American Composers Forum

Inception Orchestra... For The Love of Composing... An On-line Event
2020-11-07 14:00 - 2020-11-08 23:30 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
The Los Angeles Inception Orchestra invites you to participate virtually in a day of composition master classes and presentations from some of the music industry’s top professionals. The evening will culminate with a virtual concert featuring original from our young composers and some of their mentors. There will be an opportunity to send in questions and interact with all of them.
Featuring Amy Aizhou Liu (Vice President), Shirly Gurten & Althea Steynberg (Virtuo Studios), Adrian Zaw (Zaw Studios), and the entire line-up of Inception Composers.
Featured mentors include Karen Elaine (viola), Javier Oviedo and Jean-Pierre Schmitt (Classical Saxophone Project, New York), Ric Becker (trombone, New York), Aeralie Brighton (vocals, Boise, ID), Preston Scales (vocals), Maksim Velichkin (cello), Kelsey Smith (Young Musicians Foundation, Los Angeles), and Van-Anh Nguyen (piano, Sydney, Australia).
The other masterclasses and presentations will be moderated by the Inception Leadership team of Akira Nakano, Jack Aron, Kate Bacich, Amy (Aizhou) Liu and Blythe Schulte.
Join them all day on Saturday, Nov 7, 2020, 2pm CST / 12:00 PM PT
For more information on their schedule and to register, click here.

New Works Commission Composer Sessions
2020-11-05 17:00 - 18:00, 2020-10-29 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual, United States
The New Works Commission Composer Sessions is hosted by composer and National Sawdust Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Paola Prestini. Designed for composers and free for all to enjoy, these Sessions provide insights and tools for developing evolving entrepreneurial skills and new ways of thinking. As a part of their New Works Commission, these Sessions are an extension of their deep commitment to the mentorship of emerging composers and incubation of new works. For the full details head to https://live.nationalsawdust.org/national-sawdust-composer-series

Schedule:
Marcos Balter – Sept 17th @ 5pm
Steve Smith – Sept 24th @ 5pm
Ellen Reid – Oct 1st @ 5pm
Jeffrey Zeigler – Oct 8th @ 5pm
Andy Bart – Oct 15th @ 5pm
JACK Quartet – Oct 22nd @ 5pm
Chris Grymes – Oct 29th @ 5pm
Pamela Z – Nov 5th @ 5pm
Karen Wong – Nov 12th @ 5pm

Facebook event for series: https://www.facebook.com/events/367495814268074/

Facebook livestream for Marcos Balter: https://www.facebook.com/NationalSawdust/posts/3439687456077856

Facebook announce post: https://www.facebook.com/NationalSawdust/posts/3439673806079221

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFHv96ShDWA/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalSawdust/status/1305526351777214464?s=20

Voters' Broadcast
2020-11-03 00:00 - 23:30, 2020-10-28 14:00 - 15:00, 2020-10-24 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-10-24 11:30 - 12:30, 2020-10-24 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Voters’ Broadcast is a transformative and broadly participatory musical performance for flexible ensembles of musicians. The work is directed, conceived and composed by Rome Prize and American Academy of Arts & Letters Award-winner, composer and 2020-21 Kaufman Music Center Artist-in-Residence Lisa Bielawa, with text taken from celebrated artist Sheryl Oring’s I Wish to Say.
​Lisa Bielawa’s mission with Voters’ Broadcast is to stimulate voter engagement and community participation in our current challenging lockdown conditions, through performing and voting, during the lead-up to the 2020 Presidential election.
EVENTS

Virtual Performances
Three virtual performances hosted by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and featuring its students along with high school students from Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School will be streamed live on Kaufman Music Center’s Facebook page at 3 pm EST on September 30, October 14 and October 28.
Outdoor Performances
On Saturday, October 24 at 11 am, 12:30 pm and 2 pm EST, Kaufman Music Center and Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch at Grand Army Plaza will present a day of socially distanced outdoor performances at the library’s main entrance featuring performers from Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School High School.
Polling Place
On November 3, Kaufman Music Center will expand its commitment to serving the community by serving as a polling place for the general election. Confirm that you are registered to vote at Headcount.org.

ACF Racial Equity Study Group
2020-11-02 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
ACF’s Study Group opens our staff and board conversations and anti-racism training to our colleagues and friends. Please use this link to register as we will be meeting remotely due to Covid-19.
Our next study group is Monday, November 2 at 4pm CST.
For this month’s group we’ll be discussing the music of acclaimed composer Joseph C. Phillips Jr.
We’ll dig into his new work, The Grey Land, a 65-minute monoopera that explores universal themes of humanity and identity through the intractable triumvirate of race, class, and power in American society. Join us for what will be an amazing discussion!

