biography

The "spellbinding" (Washington Post) music of Chicago-based composer Paul Novak immerses listeners in shimmering and subtly crafted musical worlds full of color, motion, light, and magic. His recent projects engage with dreams and memory, queer identity, climate change and the natural world, and psychosomatic illness. 

Novak's 24/25 season includes premieres and performances by American Composers Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, the U.S. Army Band,  the Balourdet, Molinari, and Lontano Quartets, Grossman Ensemble, cellist Alexander Hersh, conductor Mei-Ann Chen,  and more. His other recent collaborators include the Reno Philharmonic, Austin Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Music from Copland House, DanceWorks Chicago, Sandbox Percussion, Ekmeles, Quince Ensemble, Decoda, Left Coast Ensemble, Dmitri Atapine, and Quatuor Diotima. His music has been heard at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, New World Center, and Chicago's Symphony Center. 

In 2024, Novak was selected for the top prize from both the ASCAP Morton Gould Composer Awards and the BMI Composer Awards; other recent honors include a Barlow Commission and Underwood Commission, and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, SCI/ASCAP Competition, Red Note Competition, League of Composers/ISCM, Lake George Music Festival, and National Association of Composers of the USA. He has received fellowships from Aspen, Norfolk, Copland House, Millay, and I-Park, and was featured in the Washington Post's "23 for '23: Composers and Performers to Watch this Year," where he was praised for his "impressive range and restless energy" in a catalog spanning "lithe, elastic vocal pieces...vibrant orchestral works...and evocative etudes for string quartet." 

Novak is the co-artistic director and flutist of Chicago-based ensemble Mycelium New Music, which launches its debut season in 2024. Mycelium is committed to creating exciting, multidisciplinary performances of contemporary music and supporting emerging voices in Chicago's artistic ecosystem. 
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Collaboration and interdisciplinarity are at the center of Novak's creative practice, and his recent work has been driven by a passion for working with text, an attunement to the embodied experiences of musicians, and a fascination with collective, social aspects of performance. His work draws inspiration from literature, visual art, dance, and poetry, from biological and astronomical phenomena, and from history and myth. His recent projects have included collaborations with poets, visual artists, dancers, choreographers, and a spoken word artist.
 
Originally from Reno, NV, he completed his undergraduate studies at Rice University, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, where he studies with Augusta Read Thomas.

Novak's full CV is available here (updated May 2024).