American Composers Forum

Honeck Conducts The Firebird
2022-02-11 - 2022-02-13 | MN
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announced a 2021-22 season replete with new collaborations and a healthy balance of contemporary curiosities and cherished chestnuts from the orchestral repertoire.
Manfred Honeck conducts The Firebird on Friday February 11, 2022 – Sunday, February 13, 2022, along with Kian Soltani, cello. Erwin Schulhof: Five Pieces, Schumann: Concerto in A minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 129, Reza Vali: “The Girl from Shiraz” from Persian Folk Songs, Michael Daugherty: (a BandQuest composer) Fifteen: Symphonic Fantasy on the Art of Andy Warhol for orchestra, and Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1919 revision).
Get tickets here.

Equity Study Group: United States vs Billie
2022-02-10 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
Billie Holiday is one of jazz’s most important figures, many are familiar with her music and the infamous story of Strange Fruit but not many know the context of the story and what makes Holiday one of the US’s artist-activists and civil rights champions.
In this month’s Equity Study Group, we will discuss Lee Daniel’s film United States vs Billie Holiday which chronicles Billy Holiday’s struggles to perform “Strange Fruit’ which put her in the crosshairs of J. Edgar Hoover’s FB. We will discuss music as a vessel for social justice with artists like Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson, and the harassment many faced by the FBI.
Register in advance on zoom here.
If you require an interpreter, closed-captioning, or any other accommodations to fully engage, please contact Dameun Strange (dstrange@composersforum) at least 48 hours before the event.

Music Mondays presents The Horszowski Trio & Amadi Akizawe, viola
2022-02-07 18:30 - 20:00 | MN
The “eloquent, enthralling” Horszowski Trio (Boston Globe) is one of the most widely admired American ensembles, with an expanding reputation abroad; they gave a sold-out performance at London’s Wigmore Hall in 2019. The Trio is joined by violist and Harlem Symphony Orchestra director, Amadi Akizawe, for Dvořák’s luminous Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, heard alongside Smetana’s passionate Trio and a set of American miniatures by Morton Feldman, John Cage, and Augusta Read Thomas.
Date & Time: Monday, February 7, 2022 at 6:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM ET
Free, but RSVP available but not required. RSVP here.

Woodwinds and All that Jazz
2022-02-05 19:30 - 20:30 | MN
Symphony of the Mountains’ Woodwind Quintet will play works by Gunther Schuller (a BandQuest composer) and Appalachian music by regional composer Greg Danner followed by the delightfully intriguing “Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio” by Claude Bolling featuring SOTM’s principal cellists Mathew Wilkinson.
Date & Time: Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 7:30 PM CT
Buy tickets here.

MASTERWORKS 2 TCHAIKOVSKY’S PIANO CONCERTO
2022-01-30 17:00 - 18:00, 2022-01-29 22:00 - 23:00 | MN
Marin Symphony’s favorite Joyce Yang returns for Tchaikovsky’s beloved 1st Piano Concerto, along with colorful masterpieces by Jennifer Higdon (a BandQuest and ChoralQuest composer) and Igor Stravinsky.
Date & Time:

Saturday, January, 29, 2022 at 10 PM CT | 8 PM PT
Sunday, January, 30, 2022 at 5 PM CT | 3 PM PT

PROGRAM:
Higdon: Blue Cathedral
Stravinsky: Symphony in 3 Movements
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Joyce Yang, piano
GET MORE OUT OF EVERY CONCERT
Masterworks Pre-Concert Talks begin Saturdays at 9 PM CT | 7 PM PT and Sundays at 4 PM CT | 2 PM PT, and are free for all ticket holders.
Note: Seating is open and your regular seat may be occupied.

TICKET DETAILS:

Reserved Seating. Subscription prices: Adult $25-$87, Youth (6-17) $20
Single tickets from Marin Center Box Office on sale in September.
Additional single ticket fees: 10% of ticket price processing fee + $3 facility fee per ticket for all orders. 20% Group discount available for 10 or more.

