American Composers Forum

Innova Release: Lisa Mezzacappa | 'The Electronic Lover'
2024-05-31 | MN
MAY 31: Innova Release: Lisa Mezzacappa | ‘The Electronic Lover’

The Electronic Lover is uniquely of the Bay Area in its artistic personality, the individuals involved as performers and collaborators, and the presenting partners who have collaborated with me along the way (Berkeley Art Museum, Paul Dresher Ensemble, Center for New Music, Litquake, East Bay Center for the Arts). The topics we explore also resonate powerfully from our region—women in tech, the perils of online communication, screen-mediated relationships, the fluidity of gender identity, and social justice movements around disability rights, LGBT issues, and sexual harassment. Collaborating with Beth Lisick, a hero of the storytelling community, to create a work that reaches culturally-curious fans and writer peers outside of the music world.

Annie Blythe (2022 ACF | Create): Only in the Dark
2024-05-29 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Old Stone House of Brooklyn, 336 3rd Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11215, United States
‘Only in the Dark’ Concert at the Old Stone House
Wednesday, May 29 · 7 – 9pm EDT
Old Stone House of Brooklyn
336 3rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11215

‘Only in the Dark’ is a 45-minute musical work in eight movements for cello and electronics by composer/sound designer Brendon Randall-Myers and cellist/composer Annie Blythe. Blythe instigated this collaboration as a way to keep herself alive, and the music grew from the composers’ respective experiences as neurodiverse individuals and their shared journeys around healing from and understanding their own histories.
The collective work is motivated by sensory sensitivities arising from their respective neurological differences, by a desire for creative community grounding via the duo’s long history of friendship and musical collaboration, and by Blythe’s desire to survive. The resulting music transforms expressions of grief and loss into a requiem of hope. It is by turns tender, psychedelic, and haunting, reflecting a deep well of emotion.
‘Only in the Dark’ was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation.
2022 ACF | Create awardee Annie Blythe, they/she, is a Brooklyn based multi genre cellist, composer, and improviser working at the intersection of classical, contemporary, and experimental music. Her career as a touring performer allows her to share music with audiences around the world in an array of styles including avant-garde, classical, electronic, pop, and rock to name a few. As a composer and improviser, both personally and universally, her work is focused on representing neurodivergent perspectives as well as transforming grief, and the effects of trauma into hopeful, healing lines.
Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/only-in-the-dark-concert-at-the-old-stone-house-tickets-893328749337?aff=oddtdtcreator

innova Artist SHENSduo (申思琵琶) U.S. PREMIERE | Music@Noon - Spring Series
2024-05-29 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Music Recital Hall, Santa Clara University, Music and Dance Facility, 114 Franklin St, Santa Clara, CA, 95050, United States
SHENSduo (申思琵琶)
May 29th, 2024 | 12:00PM | Music Recital Hall, Santa Clara University
Free Admission | Music and Dance Facility, 114 Franklin St, Santa Clara, CA 95050
Music@Noon series featuring original pipa duets
composed and performed by Shenshen Zhang and Sophia Shen
Experience the authenticity and originality of SHENSduo (申思琵琶), a California Bay Area-based pipa duo featuring Shenshen Zhang and Sophia Shen. Enjoy their captivating, genre-blending new works at their U.S. premiere concert.
About Music@Noon – Spring Series
Wildly diverse and enriching concerts are presented as a part of the Music @ Noon class. Take a lunch break to enjoy this fresh series!

Composing Inclusion: Pre-College Orchestra performs Soto & Benavides
2024-05-25 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 155 W. 65th St., New York, NY, 10023, United States
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
The Juilliard School, 155 W. 65th St., New York, NY 10023
Program information:
Pre-College Orchestra
Adam Glaser, Conductor
Andrés SOTO Fantasía en la Plaza*
SAINT-SAËNS Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61
Nicolás Lell BENAVIDES Querencia*
ELGAR In the South
*Nicolás Lell Benavides’ and Andrés Soto’s commissions are part of Composing Inclusion: a collaboration between the New York Philharmonic, American Composers Forum, and The Juilliard School’s Preparatory Division, powered by the Sphinx Venture Fund.
Watch the performance on this page at the scheduled date and time. This performance won’t be available to stream afterward on demand.
Lead Digital Sponsor: Bloomberg Philanthropies
Get tickets here: https://www.juilliard.edu/events/book/77001

