Musical Ensemble · Founded by Derrick Hodge
Where jazz, hip-hop, and classical converge. Over 100 musicians strong. Architected as a dual-mission force: artistic excellence and pioneering pathways for the next generation of Black classical musicians.
Mission
Hodge architected Color of Noize as a singular orchestral force — fusing jazz, hip-hop, and classical traditions into one uncompromising ensemble. Pioneered on a dual mission of artistic excellence and community, the project champions Black classical musicians and orchestrates pathways for inner-city youth into orchestral music.
Commanding ensembles exceeding 100 musicians at a time — marshalling large string sections alongside horns, rhythm, and electronics — Color of Noize redefines what an orchestra looks like, sounds like, and who it serves. Every performance is both a concert and a statement of possibility.
Highlights
2025
Largest Hip-Hop Orchestra Set
Hodge will direct the largest hip-hop orchestra ever assembled in Las Vegas — a landmark production scaling orchestral hip-hop to arena-level ambition.
Super Bowl
Super Bowl Performance
Color of Noize anchored one of the world's biggest stages, delivering orchestral power at the Super Bowl and proving that classical and hip-hop belong side by side at the highest level.
Collaboration
Jeezy
Hodge orchestrated a collaboration with Jeezy that layers trap and Southern hip-hop over full symphonic arrangements — demonstrating the ensemble's range and cultural fluency.
Collaboration
Angélique Kidjo
Partnering with the legendary Angélique Kidjo, Hodge expanded the ensemble's sonic architecture to embrace Afrobeat and West African musical traditions within its orchestral framework.
Community
Championed from its founding as a vehicle for access and opportunity, Color of Noize actively recruits and mentors inner-city youth — introducing them to orchestral instruments and composition, and pioneering a pipeline into classical music that has historically excluded Black communities.
Pioneered by Hodge's conviction that the orchestra belongs to everyone, each Color of Noize event demonstrates to young musicians that their stories, rhythms, and traditions command a place in every concert hall, arena, and amphitheater.
The Ensemble
100+
Musicians
3
Genres Fused
1
Mission
∞
Possibility
Connect
For commissions, strategic partnerships, and community engagement inquiries related to Color of Noize, contact the team directly.
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