A note from our Artistic Director on this year’s overall theme

At a moment when the artificial simulation of human behavior and production is becoming easier and astonishingly more accurate, Hear Now 2026 shines a spotlight on our inner worlds.

“Worlds Within”, the interior spaces that generate authentic creation, remain beyond the reach of algorithms. No matter how sophisticated it is AI can only copy what the human Spirit — for better and for worse — has made into what we call the World.  What has inspired the compositions of this year’s Hear Now Festival? Our human longing for stability in a world of constant flux and our capacity for choice above and beyond the toxicity of information overload; tenderness, struggle and resistance, sunsets and the remorselessness of Time;  the dualities of technology and Nature, Western and Asian culture and a concerto inspired by a 16^th century Requiem.

These composers are not offering us corporate simulations, online avatars or branding. They have worked for months seeking the language in music which most compellingly expresses what is within them. Even if an artificial universe grows parallel to our own, the worlds within us will endure as the Spirit that nourishes the human project.

We hope to see you soon. The festival starts March 21 with our electroacoustic program, two chamber concerts on April 18, and the orchestral program on April 30. More details

— Hugh Levick, composer and Hear Now artistic director