“Composing Inclusion” Chamber Music Premieres
2024-05-12 | Bruno Walter Orchestral Studio, 155 W. 65th St., New York, NY, 10023, United States
American Composers Forum (ACF), in partnership with The Juilliard School’s Preparatory Division and the New York Philharmonic, is returning for another “Composing Inclusion” concert, a co-commission that brings together multiple generations, musical levels, perspectives, and community members in the creation and performance of new music. This program is powered by a grant from the Sphinx Venture Fund.
The concert will include new chamber music premieres by composers Elijah J. Thomas, Jasmine Barnes, and Lauren McCall
Rm 309 – Bruno Walter Orchestral Studio
155 W. 65th St., New York, NY 10023
Program information:
ELIJAH THOMAS Detect: an antiphon for all times (for double wind quintet and voices)
JASMINE BARNES The Boroughs
LAUREN MCCALL TBA

ACF Co-Commission featuring Joel Thompson with the Atlanta Symphony
2024-04-26 20:00, 2024-04-25 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Atlanta Symphony Hall & Box Office, 1280 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA, 30309, United States
ACF is proud to commission a new orchestral work by Joel Thompson with partners New York Philharmonic (Jaap van Zweden, Music Director), Atlanta Symphony (Nathalie Stutzmann, Music Director), the Aspen Music Festival and School (Robert Spano, Music Director), and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival (Ann-Marie McDermott, Artistic Director).
American Composers Forum support is made possible by The Thelma E. Hunter Fund in honor of the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Lina Gonzalez-Granados guest conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra debut.

Program
Gabriela Ortiz
Kauyumari
Joel Thompson
New Work TBD
Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue
Gabriela Lena Frank
Walkabout: Concerto for Orchestra
Arturo Márquez
Danzón No. 2

ACF "Composing Inclusion" premieres with NY Philharmonic and The Juilliard School Preparatory Division
2024-04-20 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY, 10023, United States
American Composers Forum (ACF), in partnership with The Juilliard School’s Preparatory Division and the New York Philharmonic, is returning for another “Composing Inclusion” concert, a co-commission that brings together multiple generations, musical levels, perspectives, and community members in the creation and performance of new music. Featuring students from the Juilliard Preparatory Division, this concert will celebrate the creativity of young musicians with newly commissioned works for professional and youth orchestras. This program is powered by a grant from the Sphinx Venture Fund.
Arrive early for YPC Overtures, on the Leon and Norma Hess Grand Promenade and Hearst Tier 1, where children can try out orchestral instruments and families can engage in crafting and interactive workshops. Activities begin at 1:00 PM.

Part of Young People’s Concerts
PROGRAM TO INCLUDE
Andrés Soto
New Work (World Premiere, New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with The Juilliard School Preparatory Division and American Composers Forum)
Nicolás Lell Benavides
New Work (World Premiere, New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with The Juilliard School Preparatory Division and American Composers Forum)
William Dawson
Selections from Negro Folk Symphony
ADDITIONAL INFO
This concert will be streamed on the Hauser Digital Wall.

innova Release: Jess Rowland's 'Plastiglomerates'
2024-03-29 | MN
*Out Friday March 29th, Jess Rowland’s ‘Plastiglomerates’*
Get album here: https://lnkfi.re/nURTSc7U
Plastiglomerates is a collection of music exploring the theme of plastic in life. “Plastiglomerate” is a recently coined term used to describe a new geological phenomenon – Plastics which have been cemented into organic rock through geological processes. The new forms of plastic/rock combinations are often found on beaches and come in a bizarre and dazzling array of textures, shapes and colors.
The term Plastiglomerate in the context of this collection of music is used as a metaphor – a way of describing the kinds of processes used to create the music, as well as the content, texture, and density of the sounds in it. As the term might suggest, this music collection contains a roughly-fused conglomeration of organic and inorganic sound, analog and digital, human and machine.

