Views of Chicago | Biographies

Patrick Zimmerli | Composer 

“Irresistible energy seemed to come from everywhere”—The New York Times 

New York-and Paris-based composer/saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli writes a sophisticated yet approachable hybrid of contemporary classical and jazz music. 

His CD with Joshua Redman and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider was released on Nonesuch Recordings in October, 2019 to great critical acclaim (“a dramatic and often thrilling suite that seamlessly reconciles classical precision and jazz poise”—Rolling Stone)

Other collaborators across the jazz, classical, choral and new music spectrum include Brad Mehldau, Luciana Souza, Ethan Iverson, the Knights Orchestra the Escher String Quartet, the Paris Percussion Group and French vocal ensemble Mikrokosmos. 

His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Sala São Paolo in Brazil, the Vienna Konzerthaus Grosser Saal and the SF Jazz Center. 

Specializing in large-scale projects, he has written many evening-length works and suites, including Clockworks, a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant for jazz quartet, premiered at (le) Poisson Rouge and released as a CD in 2018. 

In 2015 He created a site-specific piece entitled Waterfall/Gathering Pools for the Centre Pompidou in Paris with the Paris Percussion Group. In 2017 he wrote the evening-length oratorio Instrument of Destiny for male choir, operatic tenor, jazz percussion and piano on the work of Alan Seeger, premiered at the storied Invalides in Paris; it was reprised in Reims and at the Fondation Boghossian in Brussels, with a New York at the Cathedral of St.John the Divine in November 2019. 

Zimmerli recently completed a commission from the Seattle Commissioning Club for another evening-length work, Messages, for jazz pianist, classical saxophone quartet, bass, and percussion; and a Flute Concerto for Jasmine Choi, percussionist Satoshi  Takeishi, and the New York Classical Players. 

From 2016-17 Zimmerli curated the INTERSECT festival in Bryant Park in Manhattan, and is developing a series called Now and Then featuring music old and new for National Sawdust and WNET. 

Steve Robinson | Executive Producer  

Steve started his professional career in 1967 at WBUR/Boston while majoring in music at Boston University.  As a paid staff member of this professionally operated station he produced six two-hour classical music programs per week.  He also created a Saturday morning live call-in program about high fidelity called Shop Talk, which became the model for Car Talk, one of the most successful programs in public radio history.  

After WBUR, Steve held positions at WGBH and WCRB/Boston and KPFA/Berkeley.  In 1976 he was appointed the first development director of Vermont Public Radio (VPR).   In 1980 he became the first development director for the newly created Jazz station, WBGO in Newark.  At WBGO, Steve helped establish the station as the pre-eminent Jazz radio station in the U.S.  

In August, 2000 Steve became manager of WFMT and the WFMT Radio Network in Chicago.  His successful 16-year stewardship of the station and Network was notable for the new programs he created including a pioneering cross-cultural relationship with classical music stations in China and the audience and fiscal growth that occurred under his leadership. 

Steve has received numerous local and national awards for his work in Chicago including the Champion Award from the Merit School of Music, two awards from the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago (for his leadership in creating unprecedented day-long fundraising campaigns involving every single radio and TV station in Chicago to raise funds for victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the earthquake in Haiti), the Dushkin Award from the Music Institute of Chicago for Exploring Music, the ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for creative programming and numerous other awards and citations.  

In October 2016, Steve formed his own company, New Media Productions, to create, produce and syndicate a wide variety of radio programs and podcasts.

Lincoln Ellis | Advisor & Consultant

Lincoln Ellis is a senior investment strategist in Northern Trust Asset Management's Global Family & Private Investment Office practice. In this capacity, Lincoln works with client investment officers and their families to review and refresh the investment environment and landscape.

Lincoln began his investment career at Morgan Stanley & Co. in the late 1990s spending time with a number of different business units and ultimately acting as the chief investment officer for a team of three with 20 relationships and close to $2 billion dollars in assets under management or assets under advisement.

Since leaving Morgan Stanley in 2005, Lincoln formed his own advisory practice, Astor Janssen, where he advised wealthy families, single and multi-family offices as well as institutions on asset allocation, risk management, manager due diligence and investment vehicle creation. He was portfolio manager for a multi-manger fund of funds in the commodity space named Poplar Jackson and more recently has run the proprietary Global Macro and Fixed Income investment vehicles at Astor Janssen. Lincoln has advised or managed over $8 billion over the course of his firm's work.

Lincoln has an MBA in political science and he has completed his Ph.D. coursework, also in politics. He also holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Valparaiso University in Indiana.

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