Founded in 1977 at Macalester College by a small group of musicians drawn together by their love of new music, Zeitgeist is a new music chamber ensemble consisting of two percussion, piano and woodwinds, and is one of the oldest and most successful new music groups in the country. Based in St. Paul, Minn., the group presents an annual concert series and delivers a wide variety of community-based performance programs for residents of the Twin Cities and the surrounding areas. These programs include The Eric Stokes Song Contest (amateur composition contest), the Lowertown Listening Sessions (a performance/discussion series) and Zeitgeist in the Schools (composition and performance projects for K-12 students).

Zeitgeist is also firmly committed to supporting and presenting the work of today's composers, both emerging and established. In 2000 Zeitgeist created its Zeitgeist/Composer Workshop: Made possible with support from the Jerome Foundation, this unique workshop is designed to give emerging composers the opportunity to develop their creative ideas and stretch their artistic boundaries in an environment that celebrates exploration and experimentation

Seeking to move beyond the boundaries of the traditional chamber music concert form in recent years, Zeitgeist has recently developed a variety of multi-disciplinary collaborations and large-scale theatrical productions, working with theaters, poets, video artists, computer musicians and more to create noteworthy and adventurous music.

Zeitgeist primarily performs in Studio Z, a colorful and comfortable gathering place for new music events, a place where audiences, composers and new music performers can come together to experience the music of our time.

Zeitgeist has released numerous recordings to date, including She is a Phantom (music of Harold Budd), A Decade (music of Frederic Rzewski), Intuitive Leaps (music of Terry Riley), Eric Stokes (music of Eric Stokes), If Tigers Were Clouds (featuring the music of experimental women composers), and Shape Shifting (music by Scott Miller, poetry by Philippe Costaglioli).

The members of Zeitgeist are: Heather Barringer, percussion; Patti Cudd, percussion; Pat O’Keefe, woodwinds; Shannon Wettstein, piano.