The Composers Now Festival returns for a third round (of many more to come!) in February 2012. The month-long festival, presented collaboratively by numerous organizations across New York City, returns with a premier selection of concerts, lectures, conversations, and other activities to highlight composers’ contributions to the cultural fabric of our life. Each event features a recent work by a living composer, with the composer present at the performance and available to discuss and answer questions! Composers Now puts a public face on the vitality, diversity, and innovations that composers bring to our communities.

Composers Now: The Schedule
Click the title of an event to see details about that event.
Please be patient as we continue to update this page.

Feb 1st-29th
"John Cage Centennial Tribute" - Streaming Museum

Feb 4th, 4pm
"Music of Now Marathon" - Symphony Space

Feb 5th, 8:30pm & 11:00pm
"Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Performing
new works commissioned by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance"
- Birdland

Feb 6th, 7:00pm
"American Cosmology: A Concert of American Works on the
Sky and the Cosmos" - Americas Society

Feb 6th, 7:30PM
"Dolce Suono Ensemble" - Symphony Space

Feb 7th* & 8th , 8:30PM
Feb 8th, 5:30PM: Free Reading of Full Libretto
"Culturemart 2012" - HERE Arts Center in association with American Opera Projects

Feb 9th, 8pm
"Meklit Hadero" - Baryshnikov Arts Center

February 9th, 8pm
"Thomas Buckner performs Annea Lockwood, Narong Prangcharoen, Kit Young, & Anne Guthrie" - Interpretations 23

Feb 10th and 11th, 7:30PM and 9:30PM
"Jose James" - Harlem Stage

Feb 11th, 3pm
"ICElab Workshop at BAC|Music of Juan Pablo Carreño and Carlos Iturralde" - Baryshnikov Arts Center

Feb 11th, 8pm
"Las Américas en Concierto" - Mannes College of Music

Feb. 12th, 3pm
"Music and dance featuring a performance of Homenatge by Tania Leon performed by Adam Kent with choreography by Pedro Ruiz" - Dance Theatre of Harlem

Feb 13th, 7:30PM
"Student Composers' Concert" - Manhattan School of Music

Feb 15th, 8pm
"Faculty Composers', Spring 2012" - Mannes College The New School for Music

Feb 18th, 12:00pm
"Family Enrichment Series: Performance/Panel led by composer
and HSA faculty member Major Scurlock" - The Harlem School of the Arts

Feb 18th, 2pm
"DEMETRIUS SPANEAS, Composer-in-Residence" - Flushing Town Hall

Feb 18th, 3pm
"ICElab Workshop at BAC | Music of Lisa Coons" - Baryshnikov Arts Center

Feb 19th, 1:30PM
"New Music from Mannes Faculty and Alumni 2012" - Mannes College The New School for Music

Feb 20th, 8pm
"Dangerous Crossings" - Copland House

Feb 22nd, 7:30PM
"Footprints: A Humanities Discussion on the Innovation and Impact of A Tribe Called Quest" - Harlem Stage

Feb 22nd, 8pm
"College Division Student Composers 2011-2012, Concert 2" - Mannes College The New School for Music

Feb 23rd, 7:30PM
"A Tribe Called Quest Tribute featuring the Revive Da Live Big Band" - Harlem Stage

Feb 23rd, 7:30PM
"Guitar Plus: Music of David Leisner" - Symphony Space

Feb 23rd, 7:30pm
"Trio KAVAK-The Singing Garden Grew" - Ear Heart Music

Feb 24th, 7:30PM
"MSM Composers' Orchestra: David Gilbert, Conductor" - Manhattan School of Music

Feb 24th-25th, 8pm
"Missy Mazzoli: Song from the Uproar-The Lives & Deaths
Of Isabelle Eberhardt" - The Kitchen

Feb 25th, 2-4 PM
"SCATTERED WIND" - Flushing Town Hall

Feb 25th, 2-4pm
"Composing Jazz: A Multi-generational Conversation" - Jazzmobile

Feb 25th, 7:30PM
"Music Without Dance Festival/North River Dance" - Greenwich House Music School

Feb 25th, 8pm
"Hoichi the Earless- from ‘Kwaidan’ Ghost Story" - Asia Society

Feb 25th, 8:00pm
"Composers Out Front, sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra" - American Composers Orchestra

Feb 26th, 2:00pm
"Tune-In Music Festival: Afternoon Concert" - Park Avenue Armory

