American Composers Forum

Next Movement: Ars Nova Workshop and Lyric Fest
2020-08-12 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
Ars Nova Workshop answered the question, how do you draw a community together and idententify with a place when people are withdrawing and staying at home? Ars Nova rethought how to create a sense of place at The Woodlands by offering a mobile studio, walking tours with original music, and activities like yoga with live music.
Lyric Fest are Conquering Social Distance One Song at a Time through visual storytelling. To date they have made 30 videos disseminated via Constant Contact, and posted on both Facebook and YouTube with the intention of keeping a connection and great art at the center of their work.
FREE, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED. PLEASE RESERVE ONE SPOT PER HOUSEHOLD. A Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the event.
About Next Movement: An Idea Forum
The COVID-19 pandemic forced music education, music performing and music presenting organizations to a temporary standstill, impacting an unprecedented number of people. The Presser Foundation and American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter invites colleagues to share thoughts about resilience, creativity, and programming during pandemic. Register now for five Idea Forums taking place between August 12th and August 21st.

Castle of Our Skins: Founder's Chat Series
2020-08-06 12:00 - 12:45, 2020-07-30 12:00 - 12:45, 2020-07-23 12:00 - 12:45, 2020-07-16 12:00 - 12:45, 2020-07-09 12:00 - 12:45 (America/Chicago)
This is a conversational series with the leaders of several outstanding music organizations representing Black artists. Ashleigh Gordon and Anthony R. Green – the Co-Founders of Castle of our Skins – will hold discussions with an international roster of Black women – the leaders of these music organizations. Tune in on our Facebook homepage for these weekly interviews to learn:
About their musical journey.
The origin stories of each organization.
How their work has changed and evolved.
And of course more…
The lineup includes:
The String Queens : July 9th
D-Composed : July 16th
Dr. Louise Toppin : July 23rd
Challenge the Stats : July 30th
We Free Strings : August 6th
The String Arkestra : August 13th
Vivazza Ensemble : August 20th

ACF Racial Equity Study Group
2020-08-05 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago)
ACF Study Group: Discussion How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, Part II

For our August study group, we will continue discussing antiracism and Ibram X. Kendi’s book, “How to Be an Antiracist.”
Didn’t get a chance to read the book? No problem! Watch author Dr. Kendi’s recent TED Talk on antiracism here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCxbl5QgFZw

ACF Town Hall on Membership
2020-08-03 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
As ACF begins a new 5 year strategic plan we will be transitioning our exclusive membership into a more inclusive sharing of resources and expansion of our artists services to support a large and diverse ecosystem. We invite you to contribute to this conversation by participating in Town Halls specific to this transition. The feedback that we receive from you will influence the type artist services we provide in the future.

YWC Workshop Series
2020-07-30 17:00 - 18:15, 2020-07-27 17:00 - 18:15, 2020-07-23 17:00 - 18:15, 2020-07-20 17:00 - 18:15, 2020-07-16 17:00 - 18:15, 2020-07-13 17:00 - 18:15 (America/Chicago)
Young Women Composers (YWC) is proud to announce the curation of a dual-streamed, 100% free workshop series that will feature some of the most prominent and exciting voices in new music today. All sessions will take place on Zoom – please register at the event website for each workshop.
Our series is divided into two streams:
1. The Process: presentations by female-identifying or non-binary composers about their compositional process, from sketches to final product
Featuring presentations by Kate Soper, Vivian Fung, Angélica Negrón, Nina C. Young, and Pamela Z
2. Artistry in 2020: presentations by female-identifying or non-binary artists, entrepreneurs, and change-makers in the new music scene
Featuring presentations by Aiden Feltkamp, Eve O’Donnell, Sarah Williams, Claire Chase, and Gabriela Lena Frank
missed a workshop?
view our archived videos here (live until september 30).

