The music of Stacy Garrop is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. For Recomposing America, ACF co-commissioned a new concerto for pianist Marta Aznavoorian and the Chicago Philharmonic that was premiered at the 2025 Ear Taxi Festival.

Prior to the performance, ACF Executive Director Loki Karuna participated in a panel discussion that offered social, cultural, and historical context for the contemporary works of composers Stacy Garrop and Damien Geter. The conversation explored how community partnerships between artists and civic groups can inspire action and empathy beyond the concert hall.

About the commission

In her Piano Concerto No. 1 “Invictus,” Stacy Garrop crafts a narrative of resilience and personal strength through the soloist’s voice. The title, Invictus — Latin for “unconquered” — draws inspiration from William Ernest Henley’s iconic poem of the same name, which champions the human spirit in the face of adversity. Garrop’s concerto traverses moments of lyrical introspection, fierce determination, and triumphant resolve, giving the piano a role that is both narrator and survivor.

Invictus: World Premiere
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Harris Theater
205 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601

Pre-Concert Talk
Karen Freeman-Wilson | President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League
Loki Karuna | Executive Director – American Composers Forum
Damien Geter | Composer – An African American Requiem
Moderator: LaRob K. Rafael – Artistic Director – Ear Taxi Festival

Program
Stacy Garrop – Invictus
Damien Geter – An African American Requiem

World Premiere

Stacy Garrop “Invictus” Concerto

01 / 03

“Prolific as she is, Garrop has never written a piano concerto. She burst into the genre with Invictus, played with uncompromising intensity by pianist Marta Aznavoorian and the Chicago Philharmonic.”
– Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune

In the News

Coverage for “Invictus”

Review: Back and bigger than ever, 2025’s Ear Taxi is a smooth ride

Chicago Tribune

Against all odds, the Ear Taxi Festival is back — and how. Uplifting the niche, little-celebrated world of contemporary classical music, the massive musical festival happens just once every few years. But in a disruptive arts funding landscape, this one might have sprouted in the most challenging environment for music festivals yet.

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Compelling Garrop premiere anchors Chicago Philharmonic’s Ear Taxi concert

Chicago Classical Review

Among the 210 composers whose music is being given this month as part of Ear Taxi Festival 2025, Stacy Garrop is the most prominent of those representing the city of Chicago.

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Review: Ear Taxi Festival Hosts Scott Speck and the Chicago Philharmonic for an Evening of Premieres

Third Coast Review

Ear Taxi Festival 2025 continued its run of excellence with an Anchor Performance by the Chicago Philharmonic at Harris Theater on Saturday night. Under the direction of Scott Speck, Marta Aznavoorian joined the Chicago Phil for the world premiere of Invictus, a piano concerto by Chicago-based composer Stacy Garrop.

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GRAND PIANIST

JWC Media Group

This past October Aznavoorian—a piano faculty member at DePaul University and an artist in residence at the Music Institute of Chicago—teamed up with Evanston-based composer Stacy Garrop to perform the critically acclaimed Invictus, a piano concerto with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra at Chicago’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.

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Garrop’s Invictus Joins Cedille’s Acclaimed Catalog of Career-Defining Recordings

Cedille

Composer Stacy Garrop’s newest creation, Invictus, is a powerful piano concerto written for celebrated Chicago pianist Marta Aznavoorian. A Chicago-based composer known for her vivid musical storytelling, Garrop has long been a part of Cedille Records’ distinguished catalog.

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About Stacy Garrop

Dr. Stacy Garrop is an award-winning, nationally recognized freelance composer whose music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. Her catalog covers a wide range of genres with works for orchestra, opera, oratorio, wind ensemble, choir, art song, and chamber ensembles. She has received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Barlow Endowment, and Fromm Music Foundation. Notable commissions include The Battle for the Ballot for Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Goddess Triptych for St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Forging Steel for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Forged by the Sea for the U.S. Navy Band, Glorious Mahalia for Kronos Quartet, The Transformation of Jane Doe for Chicago Opera Theater, and My Dearest Ruth for voice and piano with text by the husband of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her works are published by Theodore Presser Company and recorded by Cedille Records.

About the Chicago Philharmonic

The Chicago Philharmonic is re-imagining the orchestra concert experience through culturally diverse, genre-bending programs breaking barriers of exclusion. With 200 musician members, diverse, trailblazing leadership, and a deeply collaborative artistic model, we are one of the most versatile and innovative orchestras in the country. The 25/26 Season features 30+ concerts with partners including Njioma Grevious, Damien Geter, Stacy Garrop, Marta Aznavoorian, Sleeping At Last, Joffrey Ballet, Nas, Steve Hackman, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

The Philharmonic is a crucial part of Chicago’s music ecosystem and an incubator of talent, creating jobs for 425+ musicians annually. As Executive Director, Crain’s 40 Under 40 and APAP “Spark of Change” awardee Terell Johnson has led the orchestra with a series of high-profile events, including the 2024 Lollapalooza debut as the first professional orchestra to perform at the festival to a global audience of 100,000+ live and on Hulu.

Stacy Garrop’s Piano Concerto No. 1 “Invictus” is supported with generous funding from The Thelma Hunter Fund of the American Composers Forum.  Thelma was an accomplished pianist, an ardent supporter of new music, and a friend to the Forum for over 40 years.