Innova Artist Leilehua Lanzilotti w/Longleash present 'for Toshiko: new works by Leilehua Lanzilotti'
2024-03-24 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd, Queens, NY, 11106, United States
for Toshiko: new works by Leilehua Lanzilotti
Sunday, March 24, 2024, 6:30–8 pm EST
Free with RSVP
In conjunction with Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within, The Noguchi Museum presents for Toshiko: new works by Leilehua Lanzilotti, including the world premiere of Lanzilotti’s piano trio for Toshiko—an exploration of the shifting resonance of Takaezu’s bronze bells—as well as other original compositions connected with Takaezu’s work.
Lanzilotti has long been captivated by Takaezu’s engagement with sound and her capacity to construct multisensory landscapes. As a part of the exhibition Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within, Lanzilotti created a sound guide to introduce visitors to the full haptic wonder of Takaezu’s work, as well as a video installation that pairs the recorded sounds of Takaezu’s closed forms with footage shot on the island of Hawaiʻi. This unique concert program is an extension of Lanzilotti’s curation and scholarship around the exhibition.
This performance will be roughly one hour and features the New York-based ensemble Longleash. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Guests are encouraged to explore the exhibition before the concert begins. The concert will be followed by a small reception.
Performers
Leilehua Lanzilotti, viola
Longleash
Pala Garcia, violin
John Popham, cello
Julia den Boer, piano
Concert Program
koʻu inoa (2017) by Lanzilotti
A homesick bariolage based on the anthem Hawaiʻi Aloha. koʻu inoa translates from ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to “my name is” and explores a longing for home and the meaning of identity.
for Toshiko (2022) by Lanzilotti
I. to see—
II. to touch—
III. to sound—
IV. to you—
A work exploring the shifting resonances of Toshiko Takaezu’s bronze bells, particularly those at her former studio and home in Quakertown, New Jersey. The second movement honors Takaezu’s Rainforest Bell (1998), sounded in honor of Tessa Butler in Seattle, Washington.
Mahina from with eyes the color of time (2020) by Lanzilotti Composition inspired by Toshiko Takaezu’s Moons, a series of ceramic sculptures she often referred to by the Hawaiian word, mahina. This is a movement from with eyes the color of time, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music 2022, inspired by the works in the collection of The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, which permanently closed its doors in 2019.
Bronze Bell Activation in the Garden
Sounding of Toshiko Takaezu’s bronze Bell (2004) on view in The Noguchi Museum Garden, a living space where the noises of the city and nature meet, and echoes of Noguchi’s dialogue with stone resound.

ACF Co-Commission featuring Joel Thompson with the NY Phil
2024-03-24 14:00 - 15:30, 2024-03-23 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-03-21 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY, 10023, United States
ACF is proud to commission a new orchestral work by Joel Thompson with partners New York Philharmonic (Jaap van Zweden, Music Director), Atlanta Symphony (Nathalie Stutzmann, Music Director), the Aspen Music Festival and School (Robert Spano, Music Director), and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival (Ann-Marie McDermott, Artistic Director).
American Composers Forum support is made possible by The Thelma E. Hunter Fund in honor of the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Jaap van Zweden conducts the New York Philharmonic in this world premiere.

ACF | create awardee Sugar Vendil presents "Isogram: scenes from childhood"
2024-03-23 19:30 (America/New_York) | National Sawdust, 80 NORTH 6TH ST, BROOKLYN, NY, 11249, United States
SUGAR VENDIL / ISOGRAM: SCENES FROM CHILDHOOD
LIVE AT NATIONAL SAWDUST // DOORS AT 6:30PM
March 23, 2024
7:30 pm
Get tickets here: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36490/production/1185929
For more information about the event: https://www.nationalsawdust.org/event/sugar-vendil-isogram-scenes-from-childhood
In an evening of kaleidoscopic sound and movement, Sugar Vendil demonstrates her range as an interdisciplinary artist. Vendil will share a set of new solo compositions for piano, voice, and live electronics, and a preview of her ensemble piece Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia with her performance group and collaborators, Isogram. While contrasting in scale and form, both works stem from Vendil’s childhood experiences, where boredom and loneliness yielded creativity and self-reliance (e.g., being a sort of one-womyn-band in her solo project) and a desire to reflect on those experiences as a grown-up (Antonym).
Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia is a memoir of a Filipinx childhood that excavates insignificant yet indelible experiences and incorporates field recordings of NYC, using the four seasons as a cyclical time frame and context for memory.
Sugar Vendil / Isogram:
Cindy Lan, performer, violinist
Annie Nikunen, performer, flutist
Marie Lloyd Paspe, dancer, vocalist
Annie Wang, dancer, vocalist
Sugar Vendil, composer, choreographer, performer, pianist
Antonym is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Living Arts Tulsa, High Concept Labs, National Sawdust, and NPN. More information: www.npnweb.org. Antonym is also supported by MAP Fund and New Music USA Project Grant. Special thanks to the following organizations for providing development and/or showing opportunities for Antonym: NPN (2023 Development Funds); Mabou Mines Resident Artist Program (2019); High Concept Labs Artist in Residence program (2019) and Partner-Artist-in-Residence program (2023); Movement Research at Judson (2023).
Vendil’s new work for piano, voice, and electronics was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation.

