Gateway opened the inauguarl AWE Festival Chicago in 2025 within a place of deep spiritual significance for Aotearoa New Zealand - in front of Ruatepupuke II, the wharenui (Māori meeting house) from Tokamaru Bay within Chicago’s Field Museum. Celebrating 120 years of Ruatepupuke II’s place within the museum’s collection, this was a powerful cultural exchange through the prism of chamber music, where music from Aotearoa New Zealand, Chicago, and beyond created a bridge between past and present. Set on sacred ground, this wharenui was built as a gateway for the living to connect with their ancestors, history, and new communities—a spirit we honored as AWE brought its performance to this special space.

Homage took place at the intimate Guarneri Hall—described as a “classical music speakeasy” and “one of Chicago’s best-kept secrets,” hidden within an unassuming office building. Paired with New Zealand wines from Chasing Harvest—a Central Otago winery founded by two Chicagoans—this program showcased two masterpieces for violin, horn, and piano: György Ligeti’s 20th-century hommage to Johannes Brahms’ 19th-century trio, and Mata-Au, a string trio by New Zealand composer Salina Fisher, inspired by the breathtaking landscapes of the Queenstown Lakes.

Our esteemed performers included AWE Artistic Director and violinist Benjamin Baker, violinist Natalie Lin Douglas, violist Zoe Martin-Doike, cellist Julia Yang, pianist Albert Cano Smit, and the celebrated British horn soloist Ben Goldscheider.

Images below: Grittani Creative