American Composers Forum

ACF Co-Commission featuring Joel Thompson with the NY Phil
2024-03-21 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-03-23 20:00 - 21:30, 2024-03-24 14:00 - 15:30 (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.

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.

innova Release: Jess Rowland's 'Plastiglomerates'
2024-03-29
*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.

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.

ACF Co-Commission featuring Joel Thompson with the Atlanta Symphony
2024-04-25 20:00, 2024-04-26 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

“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

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

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!

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 Release: Lisa Mezzacappa | 'The Electronic Lover'
2024-05-31
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.

Innova Release: Jeff Myers | 'Requiem'
2024-05-31
MAY 31: Innova Release: Jeff Myers | Requiem
Listen
PART I: GRIEVING
I. Kyrie eleison
II. Nay, Lord, not thus (Oscar Wilde)
III. Nebeltag (Frida Schanz)
IV. Di me non pianger tu (Petrarch)
V. Momento Mori
PART II: DYING
VI. Christe eleison
VII. Pagtulog na, Nene (Philippine traditional)
VIII. Go and Die (Rumi)
IX. Kyrie eleison II – Ma Vie (Henri Michaux) – Requiem aeternam

After the sudden death of a close family member, I decided to embark on a project that could help me express and articulate my response to death and the grieving process. As a composer, I wanted to use my creative capacity to create a memorial. The Requiem has long served as the classical composer’s medium of choice for large-scale funeral works. In the past, works would use the traditional texts form the Catholic Mass. As a person without any religious affiliation, I wanted to create something that explored death from multiple perspectives (different cultures, languages, eras). This relativistic approach to death expresses my cultural agnosticism: since I do not wholly embrace any of the traditional death narratives, I wanted the audience to experience multiple perspectives and draw their own conclusions.
I chose poems from Oscar Wilde, Frida Schanz, Petrarch, Rumi, and Henri Michaux, as well as phrases from the Catholic Mass, and a Filipino lullaby. The texts range in subject: the end of days, a funereal morning, the grieving process/speaking to the departed, sleep as death/the death of a child, the ecstasy of entering heaven, profound sadness, and cries of despair. My musical style changes from song to song, but there is a close relationship to choral church music from the Renaissance and Medieval eras. The use of microtones and other unusual harmonic techniques appear throughout, depicting the spectre and mystery of death.
With such a personal project, I wanted to work closely with friends: Rachel Calloway and the JACK Quartet. I wanted an intimate concert with artists that could sing and play my music with the sensitivity that it requires. I also wanted new music specialists that could interpret my music with musicality and knowledge of special techniques such as just intonation tuning.
This requiem is dedicated to Lynda Garcia (1977-2010)

Innova Release: Leilehua Lanzilotti | ‘the sky in our hands, our hands in the sky’
2024-06-05
June 5th: Innova Release: Leilehua Lanzilotti | the sky in our hands, our hands in the sky
2022 Pulitzer Finalist Leilehua Lanzilotti releases debut composer / sound artist album on Innova Recordings featuring Sō Percussion and Longleash.
In conjunction with the nationally touring exhibition Lanzilotti co-curated, Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within, Lanzilotti produced this album of chamber and experimental sound art works that explore the resonance of Takaezu’s bronze bells and the playfulness of her ceramic rattles. Lanzilotti writes, “Growing up at The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, I remember Toshiko Takaezu’s ceramic works being the same size as I was—the greeting presence of one of her mahina, or moons, as you entered the museum.”
Longleash, bring for Toshiko to life with delicate timbres and expressive shaping of resonance. Sō Percussion breathes life to sending messages in their depth of listening. Through their long history of playing chamber music together as a group, there is a magical, spinning quality to the sound. In the resonance of the sky in our hands, our hands in the sky, we get the feeling of being inside Takaezu’s multisensory landscapes.
Learn more about the the sky in our hands, our hands in the sky exhibition touring Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within: https://leilehualanzilotti.com/the-sky-in-our-hands-our-hands-in-the-sky

