News and Events

Nov 7, 9, 10: Music of Edward Smaldone, and in Italy Nov 9, 14, 22, 23

October 20th: Zohn Collective Premieres David Liptak’s The Locust Tree

Soprano Leah Brzyski and chamber ensemble Zohn Collective will perform a concert titled Songbook at the Eastman School of Music. Selected movements of David Liptak’s The Locust Tree will be premiered with Dieter Hennings on guitar and Paul Vaillancourt on percussion alongside new works by composers John Liberatore (a premiere), Daniel Pesca, Ania Vu, and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon. The Zohn Collective describes their program Songbook: “Our inspiration in designing Songbook is to curate a kaleidoscopic reflection of questions central to our inner lives, such as devotion, memory, and loss”.

https://events.rochester.edu/event/faculty-artist-series-ricardo-zohn-muldoon-composition-1943?n=31

Oct. 18: New Music by Andrew Ardizzoia, Contemporary Music Festival at Muhlenberg

Mezzo-Soprano Daveda Karanas and the Muhlenberg Choir will present a concert of premieres of works by Andrew Ardizzoia, Sat. Oct. 18th at 5pm in the Egner Cathedral, Allentown, PA. 

Andrew's music, described as “exuberant, rhythmic, and great fun,” as well as “smart, intriguing, and masterful,” has been performed on four continents by a wide variety of soloists and ensembles.

Karanas will premiere Ardizzoia's new cycle Afterglow with texts by Georgia Douglas Johnson. 

Nov. 16: A Surrealist's Wish, with music of Christopher Shultis, Seoul, Korea

Portrait concert for composer Christopher Shultis will take place on November 16 in Seoul organized by the Gyeonggi Gayageum Ensemble, and featuring music written for them, Circlings and Sanjo Variations, both published by ACA. Two new pieces will be premiered, A Surrealist’s Wish for gayageums and percussion, and Samulnori Variations for solo percussion. New York based percussionist Gustavo Aguilar will be performing. The concert will open with the Shultis tamtam solo, One Far Noise. Sunday, Nov. 16, 5pm, at Folk Theater Pungryu

Oct. 18: Music of Marilyn Shrude, Reena Esmail and more at BGSU New Music Festival.

Featuring the Music of: Matthew Mariano, Nicholas Cline, Jocelyn Hagen, Evan Williams, Joel Thompson, Marilyn Shrude, Reena Esmail, & Samuel Adler. 8pm concert featuring Shrude, Adler, and Esmail with conductor Emily Freeman Brown. Festival programs and info here.

The 46th Annual Bowling Green
New Music Festival
OCTOBER 16-18, 2025 Celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the College of Musical Arts and the many composers and performers who have made BGSU a hub of new music for nearly a half century.

Nov 3: Andrew Thomas' Premonitions to be performed by Claudia Schaer and North/South Consonance, New York City

Andrew Thomas' PREMONITIONS for violin and chamber ensemble, will be performed by the ensemble that commissioned and premiered it in 2017. Experience this beautiful and sparkling work by Andrew Thomas, written for violinist Claudia Schaer. It will be performed by Schaer (pictured) and the North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra conducted by Max Lifchitz at Christ & Saint Stephens Church, New York City. Works by Lifchitz, Christopher James, and Alexandro Rodríguez are also on the program. November 3, 2025 at 7pm. 120 W 69th St, New York, NY 10023. Free Admission

October 4 and 5: Premiere Performances of David Liptak's Suite for Strings by Cordancia Chamber Orchestra

Cordancia Chamber Orchestra will premiere David Liptak's Suite for Strings on October 4th and 5th in Rochester, New York. The composition is dedicated to David's wife Pia, who was one of the founders of the orchestra in 2009. For more information about Cordancia Chamber Orchestra and this pair of concerts, please consult Cordancia's website: https://www.cordancia.org.