ACF 2017 JFund Awardee Martin Nevin presents 'Scratch at the Same Table'
2024-03-18 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11217, United States
Monday, March 18, 2024 @ 8:00 PM
Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
$25 advance | $30 doors | $20 Student/Senior (w/ ID, Senior 65+) | doors 7p.m.
NYC-based composer, bassist, and bandleader Martin Nevin (2017 JFund for New Music) world premieres his song cycle, “Scratch at the Same Table,” which is inspired by a set of poems by the Dublin-based writer Jonathan C. Creasy. The poems were written at the Lannan Residency in Marfa, Texas, where Creasy drew inspiration from the high, open desert in creating an introspective lyricism that reflects on solitude and the act of artistic creation. Although each song maintains a distinct character, Nevin’s compositions are bound together by shared musical and textual themes and are navigated by his rich harmonic language.
The work is composed for a male vocalist and an ensemble of clarinet, flute, cello, bass, drums, and piano.
Martin Nevin: bass and composition
Tomás Cruz: vocals
Sam Harris: piano
Craig Weinrib: drums
Christopher Hoffman: cello
Jay Rattman: clarinet
TBA: flute
A livestream will be available free of charge at 8p.m. on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing.

2024 ACF | create Info Session 2
2024-03-07 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | Via Zoom
Session 2: Thursday, March 7th – 5:30-6:30 PM Central Time
Topic: we will examine previous awardees’ applications as case studies.
ACF staff will offer two 60-minute information sessions for the 2024 ACF | create program online to review the application process. During these sessions, there will be time to ask questions about the application process and its components.
These sessions will be offered online via Zoom. You must register to receive the link. We will record the sessions and post them at: https://composersforum.org/programs/acf-create/

2024 ACF | create Info Session 1
2024-03-05 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | Via Zoom
Session 1: Tuesday, March 5th – 5:30-6:30 PM Central Time
Topic: we will review all guidelines and walk through the application process in SlideRoom.
ACF staff will offer two 60-minute information sessions for the 2024 ACF | create program online to review the application process. During these sessions, there will be time to ask questions about the application process and its components.
These sessions will be offered online via Zoom. You must register to receive the link. We will record the sessions and post them at: https://composersforum.org/programs/acf-create/

Vanessa Rose presents ACF's racial equity journey to Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia
2024-02-27 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Virtual, United States
Vanessa Rose presents ACF’s racial equity journey to Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia
February 27, 2024 @ 12:30pm ET
Vanessa Rose, Executive Director of ACF, joins the Musical Fund Society for a virtual lunchtime presentation on how ACF has navigated the successes – and failures – of achieving greater equity in the organization and for its artist community. After the presentation we’ll have an opportunity to discuss how the lessons from the ACF experience can inform the practice of artists and presenters in the greater Philadelphia cultural community.

Free and open to everyone.

EarShot Webinar: Put Me On: Commissions and Consortia Workshop
2024-02-20 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | MN
Featured Speakers: Melissa Ngan and Vanessa Rose
Being a part of a consortium is not only artistically beneficial to composers, but financially beneficial as well! In this session, Melissa Ngan will unpack some of the need-to-know information surrounding orchestral commissions and the creation of consortia for composers.
This webinar is free, but registration is required.