Feb 26th, 1:00pm
"On Foot: Brooklyn" - On Foot Productions

Feb 26th, 1:30PM
"Student Recital - Michael Weinstein-Reiman and Sam Young, composers" - Mannes College The New School for Music

Feb 26th, 6pm Panel Discussion, 7:30PM Concert
"Music Without Dance Festival/North River Dance" - Greenwich House Music School

Feb 27th, 8pm
"Jeffrey Milarsky Conducts the Student Composers' Concert" - The Juilliard School

Feb 27th, 8:00pm
"The Composers' Alliance - The Composer and Society" - The Graduate Center, CUNY

Feb 27th, 8:00pm
"Winter Composers' Concert - The Role of the Composer in Society" - Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, CUNY

Feb 27th, 8:00pm
"Morton Feldman's The Viola in My Life" - Symphony Space

Feb 27th, 8:00pm
"NYU Symphony Orchestra - David Byrne's The Forest" - Symphony Space

Feb 28th, 7:30PM
"Jazz Student Composers' Chamber Concert" - Manhattan School of Music

Streaming Museum
"John Cage Centennial Tribute at StreamingMuseum.org"
Feb 1st-29th
http://www.streamingmuseum.org/johncage

"A Centennial Tribute to John Cage" online at streamingmuseum.org features the work of Cage and contemporary composers influenced by him, and a collection of music and scores by composers featured in "Notations 21", a book by Theresa Sauer that was inspired by Cage's book "Notations" (1969). Streaming Museum is a new hybrid museum launched January 29, 2008 that presents multi-media exhibitions in cyberspace and public space on 7 continents, and at partnering cultural centers.

 

 

Symphony Space

Feb 4th, 4pm

“Music of Now Marathon”
Tickets $15, http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/6944-music-of-now-marathon
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street

Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
"Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra performing new works commissioned by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance"
Feb 5th, 8:30pm & 11:00pm
Tickets: $30
More info: www.afrolatinjazz.org
(212) 581-3080.
Birdland NYC- 315 West 44th Street

The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra stands for the possibilities of what can happen when you discard the idea of high and low culture, when you cease to engage in elitist socio-economic pandering, when you invite the pueblo into your heart, into your song and into your day-to-day life. For us, that is where the adventure begins. - Arturo O'Farrill, 40 Acres & a Burro

 

Americas Society
American Cosmology: A Concert of American Works on the Sky and the Cosmos"
Feb 6th, 7:00pm
Tickets: FREE for AS Friends Association Members; $20.00 for non-members.
More info: http://as.americas-society.org/calevent.php?id=1305
Americas Society- 680 Park Avenue

Program
Astral, string quartet no. 1 by David Dzubay
Baalkah, for string quartet and soprano by Gabriela Ortiz

Musicians:
Madalyn Parnas and Timothy Kantor, violins
Rose Wollman, viola
Cicely Parnas, cello
Sharon Harms, soprano
This event features an evening of contemporary chamber music from composers of the Americas, David Dzubay and Gabriela Ortiz, and will be performed by musicians from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Founded in 1961 by distinguished composer and musicologist Juan Orrego-Salas, the Latin American Music Center is the oldest center of its kind in the United States. Indiana University's The Latin American Music Center (LAMC) fosters the academic study, performance, and research of Latin American art, popular, and traditional music. Celebrating its jubilee year in 2011, LAMC continues to expand its library and to promote exchanges between Latin American music scholars and performers from the United States and the rest of the world. In addition, the LAMC performs, records, and commissions exemplary new works by Latin American composers.

Presented in collaboration with The Latin American Music Center at Indiana University and the Center's director, Carmen-Helena Téllez.

 

 

 

 

Symphony Space
Feb 6th, 7:30pm
“Dolce Suono Ensemble”
Tickets $30; Members $25; Under 30 $15, http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/7150-dolce-suono-ensemble
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th street
Title of Work(s) and Composer Names: Shulamit Ran, Moon Songs for Soprano, Flute, Cello, and Piano; Richard Danielpour, Remembering Neda: Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano; Steven Stucky, Aus der Jugendzeit; Steven Mackey, Herr Gutmann; Fang Man, new work; David Ludwig, Ewigkeit; Stratis Minakakis, Nepenthe
Performers: Dolce Suono Ensemble; Lucy Shelton, soprano; Randall Scarlata, baritone
Premiere Status: 2 world premieres and 4 New York Premieres