Oct. 18: Marc Peloquin and KeyedUp Music present works by Copland, Thomson, and Allen Shawn

The 16th season of the KeyedUp MusicProject is set to begin on Saturday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m. at the National Opera Center in New York City. Each season features a concert that pianists Marc Peloquin and Roberto Hidalgo share. This year features a celebration of the 125th anniversary of Aaron Copland. Roberto will perform Copland’s Four Piano Blues and the solo piano version of El Salón Mexico.  Marc will be premiering the first full piano version of the suite from Copland’s famous ballet Billy the Kid. And a work for two pianists together, this event will feature a beautiful work by friend (and ACA composer) Allen Shawn titled Suite Parisienne, as well as a rarely performed piano four-hand version of Virgil Thomson’s Symphony No. 2.   Following the concert will be a festive artist-audience reception.

Oct. 12: Ring Shout Concerto by Frederick C. Tillis, Galveston Symphony Masterworks

Masterworks I: Resonance and Redemption

Experience the Texas premiere of the exhilarating Ring Shout Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra by Galveston native Dr. Frederick C. Tillis, performed by jazz percussionist Quincy Davis. This landmark work, composed for and originally premiered by Max Roach will make its long-awaited Texas debut — made all the more poignant by the fact that Dr. Tillis was one of the greatest BOI (Born on the Island) musicians of the last century. Music director and conductor Trond Saeverud will lead the orchestra.

The Grand 1894 Opera House
2020 Postoffice St.
Galveston, TX  77550

October 12, 2025, 4pm

Click on the link below for a fascinating podcast on Dr. Tillis, as well as fellow Galveston-raised musicians Louis "Blues Boy" Jones and Richard "Notes" Williams!

Podcast: Where Salt Air meets Sweet Sound

October 25: Nancy Van de Vate's Adagio for Orchestra celebrating Wellesley's 150th.

Adagio for Orchestra by Nancy Van de Vate is planned for performance on October 25th at Houghton Chapel, celebrating the 150th Anniversary Celebration of Wellesley College (Nancy's alma mater). 

October 17: Music of Richard Cameron-Wolfe in Antwerp, composer residency

During Richard Cameron-Wolfe’s forthcoming Nomads Collective October residency in Belgium, four of his compositions will be recorded for the Belgian “Evil Penguin” label: Iris - scuro/chiaro (2024), Code of Unsilence - a Prayer (2006), Roerich Rhapsody III (2020), and Lilith II (2011).

Nomads (arriving from six different countries) will then present three concerts – on Friday, October 17 at 8:00PM in Antwerp at the Love2Arts Gallery and then on Saturday and Sunday, a pair of invitation-only “salon” events in Bruxelles, hosted by MG Concerts and Maison Flagey. In addition to the four recorded works, Cameron-Wolfe’s ARQ: Region III – Refuge (2008) will be offered on the programs, along with works by Nomads members Wladimir Rosinskij and Mark Menzies.

The October 17 Antwerp event is billed as “a cornucopia of sonic adventures, featuring Trio Contrastes [cellist Ruslana Prokopenko, pianist Dasha Rosinskij-Propopenko and composer Wladimir Rosinskij], Grand Duo Inauthentica [violinist-violist-composer Mark Menzies and pianist Gayle Blankenburg], cellist Shuya Tanaka and composer Richard Cameron-Wolfe.”

The entry fee for October 17 is 20 Euros, students 5 Euros, and reservations can be made in advance at www.love2Arts.com Love2Arts, Desguinlei 90 – Antwerpen.

September 21: Steven Christopher Sacco, Piano Sonata No. 1 with David Oei's Classical Salon

David Oei's Salon features music of Steven Christopher Sacco, Ben Weber, Elliott Carter, and Dvorak, Sunday 9/21 at St John's in the Village.  

Sacco's Piano Sonata No 1. will be performed in its first performance in the US.  The program also features the Carter Elegy for viola and piano, a string trio by Ben Weber, and the incredible Dvorak Piano Quartet in E-flat Major.  

This concert is dedicated to the memory of William Komaiko (d.2025), a dear friend to so many of us.  