From Silenced to Singing
2022-01-30 16:00 - 17:00, 2022-01-29 20:30 - 21:30, 2022-01-28 20:00 - 21:00 | MN
The program includes the rescheduled and highly anticipated world premiere of Jocelyn Hagen’s (a McKnight fellow) work celebrating women’s voices and written in commemoration of the centenary of women’s suffrage.

Featuring illuminated portraits and the words of 47 different women from around the world and across time, this work tells the story of the importance of finding—and using—your voice.

The concert includes music by and inspired by African Americans and Native Americans, reflecting the diverse voices that make up the cultural mosaic that is the United States. This program also premieres the winning work of the 5th annual Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition.
Date & Time:

Friday, January 28, 2022 at 8 PM CT | 7 PM MT
Saturday, January 29, 2022 8:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM MT
Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 4 PM CT | 3 PM MT

Learn more here.

Sphinx Symphony Orchestra with EXIGENCE
2022-01-30 15:00 - 17:00 | MN
Conducted by Tito Muñoz and Eugene Rogers (ACF’s ChoralQuest series editor), the concert will feature 2015 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient soprano Janai Brugger in a program including works by Carlos Simon and Joel Thompson, among others.
Date & Time: Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 3 PM CT | 4 PM ET
Learn more and get tickets here.

Concert 2: Songs of Struggle, Compassion, and Redemption
2022-01-23 | MN
Troubled by the onslaught of killings of unarmed Black men, Emmy Award-winning composer Joel Thompson wrote his Seven Last Words of the Unarmed in 2015, after finding Brooklyn-based journalist and artist Shirin Barghi’s #lastwords project on the same subject. The piece that resulted has resounded strongly in the choral world, and Musica Viva NY and the Aeolus Quartet are honored to share it in a program that also features music by J.S. Bach, Abbie Betinis (a ChoralQuest composer and past McKnight fellow) and another exciting emerging voice, the multifaceted composer-performer Shelley Washington. Join some of the artists and creative team for a “talkback” after the concert.
Date & Time: Sunday, January 23, 2022
Learn more here.

Dreams of Freedom - Family Concert
2022-01-22 10:00 - 11:00 | MN
An introduction to the dream and message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—created especially for young listeners. With music by more than a century of Black composers including Florence Price, William Grant Still, Undine Smith Moore, Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, and Adolphus Hailstork (a BandQuest composer). Music of freedom, of triumph, of inspiration. This concert features the recent winner of the Sphinx Competition Junior Division, dazzling 12-year-old violinist Amaryn Olmeda.
Join at 9am CT | 10am ET for a free pre-concert festival, featuring our Instrument Petting Zoo and enjoy interactive activities for the whole family that will enhance your concert experience.
Date & Time: Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 10 AM CT | 11 AM ET
Learn more here.

Kaufman Music Center – Ecstatic Music: Bang on a Can People’s Commissioning Fund Concert
2022-01-20 18:30 - 20:30 | MN
World Premieres by Tomeka Reid, Ken Thomson and Fred Frith
New Arrangements of Works by Nick Dunston, Aeryn Santillan, Jeffrey Brooks, Trevor Weston and Soo Yeon Lyuh
Bang on a Can’s annual People’s Commissioning Fund Concert returns with a high-octane concert of world premieres and an expanded nine-piece Bang on a Can All-Stars lineup!
Jen Baker, trombone
Robert Black, bass
David Byrd-Marrow, horn
Vicky Chow, piano
David Cossin, percussion
Arlen Hlusko, cello
Allison Loggins-Hull, flute
Mark Stewart, electric guitar
Ken Thomson, clarinet
Date & Time: Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 6:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM ET
PROGRAM
JEFFREY BROOKS – Santuario II**
NICK DUNSTON – Fainting is Down, Whooshing is Up**
FRED FRITH – Which It Is *
SOO YEON LYUH – See You on the Other Side**
TOMEKA REID – UNTETHERED* AERYN SANTILLAN – disconnect.**
KEN THOMSON – Performative*
TREVOR WESTON – Rainbows and Butterflies**
*world premiere
**world premiere arrangement
$15 student tickets are available. Call the box office at 212 501 3330.
Learn more here.