ACF @ Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Convention
2024-02-17 | Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 Second Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
American Composers Forum presents – “Connecting Our Students to Cutting-Edge Chamber Repertoire: New Solo and Ensemble Music Written by Black Composers”
This session will highlight new pedagogical chamber music repertoire available for educators to include in their high school-level solo and ensemble repertoire by composers supported through various American Composers Forum commissions. There will also be performances of works by Thomas Flippin (Composing Inclusion Cycle 1) and Valerie Coleman (BQ artist). This presentation will feature the world premiere of a new string quartet by Minnesota-based composer PaviElle French, who will co-present and share her process and experiences with developing this new work.
Presenters: PaviElle French, Alexis Lamb, and Vanessa Rose (facilitator)

The Muatas: Battle Weary Visual Album (2022 MMCA Winners)
2024-02-10 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Pangea World Theater, 711 Lake St W, Minneapolis, MN, 55408, United States
In this project the idea was to tell an abstract musical and visual narrative of a group of Black South Minneapolis residents moving through the racial unrest we experienced in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, while also moving through the global pandemic and shutdowns, as well as the political unrest that soon followed.
The Muatas (2022 MMCA Winners), as well as others directly impacted by these events, are seen together in a movie theater, moving through these experiences in each their own unique way, with their reflections depicted as people watching a series of unbelievably traumatic and horrific events taking place right before their eyes. And as they remember, and reflect, they invite all the emotions that go along with those experiences into the space, allowing room to both acknowledge the pain and make space for individual and collective healing and restoration.
Saturday, February 10, 2024 @ 2pm-4pm CT
Pangea World Theater
711 Lake St W
Minneapolis, MN 55408

ACF McKnight Composer Fellows Concert @ The Great Northern
2024-01-31 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Chicago) | The Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, United States
Featuring Mychal “MMYYKK” Fisher, deVon Russell Gray, LaAerial, and Troy Rogers (aka Robot Rickshaw)
Wed, Jan 31, 7:30–9:30 pm
Cedar Cultural Center
Tickets: $17
The Great Northern joins forces with American Composers Forum (ACF) to showcase ACF’s most recent cohort of Minnesota-based McKnight Composer Fellows: Mychal “MMYYKK” Fisher, deVon Russell Gray, LaAerial, and Troy Rogers (aka Robot Rickshaw). Each visionary artist will present 20 minutes of new music (to be announced).
About the Artists
Mychal “MMYYKK” Fisher (he/him)
MMYYKK (pronounced “Mike”) is a visionary multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer based in Minneapolis, MN. With an eclectic sound at the intersections of soul, jazz, electro, and R&B, his music blends analog synthesis with neck-breaking rhythms, resulting in mesmerizing sonic alchemy. Recognized as the new high priest of neo-soul, MMYYKK’s understated tunes evoke D’Angelo strapped to a spaceship, drawing inspiration from the cosmic funk of Thundercat and Flying Lotus, and the finesse of Anderson .Paak and Stevie Wonder. His forthcoming project, “Midst of Things,” challenges societal norms, questioning American values, exploring the impact of technology and globalization, and addressing personal experiences of trauma and the resilience of the black community. MMYYKK aims to provoke conversation and engage listeners, using his voice as an instrument to create an inspiring and thought-provoking sonic journey.
deVon Russell Gray (he/him)
Who is deVon Russell Gray? A divinely guided multi-media social justice activist or a pantheistic audial alchemist? Central to his creative practice is the fundamental belief of starting from a place of “I know nothing” when approaching any new composition, performance, or creative endeavor. Embracing the idea that empty vessels receive new knowledge more efficiently, he constantly seeks a transformative death/rebirth process to expand his artistic horizons. Among other known knowns about this artist, Gray absorbs tremendous inspiration from the natural world, finding solace and reflection in the great outdoors. He cherishes moments of indulgence in eating, drinking, and merriment, and he possesses a deep appreciation for activities such as moon gazing, leaf peeping, and immersing himself in the world of cinema. In his downtime, he reluctantly participates in the commonplace mixed economy, feeling frustrated by its limitations and yearning for something different. In his uptime, he creates exceptional art while also taking every opportunity to integrate himself in tent camping adventures.
LaAerial (she/her)
Drawing inspiration from the depths of her soul and experiences, LaAerial calls herself a Purveyor of All Things Creative. Her multidisciplinary work dances across music, poetry, audio-visuals, and prose. She is a scholar holding three distinguished degrees in creative fields and has a body of work that stretches back to the 2000’s. Her career has included touring as a supporting vocalist and morphed into performance residencies in Asia. She has since found her voice as an independent creative. LaAerial is passionate about writing, lyricism, and visual art as an extension of musical expression. She has independently produced/composed four music projects to date and is a fan of concept albums. Her fifth release: ‘Some Come to Destroy’ will explore a range of topics, including addiction, colonization, and heartache. In addition to these works, LaAerial has self-published two books of poetry and is working on a memoir based on her life and travels.
Troy Rogers (aka Robot Rickshaw) (he/him)
Troy Rogers is deeply involved in the creation, performance, and dissemination of early 21st-century semi-nomadic robot herder’s music. His Robot Rickshaw was a human-driven cart full of musical robots designed for all-terrain performance scenarios ranging from guerrilla drive-by rapid-fire black-MIDI-burst-spewing dadaist street interventions to extended duration post-human dronecore therapy sessions. His instruments and performances joyfully teeter between mind-bending wonder and catastrophic failure, underscoring both a skepticism for the chances of contemporary civilization surviving its technological adolescence, and yet an unwavering belief in the power and potential in humans as amplifiers of low probabilistic states.
Co-presented with American Composers Forum.

