 has held Ensemble-In-Residence positions at the University of Michigan, the Kenosha Creative Space, Baylor University, and the University of Illinois Chicago, and presents numerous concerts each season in major venues including the Ravinia Festival, New York’s (le) Poisson Rouge, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Princeton Sound Kitchen, the Juilliard School, Chicago’s ‘Ear Taxi’ Festival, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Music Box. In 2023, Latitude 49 embarked on their most ambitious project yet: the Sound Atlas Festival, a genre-bending week of music, art, collaboration, and cultural exchange in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Sound Atlas brings together artists from across the US and Canada to create a shared space of artistic exploration, and in 2024 expands with the Contemporary Performance Lab, which will bring an international ensemble of college students to participate in and perform at the festival. Sound Atlas is presented in joyful partnership with ‘Contemporary Calgary,’ a state-of-the-art museum and Calgary’s visual arts destination dedicated to modern and contemporary art.

 

With its name taken from the parallel that serves as the Canadian/United States border, Latitude 49 serves as a bridge between the artists, composers, and listeners of today. Learn more about the ensemble’s work and how you can partner with us online: www.latitude49music.com