News and Events
These posts include performances, concerts, recordings, and general activity from ACA, ACA's composers, and music in ACA.
News and events posts from the previous iteration of ACA's website (2009-2024) can be found on the Archived News and Events page.
News and Events
Frederick Tillis, Three Symphonic Spirituals to be presented by AACMSO, June 8th in Los Angeles
Three Symphonic Spirituals by Dr. Frederick C. Tillis will be presented on June 8th, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra's Juneteenth concert will be held at the Fifty-fourth Street Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 1973 W. 54th Street, Los Angeles, CA 9006.
AACMSO has championed the music of Black composers since 1990. Founded by Professor Janise White, AACMSO is a powerhouse in working for the benefit of keeping music in print and available for performance. ACA has enjoyed working on shared goals with AACMSO for many years. ACA wishes AACMSO a great event for Juneteenth, as they honor the great masters Frederick Tillis and William Grant Still through live performances.
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Barbara Jazwinski's Soliloquy for Solo Clarinet, featured USA work at ISCM
Barbara Jazwinski's work for clarinet, Soliloquy (2021) is the international jury-selected winner in the USA solo category to be performed at ISCM (International Society for Contemporary Music). The ISCM World New Music Days 2025 is being held in Portugal this year. ISCM celebrates the extraordinary diversity of contemporary music from across the globe. Over nine days, from May 30 to June 7, Portuguese orchestras, ensembles and musicians will perform 135 works from composers of 44 different countries, across 27 concerts, hosted at 11 prestigious venues in Lisbon and Porto.
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ACA to Attend MOLA's 2025 Conference
From May 30th to June 2nd, ACA will be a part of the 2025 Major Orchestra Librarians' Association conference, taking place in Ann Arbor, MI. This will be the first time ACA has attended the event, and marks a milestone in ACA's outreach objectives. In addition to connecting more orchestral librarians with ACA's orchestral repertoire, ACA is sure to learn more about working well with orchestral librarians and understanding their needs, which can be passed along to ACA's composers to ensure performances of ACA's large ensemble works will run smoothly.
We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones alike - if you are also in attendance, please drop by ACA's table to say hello!
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July 5: Nancy Van de Vate's Gema Jawa with West London Sinfonia
Nancy Van de Vate's Gema Jawa (Echoes of Java) for String Orchestra is set to be performed by the West London Sinfonia, Conductor: Philip Hesketh.
Performance: 5th July 2025, 19:30
Venue: St Anne’s Parish Church, 31 Kew Green, Richmond, TW9 3AA
June 22: Dr. Fred Tillis Memorial Jazz Concert
On June 22, former friends and colleagues of Dr. Frederick Tillis will honor his 95th Birthday memorial with a concert featuring the jazz compositions by the composer. Taking place at Wildwood Memorial Garden in Amherst, MA.
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Nov. 2: Roger Stubblefield premiere with the Jasper Quartet, Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents the Jasper Quartet, one of today’s preeminent American string quartets which also happens to call Philadelphia home. Hailed as being “expressively assured and beautifully balanced” (Gramophone), the ensemble is joined for this concert by Julietta Curenton, a flutist known for her “bold and dramatically characterized playing” (Dallas Morning News) and a “tone that draws in one’s ear with sounds and ideas that simply cannot be resisted” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 at 3pm at American Philosophical Society, Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
See this link for access to the live stream.
Britten: Three Divertimenti
GL Frank: An Andean Walkabout
Stubblefield: Music, Op. 27 World Premiere/PCMS Commission
Wallen: All the Blues I See US Premiere
May 9: Katherine Lerner Lee, mezzo-soprano with Poems of the Holocaust by Allan Blank, Merkin Hall New York City
The acclaimed double bassist and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Nina Bernat, pianist Anthony Ratinov, and mezzo-soprano Katherine Lerner Lee perform a recital celebrating female strength and empowerment through music for piano, mezzo-soprano, and bass accompanied by images from Bernat’s grandmother’s post-war life. It features a world premiere by Lara Poe and Allan Blank’s Poems from the Holocaust, plus music by Ernest Bloch, Aaron Copland, and Joseph Achron.
Concert Artist Guild's (CAG’s) concert series Musicians on the Rise, is presented in partnership with Kaufman Music Center, in which tomorrow’s stars expand the possibilities of a 21st-century concert.
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May 10: Premiere of Louis Karchin's Four Seasons orchestra work, New York
May 10 will be the premiere date for Louis Karchin's The Four Seasons of Bernini, for orchestra, with the NY Classical players at W83 Auditorium (150 W 83rd St in Manhattan). In a captivating blend of premieres and timeless classics, the evening will open with the premiere of Louis Karchin’s The Four Seasons of Bernini, which draws on Mozart’s style and the sculptures of the Italian Renaissance artist.
