2005 : Nief-Norf is co-founded as a performance collective by Andy Bliss and Kerry O’Brien to explore their mutual interests in contemporary performance and research.

2007 : Nief-Norf’s first ensemble tour occurs throughout the Southeastern United States, touring music by Steve Reich, Dennis DeSantis, Christopher Deane, and John Luther Adams.

2011 : Nief-Norf establishes its annual International Call for Scores, inviting composers to submit works in a variety of categories to be selected and performed at the Nief-Norf Summer Festival.

2011 : The first annual Nief-Norf Summer Festival is hosted at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, thanks to the collaboration of Omar Carmenates. For its initial years, NNSF features percussionists, composers, and scholars.

2012 : Following Andy Bliss’s appointment to Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Tennessee, Nief-Norf becomes rooted in Knoxville, TN.

2012 : Nief-Norf hosts its first Phil Kline’s Unsilent Nightin Downtown Knoxville — an annual December holiday tradition in hundreds of cities around the world.

2013 : The Nief-Norf Summer Festival expands to instrumentalists and vocalists outside of percussion.

2014 : Nief-Norf’s performance ensemble makes its first Big Ears Festival appearance, performing Steve Reich’s Drumming alongside Sō Percussion at the Tennessee Theatre.

2015 : The Nief-Norf Summer Festival moves to Knoxville, TN and is hosted at the newly built Natalie L. Haslam Music Center.

2017 : Nief-Norf wins the bid to host the Society for Music and Minimalism’s International Conference as part of NNSF17. Guests from around the world attend the festival to present research and witness performances of minimalist music. Kerry O’Brien serves as Artistic Lead for the conference.

2019 : Andy Bliss (percussion) & Ashley Walters (cello) premiere Bogen und khre‍ ‍by Lewis Nielson as part of Nief-Norf’s Knoxville Concert Series in February. NNSF19 guests include Wadada Leo Smith & Sarah Kirkland Snider.

2020 : In lieu of the Summer Festival, Nief-Norf presents its 10th annual festival as a virtual 10+ hour marathon concert, following eight weeks of live-streamed weekly performances, masterclasses, and more.

2022 : The Nief-Norf Summer Festival returns for its first in-person festival since 2019.

2025 : Following the retirement of Andy Bliss in April after 20 incredible years with Nief-Norf, Alexandra Dally is appointed to the position of Executive Director.

2025 : All Nief-Norf concerts and events become free and open to the public.

2025 : Nief-Norf launches SYNNERGY, its new music conference, uniting local and international audiences to celebrate the conclusion of the Summer Festival with an electric weekend of concerts, masterclasses, workshops, and more.

2025 : Nief-Norf participates in its first Big Ears collaboration since before 2020, performing Lisa Bielawa’s Knoxville Broadcast in October.

2025 : Co-Artistic Directors Claire Chenette & Abby Fisher join the Nief-Norf Staff.

2025 : With the addition of events in Johnson City & Chattanooga, Nief-Norf hosts Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night in three East Tennessee cities for the first time ever.

2026 : Nief-Norf Summer Festival scholarships & financial aid are reinstated, and over $15k is distributed to NNSF26 fellows.

2026 : Nief-Norf is in residency at UNC Wilmington, April 17 - 21.

2026 : Nief-Norf celebrates its fifteenth year of the Summer Festival with a big announcement!

2026 : Nief-Norf hosts 12+ hours of free community programming on June 21 for Make Music Day Knoxville.

2026 : The second annual SYNNERGY features masterclasses, panel discussions, interactive workshops, installations, twelve concerts, and so much more, welcoming guests and presenters from all over the world to experience the music of Steve Reich (Drumming and Music for 18 Musicians), Chelsea Loew, Kelley Sheehan, Charlie Peck, Coral Douglas, Ty Bloomfield, Rob McClure, Ella Kaale, and over 20 premieres by NNSF26 composition fellows.