The Crossing Votes: 2020 a Pre-Election Project of Four New Films
2020-11-02 04:38 - 05:38, 2020-10-30 04:38 - 05:38, 2020-10-28 04:38 - 05:38, 2020-10-26 04:38 - 05:38 (America/Chicago) | MN
To report and respond: because words matter.
New works of Robert Maggio, Ayanna Woods, Nicholas Cline, and David Lang addressing issues in the national discourse leading to Election Day, November 3rd. Featuring Echoes, a new amplification system @ The Crossing designed for socially-distant singing
They have been working on four new short films, with two world premieres, new sound technology, new film artists. We’re excited about launching them in the eight days leading to Election Day, the day the nation comes together to determine our future. The Crossing Votes: 2020 is their small contribution to one of the largest, most protracted, and complex discussions in United States history. They hope their films speak to the time and will serve as a record of the time: We were there; we voted.
All four films will premiere at 4:38am CDT / 5:38am ET on October 26, 28, 30, and November 2, representing the 538 electoral votes, on the morning of their release on their website, Facebook, and Youtube.
Monday, October 26: stateless (2019) by David Lang
Wednesday, October 28: she took his hands (2017) by Nicholas Cline
Friday, October 30: Democracy (2020, world premiere) by Robert Maggio
Monday, November 2: Shift (2020, world premiere) by Ayanna Woods
Learn more here.

AURA: ONE ON ONE
2020-11-02, 2020-10-26 | MN
AURA: One on One is a video series featuring performances of exciting solo works by members of AURA Contemporary Ensemble. The music to be performed has been written by some of today’s most innovative composers, who will be interviewed by the performers at the end of each video.
Beginning on October 5th, new episodes are presented every Monday at 12pm CDT, and daily at 12pm CDT from November 30 – December 6.

Videos will be posted to Facebook and Youtube:
www.facebook.com/AURAUH/
www.youtube.com/AURAUH/
The series will feature solo works by Ryan Brown, Alejandro Cardona, Melissa Dunphy, Marti Epstein, Matt Ingalls, Misook Kim, HyeKyung Lee, Matthew McConnell, Mike McFerron, Aulon Naci, Natalie Nicolas, Chad Robinson, Nina Shekhar, & Fabian Svensson.

Learn more about AURA: www.uh.edu/aura

AACM Celebrates 55 Years with the World Premiere of "Black Stars and the Lawless Ones"
2020-10-31 19:30 - 20:30, 2020-10-31 13:30 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | MN
The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an agent for change. The AACM is celebrating their 55th anniversary this year, and is finding ways to perform and share their art despite pandemic-related restrictions. On October 31st at 1:30 p.m. Central Time and again at 7:30 p.m. Central Time, the AACM will premiere, on Eventbrite via their Facebook page, special music as part of a visual presentation titled ‘Black Stars and the Lawless Ones.’ The project’s aim is to shine a spotlight on Black lawmen and outlaws of the Old West. The music will be part of a 30-minute commemorative film by noted filmmaker Jonathan Woods. The project features stunning visual offerings enhanced by text from AACM percussionist and award-winning Old West author Art Burton, creator of such books as Black Gun and Silver Star, and incorporates animation, historic photos, text montages, and other elements that will be a part of a virtual anniversary celebration and fundraising event. Funds raised through this event will support the mission and vision of AACM ensuring it continues to thrive for decades to come.
Register and donate here.

Performance as Process with Conrad Tao
2020-10-29 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
A series of eight FREE monthly digital Performance As Process events on Thursday evenings from September through April will invite audiences to Conrad Tao’s, 2020-21 Kaufman Music Center Artist-in-Residence, creative practice as he develops programming for his May 6 Ecstatic Music concert in Merkin Hall. Streamed from his home in Manhattan, these events will give the audience a deeper look into his work in piano, electronics, composition and improvisation as the program for his Merkin Hall debut comes into focus.
Performance as Process events will be streamed on Kaufman Music Center’s Facebook page at 6pm CDT / 7pm EST on September 24, October 29, November 19, December 17, January 28, February 25, March 25 and April 29.