This will be followed by the graceful melodies of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3, featuring the artistry of Stella Chen, the ensemble's artist-in-residence.
The program continues with another premiere, George Meyer’s Triple Concerto for Two Violins and Viola, bringing to life the musical contributions of Emma Frucht, Brian Hong, and Meyer himself.
The night culminates in the intense and passionate strains of Haydn’s Symphony No. 49, "La Passione," bringing the concert to a stirring conclusion.
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April 28: Gilbert Galindo's Fe Oscura for orchestra, premiere with UTPB Orchestra
UTPB Orchestra Monday, April 28, 2025, 7:30PM CST at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center in Midland, Texas conducted by Dr. Jean Gómez.
When the climate becomes dark and light is gone, faith in darkness can sustain one’s spirit. “Fe Oscura” for orchestra was written in 2025 and commissioned by the University of Texas Permian Basin. It is dedicated to the late Ronald Bennett of Odessa, Texas who was a musical giant of the community. He was indispensable and influential in forever shaping me as a composer and musician while in junior high and high school. I will always be indebted to him.
This concert also features Daniela Salinas, violin and Alyssa Dominguez, viola, winners of the 2025 UTPB Concerto Competition. Dr. Brad Light and the UTPB University Choir will be joined by local high school students. Free admission.
UT Permian Basin
Spring Orchestra Concert
Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
April 28, 2025, 7:30PM
1310 Farm to Market 1788
Midland, TX 79707
NFA Winner: James Balentine's Flute quartet, Invention and Rhapsody II
James Balentine's Flute quartet, Invention and Rhapsody II for 3 C flutes and alto flute (2024) is among the first place winners of the Newly Published Music Competition by the National Flute Association.
ACA's newest flute collection curated and edited by Henry Gale was awarded honorable mention, as well as Itch for flute and snare drum by Will Rowe. Congratulations to ACA notables!
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April 5: Marvelous, a Musical Opera based on L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz series, Gaslight Theatre
Composer Gregory Hall and Visual Artist Vincent Myrand bring their opera Marvelous to the stage on April 5th.
Soprano Merissa Beddows will sing the role of Ozma and others in this illustrated musical opera, Marvelous. The performance will be on Saturday, April 5th at 7:00 pm at the historic Gaslight Theater, under the auspices of Opera Sistersville (West Virginia). Tickets: 304-652-1707.
Scored for flute, trumpet, percussion and electronic keyboards, Gregory Hall’s opera has received a major grant from the Curtis Institute of Music, will have a major presentation at OzCon International in June 2025 in Burbank, CA, and was a 2023 finalist for the American Prize in Opera.
Musicians from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie-Mellon School of Music will also perform. Renowned Oz artist Vincent Myrand has produced unique imagery to be projected during the performance.
The story is based on author L. Frank Baum's series The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, on Dorothy’s further adventures in Oz.
Gaslight Theatre: 719 Wells St, Sistersville, WV 26175
Composer Gregory Hall holds a B.A. in music from UC Santa Barbara (1982), and a composition degree from the Curtis Institute of Music (1986), where he studied with Ned Rorem. He is a fellow of the Ucross Foundation.
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April 10: Dana Richardson's brass trio "Bright Blue" at San Diego State Recital
March 29: Doug Harbin's new work at OME Festival
Jennifer Waleczek will premiere a new work by Doug Harbin at the OME Festival in Phoenix. The new work for piano, electronics, and video will be on the 7pm concert on Saturday, March 29th.
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April 5: Thomas Read's Concerto for Oboe and Strings
Gianna Scire, oboist, and the EMPAC orchestra, conducted by Robert Whalen, will perform Thomas Read's Concerto for Oboe and Strings on April 5 at 2 pm at RPI in Troy, NY.
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March 16: Gwen Krosnick plays music of Dorothy Rudd Moore, Ralph Shapey, and more, at Oberlin
March 7: Violinist Claudia Schaer and pianist Marc Péloquin play American violin-piano duos
323 W 108th Street New York, NY 10025
Program
Philip Wharton ~ Tombeau de Ravel (2003)
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich ~ Partita (2000)
I. Introduction and Allegro
II. Serenade
III. Tango
IV. Meditation
V. Finale
Jessie Montgomery ~ Peace (2020)
Christopher James ~ Labyrinths, 2nd mvt (2024)
Max Lifchitz ~ Raoul's Tango-Waltz, from Four Tango Sketches (2022)
Ernesto Lecuona (arr. Ed Cionek) ~ La Comparsa (1912/2024)
Andrew Thomas ~ Premonitions (2017)
About the featured works:
Philip Wharton's Tombeau de Ravel harkens back not just to the impressionist composer Ravel, but also even earlier, to baroque composer François Couperin, two older legacies doubly inspiring vivid fresh imagination.
