American Composers Forum

ACF at the CMA Conference: Recomposing American Music
2025-02-14 | InterContinental Houston, 6750 Main St, Houston, TX, 77030, United States
What is “American music?” and what does “American” mean? Consider the power of music: its historical role in inspiring, oppressing, protesting, and celebrating people and events. In 2026, the U.S. will recognize the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — an opportunity to address the complexity of this anniversary historically and today. This session invites anyone creating, performing, sharing, and programming music around this occasion to join us in engaging and deeper inquiry as we seek to answer these questions.
This is an interactive workshop to discuss how to strategically develop context and highlight the stories of those who have been silenced, ignored, or erased in the name of “independence.” Featured speakers include Vanessa Rose and Carolina Heredia from ACF, Ashleigh Gordon from Castle of our Skins, Hyeyung Sol Yoon from Del Sol Quartet, and Armando Castellano from Quinteto Latino.
View the full conference program and register HERE.
This session is supported in part with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, in addition to Augusta Gross and Leslie Samuels, and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

"Follow the Music for Systemic Change" Panel at the League of American Orchestras Conference
2025-06-12 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Denver) | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City, 170 S W Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT, 84101, United States
Speaker(s): Lee Bynum, Faculty, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy; Antonio C. Cuyler, Ph.D., Professor of Music, Entrepreneurship & Leadership, University of Michigan; Vanessa Rose, CEO, American Composers Forum; Loki Karuna, Executive Director, American Composers Forum; and Ari Solotoff, Attorney, Drummond Woodsum
Music is a powerful source of engagement, emotion, and artistic expression. However, an artist’s performance or an orchestra’s concert program is also a form of speech (whether explicit or implicit) rooted in the history and context of today’s world. As a result, an orchestra’s charitable and artistic purposes may appear to be at odds with maintaining a neutral or objective position as a publicly-funded nonprofit and tax-exempt organization. How can orchestras continue to demonstrate why symphonic music matters, when they must also attempt to remain institutionally neutral as artistic enterprises? Or, should they? Drawing from their lived experiences in and around orchestras, session leaders will highlight successes, challenges, and the degree to which orchestras can embrace freedom of creative expression as a pathway for transformation, while also adhering to advocacy constraints, anti-discrimination laws and policies, and other internal and external forces.
REGISTER HERE

ACF I Create Performance: Alicia Waller & The Excursion
2025-06-28 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Chelsea Table & Stage, 152 West 26th Street, New York, New York, 10001, United States
Alicia Waller is a 2021 ACF I Create Award Recipient and innova artist
Join vocalist and composer, Alicia Waller, for an expansive evening of music as she brings her signature blend of jazz, soul, and vernacular sound to Chelsea Table & Stage. Waller will perform with her ensemble Alicia Waller & The Excursion to create a live recording that will serve as the companion release to her debut studio album, “Louder Then.” Audiences will be invited to participate in the memorable occasion, sitting in for a live recording of the project’s eight original songs that were written to capture nuances of the American Dream amidst a feminist backdrop. “Louder Then” is intended as an artistic demand, musically articulating a woman’s desire for, and pursuit of, equal shares in an inequitable world.
Waller will additionally perform selections from her acclaimed EP, “Some Hidden Treasure” (2020). Known for the luminous warmth of her voice and captivating approach to soul, she creates a rich, expressive sound that has been praised as a synthesis of splendor and depth.
Featuring:
Alicia Waller, Vocals
Marcos Varela, Bass
Willerm Delisfort, Piano
Philippe Clement, Guitar
Elijah Jamal Balbed, Saxophone
Jerome Gillespie II, Drums
Alicia Waller & The Excursion is a recipient of a 2025 grant from Chamber Music America’s Artistic Projects program, funded through the generosity of The Howard Gilman Foundation, for the Performance.