HERE Arts Center in association with American Opera Projects
“Culturemart 2012” 
Feb 7* & 8 , 8:30pm
Feb 8, 5:30pm: Free Reading of Full Libretto
*Panel Discussion with the Composers
Tickets $15, http://www.here.org/shows/detail/818/ 
HERE, 145 Sixth Ave. (enter on Dominick Street one block south of Spring)
Title of Work(s) and Composer Names: The Scarlet Ibis by Stefan Weisman and David Cote
Performers: Performances by Hai-Ting Chinn and Eric S. Brenner
Directed by Mallory Catlett
Premiere Status (World, New York, or non-Premiere): World premiere (Staged excerpts of opera-in-development)

Baryshnikov Arts Center
“Meklit Hadero”
Thursday, Feb. 9th, 8:00PM
Tickets $20
More info: 866 811 4111
http://www.bacnyc.org/events/performances/meklit_hadero

Jerome Robbins Theater, 450 W. 37th St., NY, NY 10018
Singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero performs a soulful set of music that draws from a variety of influences: jazz, hip-hop, art-rock, and folk traditions from the Americas and East Africa. Born in Ethiopia, raised in the U.S., and nurtured by San Francisco’s richly diverse arts scene, the acclaimed singer embodies these worlds with a sound that is hers alone.
“[Meklit] sings of fragility, hope and self-empowerment...[with a] sensuous, gentle sound. She is stunning.” 
- San Francisco Chronicle

 

Thomas Buckner performs Annea Lockwood, Narong Prangcharoen, Kit Young, & Anne Guthrie
Thursday February 9, 2012 @ 8PM
Tickets $15, $10 for Seniors and Members
More info: 212-627-0990 Interpretations.info
Roulette (509 Atlantic at 3rd Ave)
An evening of works composed for baritone Thomas Buckner, featuring Annea Lockwood’s “In Our Name” (with texts based upon poems written in Guantánamo by detainees), as well as new works by Anne Guthrie, Kit Young , and Narong Prangcharoen, (featuring cellist Theodore Mook).

Harlem Stage
“Jose James”
Feb 10th and 11th, 7:30PM and 9:30PM
Tickets $25
More info: (212) 281-9240  www.HarlemStage.org
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
Black Magic and No Beginning, No End;  Composers for Black Magic: Jose James, Taylor McFerrin, DJ Mitsu the Beats and Buddy Johnson; Composers for No Beginning, No End: Jose James and others TBD

International Contemporary Ensemble
“ICElab Workshop at BAC|Music of Juan Pablo Carreño and Carlos Iturralde”
Feb 11th, 3:00PM
Tickets FREE
More info: iceorg.org
Baryshnikov Arts Center-  450 West 37th Street, Suite 501, New York
ICElab and the Baryshnikov Arts Center throw the doors open to the creative process in this public showing of new works being developed through the ICElab program.
Carlos Iturralde is one of the most promising young composers to emerge from Mexico’s booming experimental music scene in many years. His music explores richly colorful acoustic spectra with an often violent intensity.
Colombian composer Juan Pablo Carreño is quickly emerging as a prodigious and dynamic voice from a region traditionally underrepresented in contemporary music. His varied work explores the intersections between art and politics, drawing on both the violence and the cultural vivacity of his home country.

Mannes School of Music
“Las Américas en Concierto”
Feb 11th, 8:00PM
Tickets FREE
Mannes Concert Hall, Mannes Building, 150 West 85th Street, NYC

Dance Theatre of Harlem
“Music and dance featuring a performance of Homenatge by Tania Leon performed by Adam Kent with choreography by Pedro Ruiz”
Feb. 12th, 3:00PM
Tickets:  $18.00 ($12.00 for children and seniors)
Location: Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Everett Center for the Performing Arts, 466 W. 152nd St. NYC
More info: www.dancetheatreofharelm.org

Mannes College - The New School for Music
"Faculty Composers, spring 2012"
Feb 15th, 8:00PM
Tickets: FREE
Location: Mannes Concert Hall, 150 west 85th Street

This concert will feature new music from Mannes faculty composers including David Loeb, David Tcimpidis, Robert Cuckson, Thomas Addison, and Eleanor Cory.