ACF @ SphinxConnect 2024 presenting "Composing Inclusion"
2024-01-26 17:20 - 18:20 (America/Chicago) | Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Renaissance Center, 400 Renaissance Dr W, Detroit, MI, 48243, United States
What happens when young music students have the opportunity to not only perform side-by-side works with professional musicians but also play new works with “flex scores” written especially for them? What about when that living composer invites them to contribute to the creation of the work, or when they share a similar background from them and/or isn’t who they thought a “composer” could be? This is the basis of the new partnership “Composing Inclusion” between the Juilliard Preparatory Division, New York Philharmonic, and American Composers Forum, powered by a Sphinx Venture Fund grant. Hear from the lead organizers how they designed this unprecedented program, and what they’ve learned after their first year.
Read more about the program here: https://icareifyoulisten.com/2022/08/inaugural-composing-inclusion-composer-commissions-announced/.
Moderated by ACF Executive Director, Vanessa Rose, the panel includes Weston Sprott, Gary Padmore, ACF’s Carolina Heredia, and composer Jordyn Davis.
View the panel on Friday, January 26 here: https://www.sphinxconnect.org/schedule

SphinxConnect 2024 - AMPLIFY
2024-01-25 12:00 - 2024-01-27 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Renaissance Center, 400 Renaissance Dr W, Detroit, MI, 48243, United States
The Sphinx Organization brings you the largest and longest-standing convening dedicated to diversity and inclusion in classical music January 25-27, 2024! With over 30 sessions designed to inspire and ignite action and spark collaboration, the participation of more than 90 speakers, keynote addresses by luminaries and trailblazers, and much more: you won’t want to miss this transformative experience!

National Flute Association hosts Vanessa Rose | ACF Exec. Director
2024-01-23 20:00 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Via Zoom
National Flute Association – IDEA Committee: 2024 Speaker Series
Join members of the NFA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee for enriching conversations with today’s arts leaders. These Zoom events are free and open to the public – no NFA membership required.