Kaufman Music Center – Music Speaks: Crossing Borders – Jamal Aliyev, cello & Dominic Cheli, piano
2022-01-18 18:30 - 19:30 | MN
ERNEST BLOCH – From Jewish Life (1925)
FAZIL SAY – 4 Cities Cello Sonata (2012)
ERNEST BLOCH – Nigun (Improvisation from Baal Shem) (1923)
L.D. MALASHKIN – Romance ‘I met you’ ERNEST BLOCH – Méditation hébraïque (1924)
FAZIL SAY – Song Yiğidim Aslanım (My Brave, My Lion)
The ideas of east meeting west, Islamic to Jewish cultures, being adopted by different cultures yet still drawing on family home and roots, come into focus in this program. Turkish cellist Jamal Aliyev brings his own heritage of Azerbaijan and Turkey alongside his UK/central European training to bare on a musical exploration of Said’s powerful concept of intimacy and distance. Ernest Bloch epitomized the cultural musical heart of Jewish character in his character pieces, written as he himself experienced uprooting his Swiss roots to emigrate to California, yet found a way of remaining connected to his family’s deep cultural heritage. A century later, incredible Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say, also connects his musical expression to his Turkish roots and origins, bringing an intimate relationship with his home country to very distant audiences. At the simple heart of the program, one of Jamal’s personal favorites that expresses the idea of connection that transcends borders, Malashkin’s Romance “I met you”
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 6:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM ET
Tickets are $30.
Learn more here.

Tai Murray and Friends: Piano Quintets
2022-01-17 18:30 - 20:00 | MN
Violinist, Tai Murray (“superb,” N Y Times), joins violist, Melissa Reardon (“virtuosic,” Classical Voice); cellist, Raman Ramakrishnanan (“admired,” New Yorker); bassist, Doug Balliett; and Artistic Director Aaron Wunsch for a program of quintets, traditional and contemporary. Schubert’s beloved “Trout” Quintet accompanies Xhosa composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen’s Intlanzi Yase Mzantsi (The Fish From South Africa, based on Schubert’s “Trout”); Judith Weir’s A Song of Departure (based on Schubert’s “Farewell”); and Vaughan-Williams’s lush, romantic Quintet.
Date & Time: Monday, January 17, 2022 at 6:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM ET
Register for free here.

New York Choral Society 2021-22 Season: Love In Action
2022-01-17 | MN
The chorus will make its return to live performance with “Love in Action.” The concert of choral music will bring together works of eight contemporary American composers including Jennifer Higdon (a BandQuest and ChoralQuest composer), Rosephanye Powell (a ChoralQuest composer), Abbie Betinis (a ChoralQuest composer), Morten Lauridsen, and others to explore universal themes of reflection, action, and love. The concert will also feature four guest vocalists including tenor Bernard Holcomb.
Date & Time: Monday, January 17, 2022. Time is TBD.
Check out New York Choral Society’s website for updated information.

ACF Equity Study Group: The Long View: Whose responsibility is diversity?
2022-01-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Virtual, United States
As many organizations look to explore diversity equity and inclusion, what does it mean to do this work responsibly? During this study group, we will use the Classical Music UK article The Long View which examines the idea of responsible DEI work and responsibility in DEI work.
On Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 4:00 PM CT, ACF will also examine our own work in working with Innocent Technology and Engaging the Good in our hopes to have a thoughtful and intentional approach to equity and inclusion.
Register in advance on zoom here.
If you require an interpreter, closed-captioning, or any other accommodations to fully engage, please contact Laura Krider (lkrider@composersforum, 612.314.9228) at least 48 hours before the event.

NYC Winter Jazzfest
2022-01-13 - 2022-01-22 | MN
The NYC Winter Jazzfest will return to form in 2022, with 10 nights of programming in Manhattan and Brooklyn beginning on Thursday, January 13, 2022 to Saturday, Jenuary 22, 2022. There will be over 100 groups, 500 musicians including Jen Shyu (a ChoralQuest composer), and across 12 venues.
NYC Winter Jazzfest will partner with BBC Radio 6 Music, whose Gilles Peterson will present an online showcase supported by PRS Foundation. Additionally, M³ (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians), cofounded last year by Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa to address gender inequity and underrepresentation in creative music, and to foster partnerships among women and non-binary musicians. Shyu and Serpa join more than 20 artists under that banner as part of this Winter Jazzfest; others include Michele Rosewoman, Val Jeanty, Monnette Sudler and Caroline Davis.
Learn more about each day and get tickets here.