Ensemble Pi: Reparations NOW! A premier concert on reparations for the African-American community
2020-10-29 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Reparations NOW! is Ensemble Pi’s new project, inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates’ congressional testimony and Ibram X. Kendi’s best-seller book, How to Be an Antiracist – both of which offer powerful and compelling arguments in support of reparations for the African-American community.
On Thursday, October 29 at 6pm CDT / 7pm EDT, the streamed concert will feature premieres and works from a diverse group of composers, including Courtney Bryan, Allison Loggins-Hull, Angélica Negrón, and Trevor Weston – all commissioned by Ensemble Pi. It also includes Georg Friedrich Haas’ “I can’t breathe” (In memoriam Eric Garner), a musical improvisation, “Requiem for Elijah,” based on the last words of Elijah McClain, and the reading of an excerpt from Kendi’s book, narrated by Damian Norfleet with percussion accompaniment.
Reparations Now! is presented by The Center at West Park in New York, where Ensemble Pi are artists-in-residence this fall.
Buy tickets here.

Bang on a Can and The Noguchi Museum Present Meredith Monk & John Hollenbeck
2020-10-28 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Celebrating their tenth year of collaboration, Bang on a Can and The Noguchi Museum present excerpts from Duet Behavior 2020 by Meredith Monk and John Hollenbeck, a first-time performance of Monk’s music as it has never been experienced. Through a conversational approach, long-time friends and colleagues Monk and Hollenbeck will expand and improvise on pieces from across Monk’s 50+ year catalogue, combining her pioneering vocal magic with his inventive and masterful percussion to generate new arrangements of Monk’s iconic compositions. The duets were performed together but from separate locations – Hollenbeck in Montreal and Monk in upstate New York – using Zoom for the visuals and Jamulus, a tool which enables musicians to perform in real-time over the internet, for the sound. The resulting video presentation was produced by The House Foundation for the Arts. The Noguchi Museum’s director Brett Littman will join Monk and Hollenbeck for a Q & A via Zoom after the performance.
Join them on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 7pm CDT / 8pm EDT.

Lisa Bielawa - Voters' Broadcast (Virtual Premiere)
2020-10-28 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Lisa Bielawa‘s Voters’ Broadcast is a broadly participatory musical performance meant to “broadcast” the thoughts, hopes, fears, passions, petitions, and questions of a wide spectrum of Americans.
Virtual premiere co-presented by the University of Michigan and Kaufman Music Center.
Get tickets for the show on Wednesday, October 28 at 2pm CDT / 3pm EDT

Lunchtime Concert Series - Autumn 2020 features black composers
2020-10-28 07:00 - 08:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
The University of Liverpool presents some of their very best instrumental tutors performing an exciting range of repertoire in our flagship SSL Studio. The concerts also showcase the continuation and creativity of their partnerships with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Solem Quartet. In celebration of Black History Month this October you can also find works by Black composers running right throughout the Series.
All concerts start at 7am CDT / 1pm in London, UK and last appropriately 35 minutes. They are FREE to watch and there’s no need to pre-register. The University of Liverpool Lunchtime Concerts will be available to view on the following platforms:

Department of Music website
Facebook
YouTube

Schedule:
14 October: University of Liverpool Instrumental Teachers Lockdown Band
Jump aboard Strayhorn’s Take the A Train and cool down with Water from An Ancient Well by Abdullah Ibrahim (fka Dollar Brand) in this set of jazz classics.
Abdullah Ibrahim – Water from An Ancient Well, Herbie Hancock – Watermelon Man, Billy Strayhorn – Take the A Train, Theolonius Monk – Blue Monk, Blue Mitchell – Fungii Mama
21 October: Members of the 18th Sinfonia
Igantius Sancho was an 18th century composer and social reformer and the first person of African descent to vote in a British general election. These short, characterful dances are performed on Baroque violin, cello and harpsichord.
Igantius Sancho – Minuets etc
28 October: Tom Kimmance (piano)
Lucien Lambert (snr) came from a family dynasty of fine musicians. Born as a free person of colour in New Orleans in the late 19th century he emigrated to France, then Brazil. This Grand Valse is a sparkling, Romantic work.
Lucien Lambert (snr) – Bresiliana: Grand Valse Brilliante
25 November: Mandy Burvill (clarinet)
Hailstork is an internationally renowned American composer and Professor of Music at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Smiles for Tracey humorously explores the range of the clarinet.
Adolphus Hailstork (a BandQuest composer) – Smile for Tracey (no.3)
9 December: Solem Quartet
Florence Price was the first noted African American female composer to gain national status. Recently, much of her music was rediscovered in an abandoned house that was once her home. A Summer Moon is an arrangement of a piano piece Price composed for her pupil the singer, jazz pianist, and social activist, Memry Midgett.
Florence Price – A Summer Moon
If you would like to join our Music Events mailing list or have further questions about the Series please email helen.thomas@liverpool.ac.uk.