Vanessa Rose | American Composers Forum
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024 | 7:00-8:30pm CST
Join our chat with Vanessa Rose, Executive Director for the American Composers Forum (ACF) about how to engage your community in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility work, and why it matters. Members of NFA IDEA Committee will interview Vanessa on how she has approached – and learned from – the work at ACF with an open Q&A session for attendees at the end.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpd-mhrjItGtdB_-w6zWnEABQjIHIBkVf6#/registration

ACF + Chamber Music America Co-Present at CMA National Conference
2024-01-18 - 2024-01-21 | MN
Join us in NYC for the CMA Conference and be part of Anatomy of a Commission!
ACF constituents use promo code ACF10CMA when registering and receive $10 off
Sessions include an interactive town hall about the commissioning process, dialogue about applying best practices between composers and collaborators, and a composers/creators-only summit to share, support, and learn together
ACF is grateful to Augusta Gross and Leslie Samuels for their underwriting support of this event.
List of ACF Events:
Listening Lounge – Jan 18 11:30AM–06:00PM EST
Visit the Listening Lounge for a personal sonic experience. At your leisure, listen to a playlist of recent compositions curated by our partners at the American Composers Forum, featuring music from their in-house record label, innova Recordings.
Keynote by composer Paola Prestini – Jan 18 01:00PM-02:00PM EST
Plus Paola in conversation with ACF Executive Director Vanessa Rose and CMA President & CEO Kevin Kwan Loucks
Town Hall: Anatomy of a Commission – Jan 18 02:30PM–04:00PM EST
ACF’s new digital resource, Anatomy of a Commission, seeks to provide transparency about the commissioning process and encourage positive, equitable experiences among composers and collaborators. At this interactive event, hosted by ACF, contributors share insight and invite questions as well as feedback to inform the next iteration of the project: chamber music and small ensemble commissions. Panelists include music lawyer Ari Solotoff, BMI’s Deirdre Chadwick, and ACF staff/composer Carolina Heredia.
Then, hear from practitioners themselves who are applying these strategies: composer Ivette Herryman Rodriguez and her collaborator Lindsay Kesselman from the Haven Trio, plus presenter Jenny Bilfield (Washington Performing Arts) and composer Huang Ruo.
Composers’ Summit – Jan 18 04:30PM–05:30PM EST
This affinity-group meeting, facilitated by ACF staff, provides community space for self-identified composers and music creators to share experiences, questions, and ideas with fellow practitioners in the field.

ACF | Create awardee Stephanie Chou performing "Comfort Girl" @ Sutton Center, NY
2024-01-12 19:50 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | New York Hilton Midown | Suon Center, 1335 6th Avenue, New York, NY, 10019, United States
ACF | Create awardee Stephanie Chou will be performing her work Comfort Girl.
NY Hilton Midtown – 1335 6th Ave (54th St. and 6th Ave)
SUTTON Center, 2nd Floor, free and open to the public
Friday Jan 12 – 7:50pm
Follow the link for more information: https://apap365.org/meet-the-artists-of-up-next-at-apapnyc-2024/
Comfort Girl is a song-cycle inspired by true stories of Asian “comfort women” abducted into sexual slavery during WWII. It is not only a groundbreaking fusion of East-West musical traditions, but has also sparked public dialogue on a formerly taboo subject that still resonates globally for women today. Based on survivor testimony, the jazz-opera/song-cycle gives voice to the 400,000+ women and survivors who were silenced for 50 years.
Comfort Girl “is a stunning work that shines light on a dark chapter of history but also feels inspirational for contemporary listeners.” –DownBeat
“One of New York’s most socially relevant and ambitious jazz talents” –NY Music Daily

2022 McKnight Visiting Composer Victor Marquez-Barrios' - 'A Path Home/Camino a Casa'
2023-10-27 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Truman State University
The world premiere of the song cycle A Path Home/Camino a Casa, with music by Victor Márquez-Barrios and lyrics by Márquez-Barrios and Rodolfo Nieto, will take place on Friday, October 27, at 7:30pm in Truman State University. These songs were inspired by testimonies provided by a group of Latino immigrants living in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota, through a series of conversations conducted between October 2022 and March of 2023. In their testimonies, these immigrants shared details about their journey to the U.S. and their feelings about the process of finding a new home in this country. The resulting piece, scored for bass-baritone, piano, and pre-recorded track, will be premiered by Rodolfo Nieto (voice) and Lanjiabao Ge (piano), as part of the 2023 North Star Music Festival. This project was possible thanks to the support of the American Composers Forum through a McKnight Visiting Composer Grant.