 

The Harlem School of the Arts
"Family Enrichment Series: Performance/Panel led by composer and HSA faculty member Major Scurlock"
Feb 18th, 12:00pm
Tickets: FREE
Location: Gathering Space, The Harlem School of the Arts

Flushing Town Hall
“DEMETRIUS SPANEAS, Composer-in-Residence”
Feb 18th, 2 PM
Tickets: FREE
More info: (718) 463-7700 www.flushingtownhall.org
Award winning composer and performer Demetrius Spaneas travels the world as a musical ambassador, connecting classical, jazz, and traditional music throughout the U.S., Eastern Europe, and Asia to create international dialogue through artistic collaboration. Recipient of the 2011 Exploring the Metropolis NYC Con Edison Musicians’ Residency Composition Program and a resident composer at Flushing Town Hall, Mr. Spaneas will perform work he has created during his residency, including new music based on traditional Chinese music.

International Contemporary Ensemble
“ICElab Workshop at BAC | Music of Lisa Coons”
Feb 18th, 3:00PM
Tickets: FREE
More info: iceorg.org
Location: Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 West 37th Street, Suite 501, New York
ICElab and the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) throw the doors open to the creative process in this public showing of new works being developed through the ICElab program.
Lisa Coons’ portfolio is diverse—ranging from chamber ensemble music to pieces for welded percussion sculptures—but two concepts remain ever-present in her work: an emphasis on sensual and emotional experience, and a focus on collaboration as a means of shaping musical language. Her new work for five musicians features real-time interaction with dance and movement, with work by choreographers Zack Winokour and Michelle Mola, and dancers from The Troupe.

Mannes College - The New School for Music
"New Music from Mannes Faculty and Alumni 2012"
Feb 19th, 1:30PM
Tickets: FREE
Location: Mannes Concert Hall, 150 west 85th Street

New Music from Mannes Faculty and Alumni 2012 The February concert will feature works by: Jonathan Bell, Wendy Griffiths, Christopher Park, Richard Russell, Faye-Ellen Silverman, and others.

 

Copland House
“Dangerous Crossings”
Monday, Feb. 20th, 2012, 8:00PM
Tickets 30$
More info: 914-788-4659, www.coplandhouse.org
Christ & St. Stephen's Church, 120 West 69th Street
Music from Copland House journeys across the American musical landscape with a program of works influenced by folk, jazz, and rock. Includes World Premieres by Tamar Muskal, Rob Smith, and Antonio Moreno, the New York City Premiere of Pierre Jalbert's Crossings (commissioned by the ensemble) and music by Aaron Copland and Percy Grainger.

Harlem Stage
“Footprints: A Humanities Discussion on the Innovation and Impact of A Tribe Called Quest”
Feb. 22nd, 7:30PM
Tickets: FREE
More info: (212) 281-9240, www.HarlemStage.org
Harlem Stage Gatehouse

Mannes College - The New School for Music
"College Division Student Composers 2011-2012, Concert 2"
Feb 22nd, 8:00PM
Tickets: FREE
Location: Mannes Concert Hall, 150 west 85th Street

College Division Student Composers 2011-2012, Concert 2 The concert features new works by Mannes student composers.

 

Harlem Stage
“A Tribe Called Quest Tribute featuring the Revive Da Live Big Band”
Feb 23rd, 7:30PM
Tickets: $25
More info: (212) 281-9240
www.HarlemStage.org
Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall

Symphony Space
“Guitar Plus: Music of David Leisner”
Feb 23rd, 7:30PM
Tickets: $30; Members $25; Under 30 $15, http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/6945-guitar-plus-music-of-david-leisner
More info: (212) 864-5400
Brazilian guitarist Fabio Zanon joins Symphony Space All-Star David Leisner in a rare US appearance with the Arc Duo and the Enso Quartet. Featuring the world premiere of Guitar Plus Artistic Director Leisner's new song cycle West Wind to poems by Mary Oliver, performed by Leisner and Metropolitan Opera tenor William Ferguson.
"Leisner exudes creativity and expression at every moment...inventive and refreshing, pushing the expressive envelope..." - Guitar Review
Program:
Away for flute and guitar
Vision of Orpheus for guitar and string quartet
West Wind (World Premiere) for tenor and guitar
Acrobats for flute and guitar

Ear Heart Music series, curated by Amelia Lukas
Trio KAVAK - "The Singing Garden Grew"
Feb. 23, 7:30pm
Tickets: $10/8 (students)
More info: thetanknyc.org
The Tank- 354 W 45th Street, New York

Program:
Kaija Saariaho, New Gates
Sasha Siem, White Dictionary (*US premiere)
Claude Debussy, Trio Sonata
Sofia Gubaidulina, Garden of Joy and Sorrow
Victor Lowrie, Untitled

Trio KAVAK explores the contemporary repertoire and new sound possibilities for the highly evocative combination of flute, viola and harp. The trio is Amelia Lukas (flute), Victor Lowrie (viola) and Kathryn Andrews (harp). This program features works loosely related to the theme of contemplation and refinement.

