Follow Us

Works by composers Philip Glass (U.S.), Guo Wenjing ( China ), Jonny Greenwood ( UK ), Tansy Davies ( UK ), Toshi Ichiyanagi ( Japan ), Toshio Hosokawa ( Japan ), Somei Satoh ( Japan ), Hooshyar Khayam ( Iran ), and Stephen Scott ( U.S. )

American premiere of John Cage’s trilogy Twenty-Six, Twenty-Eight, and Twenty-Nine, the last of his works not yet performed in the U.S.

Casts announced for new productions of Philip Glass’s Kepler and Guo Wenjing’s Feng Yi Ting

Internationally recognized for its adventurous opera and classical music programming, Spoleto Festival USA’s 2012 season features numerous musical premieres from notable American, British, Chinese, Iranian, and Japanese composers. In addition to new ...

Chinese composers, writing in the second half of the twentieth century, faced a problem: how to write new music in a foreign style (European art music) that is still characteristic of the composer’s culture? That exact same issue was faced by American composers in the first half. To make matters worse, the classical tradition is a conservative and seemingly inflexible one, which certainly proved difficult for American composers to work with, but must have seemed impossibly daunting for that first generation of Chinese musicians, who were really some of the first artists from a completely non-Western society to take a crack at writing European-style concert music. But however daunting it may have been, the last sixty years has seen ...

Contemporaneous’ bio states that the ensemble is “dedicated to performing the most exciting music that […] captures the spirit of the present moment.” Do you mean it in an Epicurean way, or just the Zeitgeist? What’s going on in the world—musical or not—that echoes with you these days?

One thing that resonates with me and all of us at Contemporaneous is the dizzying variety of what’s going on in today’s world and the unprecedented interconnectedness of it all. Different composers see and portray the world in different ways, which is yet another exciting element of the diversity in the world we all share. Because of this, every composer, and every piece of music, has a ...

From the Brooklyn Phil website:

Over two nights at Roulette Theater in Brooklyn (509 Atlantic Avenue near Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217), 800 audience members will be propelled into a musically immersive social event examining linkages between the 19th century and our own time that trace the development of Brooklyn from a small village to a major global super city. Locally written orchestra and choir music, spoken verse, staging, costumes, audience interaction and film will combine together to form a new shared voice as Brooklynites celebrate our collective ability to adapt to the relentlessness of change.

David T. Little is one of the composers (along with Matthew Mehlan, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

The composers of the music for Armonia Celeste are not yet common names among concertgoers. This is unfortunate, as the quality of their music and contributions to the history of music is often enormous. It is especially true of Luigi Rossi, the prime composer for Armonia Celeste’s current concert and forthcoming recording.

Rossi was born in southern Italy in the town of Torremaggiore, and apparently received his early training in Naples under Giovanni de Macque.  However, where he really made his mark was in Rome, where he served several patrons, including Cardinal Antonio Barberini.

The Barberinis were great patrons of the arts, and Rossi’s first opera, Il Palazzo Incantato (The ...

Jherek Bischoff and the Wordless Music Orchestra open the 2012 Ecstatic Music Festival

This year’s edition of Ecstatic Music Festival just started and even if it won’t feature Judd Greenstein’s—it’s curator—dream lineup, it’s still pretty awesome. Indeed 150 performers and composers will collaborate on 11 shows to give us a vivid snapshot of the indie, or post-classical scene: Sxip Shirey, Angélica Negrón, Nick Zammuto,  Jason Treuting,  Janus Trio, Daisy Press, the Calder Quartet, Grey McMurray, Oneida, Rhys Chatham, and The Mountain Goats to name a few.

The festival (running through March 28) opened with an evening dedicated to Jherek Bischoff’s music: his ...

Wabass Workshop at Curtis

The Wabass Workshop features four days of intensive bass instruction, led by founder Ranaan Meyer and Assistant Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra Joseph Conyers. The Wabass Workshop offers a rare, affordable opportunity for bass players to receive personalized, hands-on instruction from some of the best double-bassists in the country.

Music is a universal language, and the faculty at Wabass Workshop will guide you to tell its story in different ways. Gain insight into classical repertoire, jazz techniques, and general performance skills. In a concentrated environment, learn how to improve your personal practice and become your own teacher. Participate in group master classes where constructive ...

I'm sure I'm not the only composer who wonders about how to respectfully approach conductors, directors and chamber musicians about considering my works for potential programming.  Composers experience a tension between desiring to move their new creations out into the world while trying not to annoy those who make programming decisions. I'd like to start a conversation about this subject by soliciting your response to any or all of the questions below.   

- What led you in the past to choose to program music by a living composer?  i.e. composer reputation, personal connection, referral by a colleague, etc.

- When does your organization make programming decisions?

- Do you post calls for scores here regarding your ...