FREE ASSEMBLY
2020-10-27 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Metropolis Ensemble’s Debut Digital Festival Bringing together creative artists to develop newly commissioned projects outside of physical space, Free Assembly presents a collaborative platform for artists who might otherwise never meet. Curated by Metropolis Ensemble artists Immanuel Wilkins, Erika Dohi, Daniel Anastasio, and Ryan Francis and hosted by House of Yes and (Le) Poisson Rouge, creators of diverse aesthetics and media are paired to share and collaborate, culminating in thematic video performances as part of a rolling online festival.
RSVP and join them on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 7pm CDT / 8pm EDT.
Free Assembly will be fertile ground for audiences who seek to discover new voices and artists exploring new forms of expression outside of their own.
Artist list for the Opening Night to Metropolis Ensemble’s Free Assembly includes: Andy Akiho + Ambrose Akinmusire + Colin Brookes + Lauren Cauley + Joey Chang + Charmaine Lee + Shayna Dunkleman + Du Yun + Ganavya + Vijay Iyer + Jacqueline Kerrod + Ayane Kozasa + Marie Lavis + Leo Leite + Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim + Paula Matthusen + Nappy Nina + Qasim Naqvi + Moscelyne ParkeHarrison + Keita Ogawa + Mariel Roberts + Sandbox Percussion + Wadada Leo Smith + Jen Shyu ( + Kweku Sumbry + Darian Thomas + Paul Wiancko

"NOTES 4 VOTES" FEATURING TERENCE BLANCHARD, VIJAY IYER, CARLA BLEY, DR. CORNEL WEST, ARTURO O'FARRILL, AND MANY OTHERS
2020-10-25 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | MN
Nonprofit the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA) teams up with today’s foremost jazz, classical, and global artists alongside preeminent speakers for a “get out the vote” initiative, Notes 4 Votes, to be broadcasted on ALJA’s Facebook page facebook.com/afrolatinjazzalliance on Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 7:30pm CST / 8:30pm EST.
Notes 4 Votes features a diverse roster of stars from the jazz community and beyond, and will be emceed by multi-GRAMMY Award winner Arturo O’Farrill, journalist and critic Larry Blumenfeld, and Tracy Hyter-Suffern, Executive Director of The National Jazz Museum of Harlem.
Notes 4 Votes will spotlight performances and/or speeches by a distinguished lineup of special guests, including Terence Blanchard, Vijay Iyer, Carla Bley, Dr. Cornel West, Oscar Hernandez, Simone Dinnerstein, Steve Swallow, Dr. Shana Redmond, Matt Shipp, The Villalobos Brothers, William Parker, Kikirikí Biquéy, Ayodele Casel, Akua Dixon, Jen Shyu (a ChoralQuest composer), Ganavya Doraiswamy, Crystal Joseph, Tiffany Austin, Mimi Jones, Caridad “La Bruja” De La Luz, Luis Perdomo, and more!
Find out more information here.

Miró Quartet
2020-10-25 15:00 - 16:00, 2020-10-24 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | MN
Chamber Music Tulsa is pleased to be among the group of elite presenters commissioning a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts (a BQ composer). This work, Home, will be performed by the Miró Quartet during their Sunday Afternoon Virtual Concert.
This concert weekend will include two pre-concert lectures by Kevin Puts, a Q&A and a pre-recorded Open Rehearsal with the quartet and Puts, and program notes written by Jason Heilman.
Join on Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 7:30pm CDT and on Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 3pm CDT.
Click here for more information and to get tickets.

SF Music Day 2020 Broadcast
2020-10-25 14:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
InterMusic SF presents the 13th edition of its free annual music festival, in a special online format on Sunday, October 25, 2020 from 2pm – 8pm CDT / 12pm to 6pm PDT. The free streamed event features premiere performances by ten San Francisco Bay Area jazz, classical, chamber, and global music ensembles, professionally pre-recorded in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre.
This year’s ensembles are Del Sol String Quartet, Telegraph Quartet, Motoko Honda’s AIR Trio, Tom Stone/Elizabeth Dorman/Amos Yang, Mads Tolling & the Mads Men, Destiny Muhammad Trio, Ricardo Peixoto Trio with Marcos Silva and Brian Rice, Jeremy Cohen & Andrés Vera, Rob Reich/Daniel Fabricant Duo, and the Terrence Brewer Group.
Learn more here: https://www.intermusicsf.org/sf-music-day/