The Kitchen
"Missy Mazzoli: Song from the Uproar-The Lives & Deaths Of Isabelle Eberhardt"
Feb 24th-25th, 8pm
Tickets: $15, 20% discount for students and seniors
More info: http://www.thekitchen.org/calendar/all/music

Program:
Missy Mazzoli, Song from the Uproar-The Lives & Deaths Of Isabelle Eberhardt

Presented in collaboration with filmmaker Stephen Taylor, librettist Royce Vavrek, stage director Gia Forakis, and NOW Ensemble with mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer

 

 

Flushing Town Hall
“SCATTERED WIND”
Feb 25, 2-4 PM
Tickets: FREE
More info: (718) 463-7700 www.flushingtownhall.org
Recipient of the 2011 Exploring the Metropolis NYC Con Edison
Musicians’ Residency Composition Program and a resident composer at Flushing Town Hall, Paul Yeon Lee presents two different sanjo (scattered melody) pieces by Korean traditional transverse flute daegeum and western instrument flute. Additionally, Lee will premiere his new music “Scattered”.

Jazzmobile
"Composing Jazz: A Multi-generational Conversation
Feb 25th, 2-4pm
Tickets: FREE - RSVP required (212) 866-4900 ex. 307
Location: Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts 215 West 114th Street

Panelist/Instrumentalists:
Jimmy Heath (Tenor Saxophone), Frank Wess (Tenor Saxophone/Flute), Gerald Clayton (Piano/Moderator)

 

Asia Society
“Hoichi the Earless- from ‘Kwaidan’ Ghost Story”
Saturday Feb. 25th , 8:00PM
Tickets $20 members; $22 students/seniors with ID; $25 nonmembers
Performers: Akiko Sakurai, master performer of Japanese vocal music and Satsuma Biwa (traditional Japanese lute); Kumotaro Mukai, renowned Butoh dancer from Dairakudakan; and Kiyoshi Ohira, musical disciple of the Saz (Turkish lute) WORLD PREMIERE

American Composers Orchestra
"Composers Out Front, sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra"
Feb 25th, 8:00pm
Tickets FREE
University Settlement- 184 Eldridge Street New York

The latest works by Jessie Montgomery performed by PUBLIQuartet (string quartet) and Simon Boyar (percussion), including live music to film and a world premiere of Hand Games for solo percussion.

 

Greenwich House Music School
“Music Without Dance Festival/North River Dance”
Saturday, Feb 25: 7:30 concert
Tickets $15, $10 for seniors/students
More info: 212.242.4770
Renee Weiler Concert Hall ,Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street
DELTA (dreamdeepdown) (2002) by John King, composed for choreographer Kevin O'Day Relative Calm (1981) by Jon Gibson, composed for choreographer Lucinda Childs Desert Myths (2006) by Joan La Barbara , composed for choreographer Nai-Ni Chen Migrations (2008) by Miguel Frasconi, composed for choreographer Alonzo King Future Sight (2010) by Shelley Burgon, composed for choreographer Katherine Behar plus works by Christian Wolff, Annea Lockwood, and Alvin Curran.

Mannes College The New School for Music
"Student Recital - Michael Weinstein-Reiman and Sam Young, composers"
Feb 26th, 1:30PM
Tickets: FREE
Location: Mannes Goldmark Hall, 150 west 85th Street

Sam Young: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (2011) Sam Young: Drifting Out to Sea (for winds, piano, and percussion) (2011) Michael Weinstein-Reiman: String Quartet (2009)

 

 

Greenwich House Music School
“Music Without Dance Festival/North River Dance”
Sunday, Feb 26th 6:00PM Panel Discussion, 7:30PM Concert
Tickets $15, $10 for seniors/students
More info: 212.242.4770Renee Weiler Concert Hall ,Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street
Panel discussion will include,
Composers: Joan La Barbara, Miguel Frasconi, John King
Choreographers: Yoshiko Chuma, Nina Winthrope, Erica Essner