ACF Webinar | Using Digital Spaces to Connect With Your Local Communities w/ Dana Sikkila
2024-06-06 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Via Zoom
Using Digital Spaces to Connect With Your Local Communities
Thursday, Jun. 6, 2024, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST
Featured Speakers: Dana Sikkila
Regardless of what stage of your career you may be in, connecting with your local community is essential. This webinar will explore how to leverage digital platforms and spaces to build connections and foster a stronger sense of community with your audience.
This webinar is free, but registration is encouraged. Register here!
Submit a Question for Dana!
Dana Sikkila (she/her)
Artist Career Consultant, Mankato
“I can help artists with individual career planning, social media marketing, creative placemaking specific to rural communities, grant and statement writing, and creative curriculums.”
Skills: Administration, Grants, Statements and Proposals, Place Based Projects, Rural Arts, Education
Bio: Dana Sikkila is a Minnesota-based interdisciplinary maker and creator. At 38 years old, Sikkila has been named one of the most well-known creative leaders of Southern Minnesota. Known for her social practice and activism programs, creative consulting, public speaking, and her theory development within creative curriculum, Sikkila’s practices span from working in communities from rural to the Twin Cities. Her self-defining administration style has bridged the gap between arts creation and administration. Developing numerous grassroots cultural projects and exhibitions throughout the state.
Visit her website at danasikkila.com and read more about Dana on Creative Exchange.

ACF @ the League of American Orchestras conference | "At 250, What is American Music Anyway?"
2024-06-07 15:30 - 16:30 (America/Chicago) | Marriott Marquis Houston, 1777 Walker Street, Houston, TX, 77010, United States
“At 250, What is American Music Anyway?
Friday, June 7, 2024
3:30 PM 4:30 PM CST
Facilitator(s): Elizabeth Blaufox, Director of Promotion, Boosey & Hawkes; Alecia Lawyer, Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Oboist, ROCO; Vanessa Rose, Executive Director, American Composers Forum; Nina Shekhar, Composer, Mannes School of Music (The New School), Princeton University; and Curtis Stewart, Artistic Director, American Composers Orchestra
On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Orchestras are thinking about how they and their communities are commemorating and analyzing this historic milestone in their programming.
Join this conversation to discuss programming ideas and share your thoughts as we look ahead toward that year and the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.

Innova Release: Samn Johnson and Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart | 'Consolation'
2024-06-28
June 28: Innova Release: Samn Johnson and Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart | Consolation
Consolation is a song cycle composed by Samn Johnson for vocalist Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart, setting Latin poetry from Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy. It features layers of Tis’s voice accompanied by Samn’s electronics and instrumental recordings.
The album—has been described by composer and music critic Alex Temple as “wildly polystylistic,” but the same can perhaps be said of Boethius’s original. Its mix of poetry and prose carried ancient readers along in the visceral flow of Latin meter, careening between intellectual elegance and sheer terror. Samn’s music hews closely to the maelstrom of Boethius’s emotions, but renders it with different devices. Tis’s voice, the backbone of the album, is pushed to virtuosic limits of range and timbre, spanning over four octaves with an astonishing array of colors and tuning systems. Interviewed by WMBR radio about Samn’s writing for the trans nonbinary voice, Tis says:
Around Tis’s voice, Samn’s electronic orchestra deploys echoes of Renaissance polyphony alongside 808 kick drums and synthesizers, flashes of romanticism, and washes of ambience. Early tuning systems—from Just Intonation to Meantone temperaments—are omnipresent in Samn’s music. For Boethius, who was also a music theorist, these would have not only been shimmering worlds of musical color, but allegories for how the cosmos is ordered. Perhaps the same is ultimately true for Samn, and is part of what binds him to Boethius across the centuries.

ACF Co-Commission featuring Joel Thompson @ the Aspen Music Festival
2024-06-28 17:30 (America/Denver) | Klein Music Tent, 960 N 3rd Street, Aspen, CO, 81611, 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.
Chamber Symphony: Trifonov Plays Mozart
June 28
5:30 pm
$92, $75, $45
Klein Music Tent
PROGRAM
DEBUSSY: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271, “Jeunehomme”
—
JOEL THOMPSON: To See the Sky (AMFS co-commission)
R. SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4 in D minor, op. 120
For tickets and more information: https://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/events/calendar/aspen-chamber-symphony-1

Composer Fair – Choral Carnival | Sponsored by the American Composers Forum
2024-07-12 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 Second Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
Composer Fair – Choral Carnival
Sponsored by the American Composers Forum
Date: Friday, July 12
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: Minneapolis Convention Center Lobby, outside Ballroom A
After a successful launch last year, ACF is excited to partner with the GALA Choruses for their Composers Fair, which is a part of their GALA Choruses 2024 Festival. This Composers Fair is a space for composers to host a table, share your compositions, and chat with Festival conductors about new commissions and collaborations! There is no cost for composers to participate but space is limited so Register Now to reserve a table space! As you register, your name and website link will be featured on the event page. Join us and say hello on Friday, July 12, where we will have our own table!
Composers are encouraged to display:

Sample scores
Wallet cards or QR codes to link to your website and compositions
Information about how to commission your work
A way for artistic directors to sign up to receive more information.