The Albany Symphony 2020/2021 SEASON RE-IMAGINED!
2020-10-24 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | MN
The Albany Symphony unveiled its reimagined 2020-2021 season, which will include world premieres and concertos with brilliant soloists, as well as iconic masterworks. Curated by conductor David Alan Miller, the season brings to life an array of new and recent works by a panoply of living composers forging new ways to create art reflecting our time and place, with major masterpieces by Beethoven, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and others, and dazzling solo performances by artists including Inon Barnatan, Melissa White, Karen Hosmer and Grace Shryock.
The newly reimagined season will be presented virtually. As restrictions are lifted, live audiences will be invited back into the concert hall. All concerts will be performed live, in real time, on Capital Region stages, by Albany Symphony musicians conducted by Music Director, David Alan Miller.
The season kicks off on Oct. 24 at 7:30pm EDT, with a program featuring Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings: Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie. Michael Daugherty is a BandQuest composer.
Performances run through June 2021. Find the schedule here and below.
ROMANTIC BRAHMS – Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 at 6:30pm CST | 7:30pm EST
A socially distanced performance for digital stream with Lucy Fitz Gibbon, Narrator; SIR WILLIAM WALTON: Facade; TYSON DAVIS (a NextNotes creator): (new work) JOHANNES BRAHMS: Serenade No. 1
RACHMANINOFF’S THIRD – Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 6:30pm CST | 7:30pm EST
A socially distanced performance for digital stream with Inon Barnatan, Piano; OTTORINO RESPIGHI: Trittico Botticelliano; CARLOS BANDERA: (new work); SERGEI RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3 (chamber orchestra version)
HAYDN & SCHUBERT – Saturday, April 24, 2021 at 6:30pm CST | 7:30pm EST
A socially distanced performance for digital stream with Melissa White, Violin; FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN: Symphony No. 46; GEORGE TSONTAKIS: Violin Concerto No. 2; TANNER PORTER: (new work) FRANZ SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5
AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL–TRAILBLAZE! – Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 6:30pm CST | 7:30pm EST
A socially distanced performance for digital stream with Brasil Guitar Duo; NINA SHEKHAR: (new work); CLARICE ASSAD: Folk Tales, Double Guitar Concerto; MOLLY JOYCE/CHRISTOPHER THEOFANIDIS: Songs; ALEXIS LAMB: (new work)
For more information, and to watch the concerts, subscribe and get tickets on their website: www.albanysymphony.com.

Kevin Washington Bring Talent and History to the stage at Walker|West
2020-10-24 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Join Walker|West Music Academy on Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 7pm to enjoy the drums and power of Kevin Washington this Saturday night October 24th, 7pm!
Kevin Washington is a percussionist, versatile musician, and lead drum instructor at Walker|West. With three decades of experience as a professional musician the skill and experience Kevin brings to his performances is top notch. He is as adept at playing straight-ahead tunes as he is incorporating Afro-Latin/African rhythms or hip-hop and funk into his sets.
Save your spot here!

Morris Museum's Lot of Strings Music Festival
2020-10-24 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | MN
Lot of Strings Music Festival features four of the most exciting and critically acclaimed string quartets over the course of four Thursday evenings atop the Morris Museum’s elevated parking lot. Enjoy the thrill of live music, and stunning sunsets from the comfort of your own socially distant 8’x8’ block. Bring your own chairs and refreshments and make an evening of the occasion!
Each 8’x8’ block is $50 and can accommodate up to two patrons. Patrons may arrive as early as 6:00PM ET to set up in their blocks and enjoy the evening sun. Masks must be worn throughout the evening except when enjoying refreshments in your own block.
Schedule and Event links:
The October 3rd concert was the first of the Morris Museum’s outdoor Strings Music Festival.
On Saturday, October 10th at 5pm CDT / 6pm ET, the performance on the Upper Deck will feature the work of Brahms, Beehtoven and 21st century composer, Jessie Montgomery and her piece, Strum.
On Saturday, October 17 at 5pm CDT / 6pm ET, members of the American Symphony Orchestra will perform a program highlighting Black composers: Florence Price, William Grant Still, Adolphus Hailstork (a BandQuest composer), Trevor Weston, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and Jessie Montgomery.
On Saturday, October 24 at 5pm CDT / 6pm ET, this final concert celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday with one of his most popular and successful works which will be played alongside Hasenoehrl’s playful, and masterful deconstruction of Richard Strauss’s tone poem, Till Eulenspiege.