St Johns in the Village
218 W 11th St
New York, NY 10014

September 24: Music of Dorothy Rudd Moore at the Mannes Sounds Festival, New York City

September 24th at 7:30pm The Mannes Sounds Festival at the New School looks incredible this year! Presented by the College of Performing Arts at The New School, the festival's opening concert event, Solidarity in Dreams: Music and Poetry of Aspiration, Hope, and Wonder, features music by ACA's Dorothy Rudd Moore, as well as Florence Price, Chopin, Hans Krasa, Paul Moravec, Shostakovich, Valentin Silvestrov and Jazz favorites. 

Oct. 4 and 5 New Thread Quartet presents music by Marilyn Shrude, Georg Friedrich Haas, Hannah Kendall, James Tenney, and Hong-Da Chin.

Sep. 6: Robert Gibson's "The Sound of Light" at Lynn University Conservatory of Music

The Lynn University Wind Ensemble performs Robert Gibson's The Sound of Light on September 6, 2025 under the direction of Kenneth Amis, Conductor of the Wind Ensemble and Distinguished Artist in Residence in the Lynn University Conservatory of Music.

About the work, Gibson writes: "The title of my work, The Sound of Light, has many implications that relate to my thoughts while writing the piece: first, there is the fact that sound can literallybecome light under certain conditions in a technical process called   sonoluminescence. The fact that vibration can take the form of sound or light depending on frequency led me to imagine how light would sound, if I could hear it. These imaginings, of course, are of a very personal nature, and not meant to be literal or programmatic. Light exists at virtually all times with some degree of darkness, and this dynamic is very much a part of my composition."

Sep. 27: Karchin String Quartet No. 4 with the Bergamot Quartet

On Sept. 27, the Bergamot Quartet will perform the world premiere of Louis Karchin's String Quartet No. 4 as part of the sprawling Village Trip Festival. This is a new three-movement work to be performed alongside pieces by a multi-generational set of composers associated with New York City: Samuel Adler, Cheng Jin Koh and Eli Greenhoe. The concert will include the world premiere of Adler's latest work, Quartettsatz, written after celebrating his 97th birthday this past March. Younger composers Cheng Jin Koh and Eli Greenhoe will round out the program, with Ms. Koh appearing in her own work, Mountains of Echoing Halls, as guest soloist on yangqin.

Advance tickets available here: https://www.thevillagetrip.com/event/the-bergamot-quartet-three-world-premieres/

Robert Scott Thompson Expands Audio Post-Production Services

Robert Scott Thompson has recently launched a new website in support of his efforts in audio post-production. A significant aspect of this work includes support for professional composers who seek audio editing, mastering and post-production assistance for a variety of projects including personal website publication, broadcast, online streaming, CD creation and grant and fellowship applications. Detailed information can be found at: www.aucourantrecords.net.

September 14: David Liptak's Suite Premiered by Pianist Eunmi Ko

Pianist Eunmi Ko will premiere David Liptak’s Suite in a concert of new solo piano works on September 14th at Bowling Green State University. The program will also feature premiere performances of new pieces by Hearn Ch’qi, Daniel Pesca, and Tyler Kline, along with music by John Liberatore, Jared Redmond, and Robert Voisey. The concert is the first event of the For Eunmi project, featuring this and future concerts of solo piano music written for Eunmi Ko. More information about the project can be found at https://www.eunmiko.com/projects/for-eunmi.

August 18 and 19: Judith Shatin's works Kassia and Mariola at the Staunton Music Festival

Works b Judith Shatin to be performed at the Staunton Music Festival in Virginia, August 18 and 19. 

Mariola for viola and marimba will be performed on Mon., 8/18 at 3:00 p.m. by the Piedmont Duo (Ayn Balija and I-Jen Fang) at the Central United Methodist Church in Staunton, VA.

Kassia, scored for clarinet, harp and string quintet, will also be performed at the Staunton Music Festival on Tues, 8/19 at noon at the First Presbyterian Church in Staunton. Commissioned by the Pittsburgh-based Kassia ensemble, it reaches back across the centuries to their namesake, the 9th-C Abbess, poet and hymnographer (image). Several motifs from two of Kassia's most known 9th C. chants are woven into this contemporary piece.

New Album by Curtis Biggs

Wind Meditations, the new album of all original compositions by Curtis Biggs, is now available on all streaming and download platforms. Go to curtistrombone.com for liner notes and links.