During the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, the composers will help program the CSO's MusicNOW new-music concerts; appear in pre-concert, educational, and community events; and advise the orchestra on its commissions and performances of contemporary music.

Golijov's song cycle Ayre will be a part of the 2006-07 MusicNow concerts; the composer will also collaborate with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project next season as part of a yearlong celebration of the project in Chicago.

In addition, the music of both Goliojov and Turnage will appear on the CSO's regular subscription series. The orchestra has commissioned a new work from Turnage for the 2006-07 season. In 2007-08, it will present a semi-staged version of Golijov's opera Ainadamar.

"It gives us great pleasure to announce that Osvaldo Golijov and Mark-Anthony Turnage, celebrated artists with unique musical voices and distinct perspectives, have agreed to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra family as our next Mead Composers-in-Residence," said CSO president Deborah R. Card.

"Our goal is to continue to evolve our Mead Composer-in-Residence program, creating new residencies that will be rich in content and broad in reach, touching numerous aspects of the CSO's performance and educational activities," Card added.

The Argentinean-born Golijov burst to prominence when his La Pasi‹n seg‹n San Marcos debuted in 2000. His music will be the subject of a mini-festival at Lincoln Center next year.

One of the most-performed British composers of his generation, Turnage is also composer-in-residence with the London Philharmonic. He has previously held composing posts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, and English National Opera, which premiered his opera The Silver Tassie in 2000.