"This Humble Vessel" with Jonathan Hepfer
2022-01-08 21:00 - 22:30 | MN
A presentation of works for solo percussion performed by Jonathan Hepfer featuring works by Alvin Lucier, John Cage, and a performance of James Tenney’s “Having Never Written a Note for Percussion.”
Date & Time: Saturday, January 8, 2022 at 9 PM CT | 7 PM PT
Learn more and get tickets here.

40TH ANNUAL MESSIAH SING-ALONG
2021-12-20 21:30 - 22:00 | MN
Kicking off 2022 is “City Called Heaven,” featuring 62 voices, piano, and percussion. It will in-law music by Skye, Trumbore, McFerrin, Choi, Kahane, Shatin, Adolphus Hailstork (a BandQuest composer), Bocanegra, and Guillaume, among others. Jenny Wong and Grant Gershon conduct.
Date & Time: Monday, December 20, 2021 at 9:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM PT
Get tickets here.

Music Monday LIVE!
2021-12-20 17:00 - 18:00, 2021-12-13 17:00 - 18:00 | MN
The Lewis Prize for Music has teamed up with Save The Music Foundation to host youth-led weekly conversations with today’s music leaders starting on Mondays, October 18, 2021 through December 20, 2021 at 5 PM CT | 3 PM PT
Music Monday LIVE is an exciting opportunity for youth across the United States to connect with music industry professionals, ask questions, and share ideas. This event is open to the public and hosted on INSTAGRAM LIVE.
This 10-week series kicks off with Songwriter and Photographer Teron Beal (@teronbeal) and Xavier Washington (@zaytheartist), youth leader and Development Coordinator at Save The Music Foundation.
If you want to join the conversation, don’t be shy! You’re welcome you to hop on the Live during the Q&A. Next week’s Instagram Live will be hosted on the Save The Music Instagram (@savethemusic).

Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal
2021-12-17 22:00 - 23:00 | MN
The first live concert in over two years, the Peninsula Women’s Chorus (PWC) celebrates being together with classic choral works interwoven with the ethereal sounds of the harp.
Opening with Alice Parker’s (a ChoralQuest composer) rousing setting of “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal” followed by Brahms’s first choral work, the lilting “Ave Maria,” PWC presents Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols as a journey, choreographed and staged by local director and choreographer MaryStarr Hope.
Date & Time:

Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 4:30 PM CT | 2:30 PM PT
Friday, December 17, 2021 at 10 PM CT | 8 PM PT

Learn more and get tickets here.

Kaufman Music Center – Piano Dialogues: Timo Andres
2021-12-16 18:30 - 19:30 | MN
R. SCHUMANN – Waldszenen (9 short solo piano pieces)
SARAH GOLDFEATHER – World Premiere of a new work
ERIC SHANFIELD – Timo Variations
Post-concert conversation with Andres, Goldfeather and Shanfield moderated by Adam Tendler
Date & Time: Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 6:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM ET
The program explores the musical friendships, influences, and borrowings between three contemporaries — Eric Shanfield, Sarah Goldfeather and Timo Andres — as well as the overarching influence of Robert Schumann’s piano music (represented here by Waldszenen). Besides Sarah’s new work for Timo, the centerpiece of the program is Eric’s new work, appropriately titled Timo Variations, a grand set in the tradition of Beethoven and Rzewski based on a theme which Timo composed for Eric in 2019.
Timo Andres is a composer and pianist who grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, NY. A Nonesuch Records artist, his album of orchestral works, Home Stretch, has been hailed for its “playful intelligence and individuality,” (The Guardian) and of his 2010 debut album for two pianos Shy and Mighty (performed by himself and duo partner David Kaplan), Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker that “it achieves an unhurried grandeur that has rarely been felt in American music since John Adams came on the scene… more mighty than shy, [Andres] sounds like himself.
$10 students tickets are available. Call the box office at 212 501 3330.
Learn more and get tickets here.