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Partita is a light-hearted and fun take on many genres, including fiddle music, tango, and a serenade.
Jessie Montgomery composed Peace in 2020; it is a deeply pensive yet also hopeful meditation on sadness as part of the fabric of life.
Christopher James wrote Labyrinths for Claudia Schaer and Marc Péloquin, who premiered and recorded it in spring 2024; it is a very expressive 12-tone work with many-faceted phrases and characters.
Max Lifchitz' Raoul's Tango-Waltz, from Four Tango Sketches (which Claudia Schaer and the North/South Consonance Ensemble premiered in the original chamber orchestra version in 2022), is a tongue-in-cheek fusion of tango and waltz styles.
Ed Cionek's arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona's La Comparsa pays homage to the incomparable Cuban composer and the carnival tradition.
The program ends with Andrew Thomas' colourful Premonitions, written for and premiered by Claudia Schaer and the North/South Consonance Ensemble in a ten-instrument version in 2017, later transcribed by the composer for violin and piano. The inscription reads, “...with affection and joy...” - and the singing and dancing work communicates that although premonitions are often worrisome, potentially, things just might turn out well in the end!
March 6: Music of Vally Weigl at Austrian Cultural Forum, New York City
“The Zero Hour” – Austrian Literature and Music at the End of World War II -- An evening of literature and music with Elysium that reflects on the past while asking the urgent question: What do we do with the freedom we have gained?
Austrian Cultural Forum New York 11 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10022; 6:30pm March 6, 2025
Artists Jeannie Im, Peter Kendall Clark, and more will bring to life the music and songs of Paul Dessau, Hanns Eisler, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ernst Krenek, Frederick Schreiber, Vally Weigl, and Kurt Weill—composers whose music embodies both the sorrow and resilience of the time.
Image: WStLA, Presse- und Informationsdienst, FC1, 45011 | Young people clearing rubble in Vienna, October 1945
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March 28, 30, and April 6: Music of Edward Smaldone in concert - and retirement celebrations
The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College presents a concert and appreciation of Prof. Edward Smaldone on the occasion of his retirement from ACSM after 35 years. In addition to his many years in the classroom, Prof. Smaldone was the Director of the School of Music from 2002 to 2016.
Sunday April 6, 2025 @ 2:00PM - LeFrak Concert Hall. Free Admission by RSVP, with Reception to follow. Come celebrate memories as well as performances by ACSM students, alumni, and faculty including: Marcy Rosen, cello; Sahun Sam Hong, piano; Donald Pirone, piano; Chlöe Dickens, violin; Sara Juneau, cello; Ricky Moreira, piano; Michael Lipsey, Alphonso Valentin, Dylan Ofrias, Nicholas Gleeson, percussion; Annalisa Emmet and Willow Macol, voice; Karen Smaldone, piano; Edward Smaldone, guitar; Michael Mossman, trumpet; David Berkman, piano; Sean Lo, drums; and Teresa Sanchez, bass.
Additionally,
March 14, 16 Ray Luedeke's new opera, The Lady from the Sea
American Soprano Julie Liston Johnson will sing the role of Ellida Wangel in Ray Luedeke's new opera, The Lady from the Sea. Performances on Friday March 14 at 7:00pm at The National Opera Center and on Sunday March 16 at 3:00pm at Symphony Space here in New York City. Tickets can be obtained at Event brite and at The Symphony Space Box office.
“One soloist after another sang beautifully, but the standouts were soprano Julie Liston Johnson ...” Dallas Morning News
March 18-19 Floes Music by Judith Shatin premieres on New@Graham
Floes, a multimedia collaboration of artist SoHyun Bae, choreographer Virginie Mécène and composer Judith Shatin, will premiere on the NEW@Graham: Graham and Tech at the Martha Graham Studio on March 18th and 19th at 7:00 p.m., 55 Bethune St. in New York City. Floes is the result of an interactive process, with each of the collaborators sharing their work and using it as a cross-media springboard that led to cross-media responses and discussion. Inspired by our concern for the havoc wrought by climate change and named for the large ice sheets that form ever more frequently on bodies of water around melting glaciers, our sonic/visual/ kinetic collaboration embodies formation, collision, breaking, flowing. This piece would not have been possible without technological mediation for the collaboration, including the flow of the video, dance and digital music, the latter created by processing underwater recordings of glaciers, Tickets available here. (photo credit SoHyun Bae)
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