Park Avenue Armory
“Tune-In Music Festival: Afternoon Concert”
February 26, at 2:00pm
Tickets: $35 seat; $15 general admission* -*Casual seating with cushion directly on drill hall floor at stage level or seats in last row of side sections.
More info: Park Avenue Armory Ticket Hotline (212) 933-5812 (9:30am–6:00pm M-F) http://www.armoryonpark.org/index.php/programs_events/detail/AfternoonConcert/
Nico Muhly with Nadia Sirota, Violist
Vijay Iyer with Prasanna and Nitin Mitta - “tirtha”
Tania León, Composer and Pianist
Zack Glass and Guests
The final day of the Festival will begin with compilation of unique artists that Philip Glass has assembled and represent the forward momentum of contemporary music. Included are: Nico Muhly, an astonishing composer who is redefining the compositional field of new and classical music; Grammy Award nominee jazz trio tirtha, whose work has been identified as the 2010 #1 Jazz album by The New York Times; and Tania Leon, whose works as a composer and conductor have been presented worldwide. Singer-Songwriter, Zack Glass, will be joined on stage with Rubén González and Canadian fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, as they present new compositions.

On Foot Productions
"On Foot: Brooklyn"
Feb 26th, 1:00pm
Tickets FREE
Bensonhurst- northwest corner of 18th Avenue and 85th Street

From February 21 to May 21, 2012, Craig Shepard will travel everywhere he goes by foot. Each week, he will compose a new piece, write it down, and perform it in a public space. Every Sunday, he will walk to a new location in Brooklyn and perform the newly composed piece in an outdoor public space. Pieces will be named after the location and date of the first performance, i.e. "Downtown Brooklyn, April 22, 2012". All walks and performances are rain or shine.

Listeners can happen upon the performance as passerby, travel to the performance site, or join the silent walk to and from the performance site. Attendance in the group walk requires advance registration as well as a commitment to maintain silence during the walk including giving up one's cell phone for the duration of the walk. Talking will be permitted after the performance before the return walk.
An interactive map of the walks and performance sites is available at www.craigshepard.net.

 

 

The Graduate Center, CUNY
The Composers' Alliance - The Composer and Society"
Feb 27th, 8:00pm
Tickets FREE
Elebash Hall, the CUNY Graduate Center

An evening of new music by emerging composers at the CUNY Graduate Center, which will include a brief panel discussion on the role of the composer in society

 

Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, CUNY
"Winter Composers' Concert- The Role of the Composer in Society"
Feb 27th, 8:00pm
Tickets FREE
Studio 312 at the Brooklyn College campus
An evening of world premiere works by emerging composers from the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, Performed by students and Faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College. These compositions will explore the theme "The Role of the Composer in Society." A panel discussion on the topic with the composers, moderated by Whitney George, will also be presented.

Symphony Space
"Morton Feldman's The Viola in My Life"
Feb 27th, 8:00pm
Tickets $15; Members, Students, Seniors, Children $12
http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/7026-morton-feldmans-the-viola-in-my-life
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th street
Leonard Nimoy Thalia

Red Light New Music presents Morton Feldman's The Viola in My Life, featuring Red Light violist Erin Wight. This concert showcases Morton Feldman's The Viola in My Life, numbers I-III. Feldman's music has had a profound effect on many of today's emerging composers. Two such artists, Scott Wollschleger and Ted Hearne, bring new commissions to the ensemble for the occasion

 

Symphony Space
"NYU Symphony Orchestra - David Byrne's The Forest"
Feb 27th, 8:00pm
Tickets $25; Students $15; NYU Students $5
http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/7310-nyu-symphony-orchestra-david-byrnes-the-forest
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th street
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre

NYU Steinhardt School Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions presents NYU Symphony conducted by Jonathan Haas. Student composition competition winners Tim Hansen's Goldbrick Oilslick and Ian Ng's Cité en l'air and David Byrne's The Forest.

Composers Now: The Origins

Composers Now was born from a friendly dinner conversation between Tania León and Laura Kaminsky. Composers, they lamented, held a highly critical role in the musical ecosystem, but suffered from public invisibility!

“You know,” said Tania, “the role of the composer in our society is huge; we need to find a way to raise awareness and appreciation of this important community of creators. I would love to see composers as visible as poets. After all, we have National Poetry Month. Why not do the same for composers? Composers now are creating the sonic legacy of tomorrow. They need to become better known for their contributions in all genres and in all communities, and with this awareness and understanding, they will be more deeply valued.”

Audiences are accustomed to seeing performers, but not composers. It’s rare that we talk to, interact with or get to know the people who create the music being performed, the people whose stories are being told. Composers Now month changes that by placing the emphasis on composer-audience interaction. Each performance highlights contemporary composers and their work, allowing the audience to better understand the narrative motivating the piece.