Here is a list of songs that conductors have submitted for their programs so far. You are welcome to search for your compositions and performance times. This searchable Festival Schedule will help.
Featured Composers: (check back for an updated list!)
Kyle Pederson – kylepederson.com
Dominick DiOrio – dominickdiorio.com
Ash – www.MusicByAsh.com
Joan Szymko – www.joanszymko.com
Elizabeth Alexander – www.elizabethalexander.com
Saunder Choi – www.saunderchoi.com
Timothy C. Takach – timothyctakach.com
Andrea Clearfield – www.andreaclearfield.com
Paul Winchester – paulwinchester.com
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

ACF Co-Commission featuring Joel Thompson @ Bravo! Vail Music Festival
2024-07-20 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, 530 S Frontage Rd E, Vail, CO, 81657, 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.
New York Philharmonic Plays Brahms
June 20
6 pm MT
$5 – $154
Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
The Philharmonic gives the Colorado premiere of To See the Sky by Joel Thompson in a powerful van Zweden-led program featuring the rousing Prelude to Act I of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Brahms’ profound masterpiece Symphony No. 4.
PROGRAM

Jaap van Zweden, conductor

WAGNER Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
JOEL THOMPSON To See the Sky (Colorado Premiere, Joint Commission of The American Composers Forum; New York Philharmonic; Atlanta Symphony; Aspen Music Festival; and Bravo! Vail)
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
PRE-CONCERT TALK 5:10PM – Steven Bruns (University of Colorado Boulder), speaker in the Gerald R Ford Amphitheater Lobby.
For tickets and more information: https://www.bravovail.org/performances/orchestral-series/new-york-philharmonic-2/new-york-philharmonic-plays-brahms/

innova Recordings Listening Party
2024-09-28 14:30 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Landmark Center, 75 West 5th Street, Saint Paul, MN, United States
Join us on September 28 in downtown St. Paul for an afternoon of music and conversation featuring recent and forthcoming releases from the innova Recordings catalog!
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN editor Amanda Cook hosts this event, providing behind the scenes insight on tracks by Mary Ellen Childs, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Jess Rowland, and We Sick. There will also be an opportunity to mingle and chat with Amanda, ACF Executive Director Vanessa Rose, innova Director of Recordings Chris Campbell, and members of We Sick.
Attendance is free, but registration is required. Light refreshments will be served. We hope to see you there!
REGISTER HERE

ACF | Create Awardee Performance- Muyassar Kurdi
2024-10-13 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
As part of Muyassar Kurdi’s ACF | Create 2024 commission
For Hind Rajab
A duo with Lucie Vitkova at Prospect Park, Center Dr/East Dr 11238, under the bridge
Closest Trains at B/Q/S at Prospect Park
Free and open to the public.

OrQuestra Youth Program Premiere
2024-12-16 19:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springs, FL, 33065, United States
Sarah A. Ruff is the latest composer to take part in ACF’s “Quest” Youth Program residencies (BandQuest, ChoralQuest, ChamberQuest). Her work is spearheading a new pillar of the programs called OrQuestra, as she will be the first composer in ACF’s residencies to collaborate with and write for a young orchestra. Ruff is a pianist, violinist and composer and teaches as an Assistant Professor of Music at Oakwood University.
For more than 20 years, American Composers Forum has been commissioning the development of new works for young musicians and intergenerational ensembles. Building from the success of the BandQuest® and ChoralQuest® series, we have added “ChamberQuest” and “OrQuestra,” two new series that expand the development into collaborations with chamber ensembles and orchestras. These series offer challenging and captivating pieces at different levels, and bring forward stories, a range of musical approaches, and unique ideas that are as fascinating to learn about as they are great pieces to perform.

The BandQuest®, ChoralQuest, ChamberQuest, and OrQuestra series are commissioned and published by the American Composers Forum (ACF). ACF supports and advocates for individuals and groups creating music today by demonstrating the vitality and relevance of their art. We connect artists with collaborators, organizations, audiences, and resources. Through storytelling, publications, recordings, hosted gatherings, and industry leadership, we activate equitable opportunities for artists. We provide direct funding and mentorship to a broad and diverse field of music creators, highlighting those who have been historically excluded from participation.