Lifting Up Marginalized Voices Through Music
2020-07-28 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago)
Mexican-born Jewish composer Sergio Barer was a 2019 McKnight Visiting Composer fellow. During his fellowship he created a suite of choral pieces, collectively called The Immigrants. The compositions were inspired by dozens of interviews Sergio conducted with local Mexican families whom he met throughout the Twin Cities. Initially scheduled for premieres in Minnesota in 2020, The Immigrants awaits its first performance. However, the socioeconomic disparities and political ploys that shape the lives of the immigrants who inspired the work are more poignant and pressing than ever.
The Rimon Artist Salons have been called “one of the leading series of Jewish events in the country.” Since 2007, Salons have investigated dance, photography, slam poetry, popular music, puppetry, glass arts, fiction, papercutting, multimedia installation, film, architecture, theater, painting, video, and non-fiction.
The series is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. It is also funded in part by gifts from Bruce Goodman, the Oren and Sharron Steinfeldt Foundation, and two anonymous gifts.
Rimon is an initiative of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Sergio Barer is a composer and pianist who was born in Mexico City. He studied with Cuban pianists Marcia Freyre and Marcia Freyre de Andrade in Mexico and with Mario Feninger and Ian Brooks in the United States. Sergio made his concert debut in Mexico in 1985. In the late eighties he injured his left hand and performed music for one hand for several years, recording the CD “Piano Music for One Hand.” In the 1990s Sergio studied the basics of composition with his mentor Mario Feninger. When he returned to playing in public, he did so performing his own music. Following the advice of his friend, the esteemed composer Stephen Paulus, Sergio began composing choral music in the 2010s. In 2015 the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale named him Composer-in-Residence, a position he still holds. In 2017 the Chorale premiered “Moses, an Oratorio.”
Adam Wernick is a composer, writer, and lyricist, primarily working in theater. Over the past thirty years, he has created original music and sound for many theater companies, including The Guthrie Theater, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Kennedy Center, The Old Globe, Denver Center Theater Company, Red Bull Theater, Classic Stage Company, Manhattan Theater Company, The Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Theater Company, and others. Adam has received grants and awards from The McKnight Foundation, American Composers Forum, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Independence Foundation, The Philadelphia Music Project, The Presser Foundation and ASCAP. Adam also contributes as a freelance writer for Public Radio International and herds goats.

Island City Jazz Jam Rolls On
2020-07-26 14:30 - 17:30 (America/Chicago)
The July Jam with H3O Jazz Trio will be one week later than usual – Sunday, July 26, 2020 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the patio at Island City Brewing Company.
After a three month “vacation”, the monthly Island City Jazz Jams began again in June with an enthusiastic and socially distanced audience filling the picnic tables in front of the brewery.
This month, anyone wishing to participate in the Jazz Jam will be screened prior to joining the trio. Additional disinfectant measures will also be in place to ensure everyone’s safety.
Island City’s patio is covered by a large tent so the Jazz Jam will take place unless there is severe weather. Check the Island City or H3O Facebook pages for weather announcements the day of the event.
Island City Brewing Company has asked that patrons observe the following guidelines:

Mask are required inside the brewery per City of Winona restrictions
Seating is limited. Please call 507-458-8873 in advance to make your reservation.
Walk-up reservations will be allowed, but wait times are unknown.
If you are 15 minutes late for your reservation it will be forfeited to another customer.
Seating is outdoor only, with a minimum distance of 6 feet.
Groups are limited to 4 from different households or 6 if from the same household.
Please, no re-arranging of tables or chairs. Please respect social distancing guidelines.

Children will need to be with you at all times.
If your kids cannot stay seated, we will have to ask you to leave.

An up-to-date schedule is always available at H3OJazz.com. The family-friendly event is free and open to everyone – young and not so young. And if you’re not quite ready to sit in, come and enjoy a great afternoon of jazz.
Please contact Emily Johnson: events@islandcitybrew.com for more information.

Chamber Music Northwest
2020-07-25 19:00 - 23:30, 2020-07-18 19:00 - 23:30, 2020-07-11 19:00 - 23:30, 2020-07-04 19:00 - 23:30 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
Concerts will premiere at 7 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from June 22-July 26. Each performance will be available for viewing until 11:59 p.m. the next day on the Chamber Music Northwest YouTube channel.