Innova Recordings National Call Info Session
2021-12-14 14:00 - 15:00 | MN
This info session for Innova Recordings National Call program is for anyone who may be curious about this program and its mission, applying to the program, Innova’s curatorial process, and even the process of recording and releasing music in general. Click the link to register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpdeqopz8sE9dT9xSimqnTje5AMW8tgTFZ
The Innova’s National Call program seeks to foster an artist centric cooperative model where both label and artist work closely to achieve the artist’s goals.
Applications will be accepted December 2nd 2021 -January 7th 2022. There is no cost to apply.
You can find more information about the pilot program and apply here: https://www.innova.mu/apply-0

WELCOME CHRISTMAS 2021
2021-12-12 16:00 - 17:00, 2021-12-11 19:00 - 20:00 | MN
Experience the mystery of the season through a mother’s eyes featuring the VocalEssence Chorus, Singers Of This Age, and members of the Ensemble Singers. José Maurício Nunes Garcia’s exquisite setting of the Magnificat (Song of Mary) and selections by B.E. Boykin, Vicente Lusitano, and Zaniaida Robles shine alongside stories from modern day mothers and familiar carols transporting us to a place of deep love, exuberant joy, everlasting hope, and abiding peace felt on that first Christmas morning.
Dates, Times, Locations:
Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 4 PM CT
Plymouth Congregational Church
1919 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 7:30 PM CT
Plymouth Congregational Church
1919 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 4 PM CT
Roseville Lutheran Church, Roseville
1215 Roselawn Avenue W, Roseville, MN
Learn more and get tickets here.

HAILSTORK, HOLIDAY, & A LITTLE HALLELUJAH
2021-12-12 15:00 - 17:00 | MN
Join Fairfield County Chorale (FCC) and tenor Anthony P. McGlaun this upcoming holiday season as we gather together for the first time since March 2020 to offer our holiday favorites – some old, some new, some unexpected. With so much to honor and remember, FCC begins with Mendelssohn’s sacred cantata Verleih uns Frieden, a heartfelt plea to ‘Grant us peace.’
FCC is fortunate and honored to participate in the birthday celebration of Chorale friend and composer Dr. Adolphus Hailstork (a BandQuest composer), who turns 80 this year. (And who will be visiting in person!) Born in Rochester and educated in New York and Michigan, Dr. Hailstork, whose current composition tally tops 300, is an heir to the midcentury American style, writing vibrant forward-looking pieces threaded with internal emotion. He has written so many pieces in so many styles that his work is impossible to pigeonhole, getting inspiration from the sacred, the spiritual, contemporary events, and the other arts. His commitment to cross-fertilization is very much in keeping with FCC’s two online performances from last year.
Date & Time: Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 3 PM CT | 4 PM ET
Learn more and get tickets here.

The Pasadena Chorale presents "GIVEN."
2021-12-11 21:30 - 22:30 | MN
On Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 9:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM PT Pasadena Chorale presents “Given” at the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena. Featuring The Ballad of the Brown King by Black American composer Margaret Bonds, Christmas selections from Handel’s Messiah, and other holiday goodies. Accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra.
Masks required, and proof of vaccination for those 12 and older (and encouraged for others), with attendance capped at half capacity.
“Listen First, Then Give” tickets and further information available at here.

Angelic Voices
2021-12-11 18:00 - 19:00 | MN
Hear the sounds of angels this holiday season by attending the Young Women’s Choral Projects Holiday Showcase where all four of our choruses perform solo and together in music of the season! The heavenly voices will soar with music by Britten, Rachmaninoff, Betinis, Thompson, Kaulkin, Abbie Betinis (a McKnight fellow and a ChoralQuest composer) and more. Treat yourself to this uplifting holiday tradition.
Date & Time: Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 6 PM CT | 4 PM PT
Get tickets here.