Dialogues Series: ACF 2024 McKnight Fellows Showcase
2025-01-15 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Luminary Arts Center, 700 N 1st St, Minneapolis, MN, 55401, United States
American Composers Forum and Composers Now present an evening of music and conversation featuring three of ACF’s 2024 McKnight Composer Fellows: IOSIS (Alex Bissen), Leyna Marika Papach, and Sivan Cohen Elias.
Launched in 2015 by Composers Now, “Dialogues” offers a forum for the meaningful exchange of ideas between composers, performers, and audiences. The panel discussion hosted by Tania León (Founder & Artistic Director, Composers Now) and Vanessa Rose (Executive Director, ACF) will center on the role of art in community building.
This event is free with registration. REGISTER HERE.

NAMM Panel - Music Careers: Exploring the Possible and Probable
2025-01-23 10:30 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
For many, a love of music makes us ask – could this be a career? While performance opportunities exist today, tens of thousands of music professionals also find rewarding careers beyond the stage and studio. This panel of award-winning musicians will discuss the exciting and surprising career paths they’ve carved in artist management, composition for film and TV, non-profits, product development, education, and more. Join us for a conversation about learning to be optimistic, exploring the industry at a deeper level, and realizing that there is tremendous potential out there; it just might not be where we expected.
Panelists:
Vanessa Rose: Executive Director, American Composers Forum
Scott LeGere: ACF Board member and Music Business faculty at Augsburg University
Alex Oana: VP Marketing: Sound Vision Works
Yudu Gray Jr: Co-CEO, 24/7 Artists
Marlowe Teichman: Musician & Photographer, MARLOWE

View the full event schedule here: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/sessions

The Great Northern - Mary Prescott: Mother Tongue
2025-01-30 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Public Functionary, 1500 Jackson St NE Studio 144, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
Supported by Minnesota Humanities
In partnership with Public Functionary
In partnership with American Composers Forum
Join us for an evening of film, food, and conversation with Minnesota composer Mary Prescott at the premiere of Mother Tongue. This film screening and artist talk explores the deep connections between food, community, and family.
In September 2024, Prescott and The Great Northern hosted a potluck dinner with five artists, writers, and community leaders—José Luis, Ifrah Mansour, Kate Beane, Kao Kalia Yang, and Eyenga Bokamba. Each guest brought a family dish, sharing the stories and cultural significance behind their recipes. This intimate gathering was captured in a short documentary film that we are thrilled to share with you for the first time.

The work and conversations documented in Mother Tongue will form the foundation for Ancestral Table, a large-scale performance artwork by Mary Prescott that will celebrate her maternal Thai heritage. This exciting project is set to be a highlight of our 2026 festival programming.
As part of the experience, you’ll also have the opportunity to sample food from some of the featured participants. Don’t miss this celebration of our diverse culinary traditions.

The Great Northern - Floresta: Soundbath
2025-01-31 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-02-01 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Public Functionary, 1500 Jackson St NE Studio 144, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
By Angélica Negrón, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Raquel Acevedo Klein
Copresented with Public Functionary
In partnership with American Composers Forum

Floresta was originally commissioned and presented by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in 2023 and will be reconceived for Minnesota winter as part of The Great Northern 2025.

Inspired by trees’ underground communication network, composers/performers Angélica Negrón, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Raquel Acevedo Klein collaborate in an evening of live unfolding soundscapes using voices, violin, plants, flowers, bells, synths, accordion, water, found objects, and mechanical percussion. Moving fluidly between dreamy immersive soundscapes and more dynamic, rhythmically driven compositions, the trio will explore a wide range of musical ideas. Floresta also stars nature itself as a featured performer as MIDI Sprout technology translates biodata from plants into music.
The program will include excerpts from the three composers/performers: Negrón’s symphony Sinfonía Isleña and site specific choral piece Chorus of the Forest; Acevedo Klein’s entrancing Wisteria and rhythmically playful Amaryllis; and Darian Donovan Thomas’ elastic and heartfelt Safe Space from his forthcoming album, and Olana, his immersive installation soundscape—plus a rework of Negrón’s Planeaciones (part of For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, Vol. 1) and a special cover of Björk’s All is Full of Love.