Bach Invention Project
2020-07-24 20:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago)
Please tune in on Sunday July 26 for Lorenzo Marasso’s Bach Invention project, a live streaming performance including new works by fifteen composers from around the world, nestled into all the Two and Three-Part Inventions by J.S. Bach. The concert will begin at 6:00 pm West Coast time (9:00 pm East Coast time and 3:00 am next day European time).
Composers who have responded to one of the Bach Inventions and Sinfonias with their own new works are Daniel Corral, Michael Finnissy, Morgan Hayes, Jeffrey Holmes, Tom Flaherty, Vera Ivanova, Carmelo Lacertosa, Bernhard Lang, Anne LeBaron, Wayne Marshall, Elliott Miles McKinley, Giacomo Platini, Roberta Vacca, Nina C. Young, and Jack Van Zandt.
There is still time to participate in the co-commissioning campaign, which will support the musicians involved in this project. If you wish to participate please go the link https://dots.livemusicproject.org/the-invention-project/

Ask an Expert: Licensing and Permissions Requirements for Livestream and Rebroadcast - A Deeper Dive
2020-07-23 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago)
Still confused about the specific licensing and permission requirements for livestreaming and rebroadcast of concerts? Don’t know how to keep platform algorithms from shutting you down? This webinar will take a deeper dive into the specific licensing requirements for livestreaming and rebroadcasting of concerts, permissions that need to be obtained from record labels, artists and managers, and how to inform the platform once you have obtained the correct license in order to get listing approval. We will hear directly from these important industry sectors – PROs, streaming platforms, publishing, and management – to get the answers you need in this informative and timely discussion.
This webinar is hosted by the Alliance of Performing Arts Conferences. APAC is Arts Midwest, Arts Northwest, ArtsReady, Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Folk Alliance International (FAI), North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA), North Carolina Presenters Consortium (NCPC), International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY), South Arts and Western Arts Alliance (WAA).

Jazz and Social Justice: A Salon with Music Volume 11—Jen Shyu: What Mentorship Means Now
2020-07-21 19:00 (America/Chicago)
In times of turmoil and transformation—a locked-down present and an uncertain future—how do artists share wisdom and experience? How do they foster growth? As a vocalist singing in ten languages, as a composer straddling genres and styles, as a musician playing instruments whose histories span continents and centuries, and as a dancer and writer of compelling grace and power, Jen Shyu transforms wisdom from masters and stories gathered from communities around the world into fresh and original expressions. Her work off the bandstand focuses on fighting inequity and helping create new mentorship networks.
For this virtual edition of the “Jazz and Social Justice” series, Shyu will sing, play Taiwanese moon lute, piano, and percussion in her performance of past and present protest songs, and she’ll present excerpts from Living’s a Gift, her first work composed for a cappella choir, commissioned by American Composers Forum for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade choirs at Brooklyn’s MS 51 William Alexander Middle School. Following the music, she’ll join series host Larry Blumenfeld, along with Mimi Broderick (choir director at MS 51), vocalist-composer Sara Serpa and multi-instrumentalist Eden Girma.
Meet the Artist
Guggenheim Fellow, USA Fellow, Doris Duke Artist, multilingual vocalist-composer-multi-instrumentalist-dancer Jen Shyu is “one of the most creative vocalists in contemporary improvised music” (The Nation). Born in Peoria, Illinois, to Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrants and the first female and vocalist bandleader on Pi Recordings, she’s produced seven albums, performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is a Fulbright scholar speaking 10 languages. Her Song of Silver Geese was among New York Times’ “Best Albums of 2017.” Larry Blumenfeld wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “her voice, a wonder of technical control and unrestrained emotion, tells a story dotted with well-researched facts and wild poetic allusions. She claims both as her truths.” She’s was touring her solo Zero Grasses (commissioned by John Zorn) and giving free creativity workshops in schools and homes across all 50 states before the pandemic lockdown. She is also a Paul Simon Music Fellows Guest Artist and a Steinway Artist.
Jazz and Social Justice
This ongoing series connects the music we love with the social and political issues that matter to us all. Each salon blends live performance with conversation between artists, activists, and experts. Curated and hosted by journalist Larry Blumenfeld, whose NJMIH programs during the past dozen years have considered Afro-Cuban influence within New York’s jazz scene and contemporary New Orleans.