Asuka Kakitani (2019 McKnight Composer Fellow) Album Release Concert
2023-06-24 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
On Saturday, June 24, the Japanese composer Asuka Kakitani presents a concert at Studio Z (St. Paul, Minn.), to support her new solo percussion album Twelve Months in Minnesota (out on June 30), featuring Eri Isomura and inspired by nature in the state. Kakitani is a 2019 McKnight Composer Fellow and a 2016 JFund awardee (now ACF | create). She was described as a “musical impressionist and supreme colorist” by Hot House Magazine.
Kakitani’s deep love for nature inspires her to transform her vision into musical stories; her mostly-programmatic music results from the inspiration evoked by her surroundings, interweaved with her perspectives and imagination.
“When I moved to Northfield from Brooklyn, in 2016, I became captivated by Minnesota’s vibrant nature,” said Kakitani. “Summer is shockingly colorful and brilliant, and winter is unimaginably cold, but its beauty is breathtaking. The winter night is so dark I cannot see my feet as I walk, but when I look up, I can see many stars. The sunrise and sunset are magical, and clouds are often in fascinating shapes, which I could watch for hours.” Twelve Months in Minnesota consists of 12 movements inspired by nature. “I tried to capture the spirit and feel of particular moments from each month of the year.”
Twelve Months in Minnesota CD Release Concert, featuring Eri Isomura
Studio Z (275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200)
Saint Paul, MN 55101
7:30 p.m. / $15

About Asuka Kakitani
Japanese-born composer Asuka Kakitani’s deep love for nature inspires her to transform her vision into musical stories. Her mostly-programmatic music results from the inspiration evoked by her surroundings interweaved with her perspectives and imagination. Kakitani’s projects span jazz big bands, orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists. Kakitani was described as “[a] musical impressionist and supreme colorist” (Hot House Magazine) and her music as “the overflowing world of inspirational melody” (DownBeat Magazine) and “absolutely superb” (All About Jazz).
Kakitani has been the recipient of grants, fellowships, and awards, including the New Music USA Creator Fund, the Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, the ACF McKnight Composer Fellowship, the JFund for New Music Award (now ACF | create), the Composer Assistance Grants, the BMI Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, Brooklyn Arts Council Grant, and Minnesota State Arts Board Grants.
(photo by Jaime Kahn)

NEA Big Read Study Group no. 5
2023-06-01 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Springboard for the Arts, 262 University Ave West, Saint Paul, MN, 55103, United States
Immigration, Identity and the Arts
You are invited to join American Composers Forum (ACF) and East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) on Thursday, June 1 at 6:30 pm CT for the culminating event of our “Immigration, Identity, and the Arts” series. Taking place at the Community Hall in the newly-renovated Springboard for the Arts complex in Saint Paul, the event is part of the NEA Big Read series focused on Thi Bui’s graphic memoir The Best We Could Do about her family’s journey as Vietnamese refugees later settling in the US.
Bui is also the illustrator of A Different Pond, a children’s book written by Bao Phi about growing up in Minnesota as a Vietnamese American refugee family. Bao Phi and Thi Bui will be our featured guests for this event (Bui participating virtually). They will be joined by Gao Hong — Chinese pipa player, composer, and ACF board member — and Kevin Phoojywg Xiong — Hmong composer and 2021 recipient of ACF’s Minnesota Music Creator Awards — who will share their own musical responses.
Both The Best We Could Do and A Different Pond will be available onsite. Please send advance requests to Xavier Muzik and xmuzik@composersforum.org.
Please join us for this unique opportunity to engage in stories of immigration through music and conversation with your own Minnesota community.
Register here.
For more information about this series, click here.

American Composers Forum believes that music is a medium that can help us connect as humans, tell stories, and share experiences. East Side Freedom Library has long hosted study groups, partnerships, and community events that lift up the stories of its neighborhood in the name of justice. Together, we will host several cultural events and conversations examining the theme of “Immigration, Identity, and the Arts,” to amplify the voices, stories, and music of immigrant artists and community members wrestling with this theme. Included in our events will be discussion of, and inspiration from, Thi Bui’s graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do. Supported by the NEA’s Big Read project, this book aligns greatly with our theme, and resonates with so many members of our community. We are planning parallel in-person and virtual options to accommodate health and accessibility considerations. All events are free and open to the public.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

We are grateful for the support of Saint Paul’s STAR program for this event.
