Renee C. Baker
Renee' C. Baker stands as a towering figure in multidisciplinary artistry, transcending the boundaries of music, visual art, film, and composition with unparalleled finesse. Her creative journey unfolds like an epic saga, with over 2000 orchestral and chamber ensemble compositions serving as a testament to her boundless imagination and relentless pursuit of innovation. As the founding music director and conductor of the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project (CMOP), Baker orchestrates a symphony of genres, seamlessly weaving classical elegance with the improvisational spirit of jazz. Her conducting styles, both traditional and gestural, are modes of transformation, conjuring surreal landscapes where sonic and visual realms intertwine in a mesmerizing dance. A true Renaissance artist, Baker's canvas knows no limits, as she melds movement, film projections, and sound into a breathtaking tapestry of sensory delight. Her compositions and film scores invite exploration and interpretation, blurring the lines between classicism and experimentation, subjectivity and objectivity. Baker's influence extends far beyond her compositions, as she nurtures and cultivates new ensembles with the same fervor she brings to her craft. From the Mantra Blue Free Orchestra to the Bleueblue Walkers/Bass Kollektief, her ensembles forge new paths in the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary music. Perhaps Baker's most profound legacy lies in her gestural conducting language, CCL/FLOW, a symphony of movements that transcends words, guiding ensembles through her painted score exploratorium pieces. In her hands, music becomes not just a performance, but a transcendent experience, a journey into the unknown where every note is a brushstroke. The formation of WABI HOUSE MEDIA and Relinquish Cinema has resulted in music scores for over 500 silent and 100 experimental films, all with original scores crafted by Baker and the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project. A visual artist, film artist, composer, and recontextualist, Baker is a true engineer of multidisciplines. Layering movement and film projections, she creates an exquisite arena of surrealistic activity within a sonic theatre. Her compositions, crafted with careful construction, allowing indeterminacy, experimentalism, classicism, subjectivity, and objective interpretations to coexist. Both performer and audience are cast into unknown roles, inhabiting a temporary environment of limitless potential. Baker is a member of the renowned Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Her graphic score novels have received critical acclaim from performances in Berlin, Poland, London, Scotland, and Vietnam, highlighting the global reach and impact of her work. MS. Bakers take on the AACM legacy for her practice.." I am profoundly fortunate and ceaselessly grateful for the community of the AACM—dedicated to honoring the distinctive visions of black composers, musicians and artists. Together, we advocate for the potency of individual expression, convinced that through the cultivation of genuine, personal artistic paths rooted in our unique cultural experiences, we possess the capacity to revolutionize the world. We find ourselves on the precipice of a global movement, ready to confront and transform the structures of traditional world art systems." Renee' C. Baker 2024 As a disruptive composer and visual artist, Baker continually reinvents herself and each ensemble with every score, transforming the way reality is accessed. An expert at ensemble development and training, she founded the Mantra Blue Free Orchestra (Chicago), PEK' Contemporary Project (Berlin), and other cutting-edge new music ensembles. Critical acclaim for her graphic score novels has come from performances all over the world. Renee' Baker has been celebrated in 29 solo art shows since 2013. Her work has been shown occasionally in group settings at Richard App Gallery, Dusable Museum, Kreis Museum Syke Germany, Flotte Lotte Berlin and Phantom Gallery Chicago. Using an open-field concept and her gestural conducting language, CCL/FLOW, Baker expands and flowers sonic landscapes. She has composed over 2000 works, from solo pieces to large orchestral works that bridge classical, jazz, and creative music genres. She has written scores for 500+ silent films and crafted 90 experimental films, leading to commissions from various prestigious organizations. Baker’s opera repertoire is equally impressive, with works such as "bluSamsara" (Stedelijk Museum, Netherlands/Chicago 2014), "SUNYATA: Towards Absolute Emptiness" (MCA Museum, Chicago 2015), "MAYA: Red Love" (commissioned by PEK Contemporary Project, Berlin 2016), "NIGHT WATERS: Distet Eveci" (commissioned by PEK Contemporary Project, Berlin 2017), "Le Tumulte Noir: Josephine Baker Tribute" (Symphony Center Chicago 2020), "Sweet Fruit Falling" (Chicago Fringe Opera 2021), and "Black Woman Tears" (Castle of Our Skins, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston 2023). Her series "The Baldwin Chronicles" showcases her prowess as a composer and director, with notable works including "Negro Ideologies" (Arts Club of Chicago 2019), "Midnight Ramble" (Symphony Center Chicago 2020), "Lone Alchemy" (University Church, 2024), and "The Art of Being Black" (Logan Center/UC 2022). Upcoming projects include "Langston Hughes: BOIL IT DOWN!!" commissioned for 2025. Reflecting on her rich history in opera after directing the premiere reading of Jason Barabba and June Audrey Carryl Lomena's opera "MY Wings Burned Off" at the Opera America Conference, Baker continues to push boundaries and innovate in storytelling through this art form. Baker is also in demand as a lecturer and expert in nontraditional composition techniques and large ensemble "comprovisation"/improvisation.