Connecting ACO Community: Weekly Premieres
2020-07-19 17:00, 2020-07-12 17:00, 2020-07-05 17:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual, United States
American Composers Orchestra Announces a new solo commissioning initiative in response to the COVID-19 crisis with online world premieres beginning Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5pm on Zoom
$5 tickets* available through Eventbrite
If the $5 entrance fee poses a barrier to participation, interested listeners will be asked to fill out an anonymous form at https://bit.ly/ACOConnectComp or email Aiden Feltkamp at aiden@americancomposers.org to request a fee waiver.
In response to the impacts of COVID-19 on composers and performers, American Composers Orchestra announces Connecting ACO Community, a new initiative to commission short works for solo instrument or voice. Each composer will receive $500 to write the work, and each performer will receive $500 to perform the work, with the rights to stream for six months. With this project, ACO aims to support artists who need financial assistance; to create new work that will live beyond this crisis; and provide virtual, interactive performances to ACO’s supporters and the general public.
Ticketholders will receive a private link to join the performance, and all of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go solely to fund artists involved in this project. The composer, performer, and a host (ACO President Ed Yim or ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel, who is also donating his own performance to the project) will hold an online chat with attendees after the performance. The recorded session will be available within 24 hours after the performance on ACO’s website and social media platforms, as well as on MUSIC on the REBOUND: an online festival for participating in live events as well as a platform for streaming concerts.
Connecting ACO Community Volume 2 Composer-Performer Teams and Schedule of Events
Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 5pm ET:
Joseph Pereira & Chester Englander, percussion (register/buy tickets)
Sunday, June 14, 2020 – OFF
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 5pm ET:
Shara Nova & Ahya Simone, harp (register/buy tickets)
Note: Ahya Simone was unable to appear during the originally scheduled premiere in Volume 1, during which Shara Nova premiered a version for voice and guitar. This installment features Simone performing a second premiere of the work When I Said Let a Change Come for harp.
Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 5pm ET:
Karena Ingram & Monica Ellis, bassoon (register/buy tickets)
Sunday, July 5, 2020 at 5pm ET:
Krists Auznieks & Stephen Gosling, piano (register/buy tickets)
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 5pm ET:
Lembit Beecher & Seth Parker Woods, cello (register/buy tickets)
Sunday, July 19, 2020 at 5pm ET:
Alejandro Basulto Martinez & Alecia Lawyer, oboe (register/buy tickets)

ACF Town Hall on Recordings
2020-07-14 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-07-08 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
As ACF begins a new 5 years strategic plan, along with the areas that we continue to create, we are going to be looking at our recordings program and how we support artists through these programs. We invite you to contribute to this conversation. Below are some questions we will consider during this ACF Town Hall.
What has been your experience with recording/releasing music?
What part(s) of the recording/releasing music process do you wish there was more support for?
What may be some barriers to making a recording for you?
Label vs Self Releasing?

ACF Monthly Book Club – July
2020-07-06 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual, United States
As an organization dedicated to living musical creators and cultivating a community for their work to thrive in, ACF strives to be diverse, inclusive, and equitable like many in our shared ecosystem. To do so, however, we must acknowledge the historical exclusion of non-white artists in the musical world – particularly Western European-based classical music – and provide a platform to the very artists we seek to support.
Reading of this month:
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
REGISTER HERE

Ensemble Evolution Public Show
2020-07-02 19:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual, United States
Featuring International Contemporary Ensemble and Ensemble Evolution Participants.
The International Contemporary Ensemble’s Ensemble Evolution program culminates with a virtual concert curated by participants and faculty featuring the world premiere of Nicole Mitchell’s Inescapable Spiral, specifically re-designed for the digital world.

Presented by The International Contemporary Ensemble, Experimental Sound Studios, and the College of Performing Arts as part of the Ensemble Evolution summer intensive.
