News and Events

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. 

July 18: CompCord Ensemble In Rome

A performance of “When will You dry our eyes? for alto saxophone and piano will be performed by saxophonist Todd Rewoldt and pianist Todd Rewoldt at Mark Kostabi’s Villa in Rome, Italy. Composers Concordance presents a Salon Concert at Kostabi Villa – Rome, Italy Composers Concordance is pleased to present an intimate salon event at the beautiful Kostabi Villa in Rome, Italy. This chamber music soirée will feature performances by the CompCord Ensemble: Tasos Papastamou – violin Todd Rewoldt – alto saxophone Gene Pritsker – guitar Lesi Mei – piano Mark Kostabi – piano Lloyd Haber – percussion Tony Esposito – percussion Robert C. Ford – poet/narration The program will showcase works by Gene Pritsker, Mark Kostabi, Tasos Papastamou, Lloyd Haber, Gilbert Galindo, and Tony Esposito. Friday July 18th at 7pm (1pm EST) Free Event

August 2025: Lawrence Dillon's String Quartet No. 7 Consensus, at the Banff Intl String Quartet Competition

Michael Dellaira's New "U.S.A. - A Radio Opera"

Earlier this year Michael Dellaira acquired the operatic rights to John Dos Passos's great American novel "U.S.A.”  “U.S.A.” spans the years from 1901- 1929, as much of the modern world we take for granted was just coming into being.  Dellaira imagines an audience hearing his new opera, "U.S.A. – a Radio Opera" huddled around a parlor radio, creating the characters in one’s mind through the music and sounds coming from the radio’s loudspeaker, rather than from costumes, sets, lighting or stage directions.  The premiere is expected to be a joint production of the Marshall Opera Company and the New York City choral group, Cantori.  Last month U.S.A. – a Radio Opera was accepted as an official project for fiscal sponsorship by the New York State Foundation for the Arts.

Michael Dellaira's "Arctic Explorations" to be Released on Naxos in November

Michael Dellaira's one-act "folk opera", ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS, will be released this November on the Naxos label.  Scored for chorus, 5 soloists and an ensemble of clarinet, violin, viola, guitar, banjo, double bass and percussion, ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS was a joint commission from New Amsterdam Singers and Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre. This live recording of the world premiere in March, 2024 at the Theater at St. Jean's in New York City, features the New Amsterdam Singers and the Harlem Chamber Players, with Colin Levin as Elisha Kent Kane; Nicole Haslett as Maggie Fox; Erin Brittain as Lady Jane Franklin; Michael Celentano as President Zachary Taylor; and Greenlandic drum-dancer Nuka Alice as the Inuit shaman Siarnaq.  Conducted by Clara Longstreth, with stage direction by Kira Simring.

June 20: Harvey Sollberger recording project completed, on Arabesque label

Recordings of music by Harvey Sollberger are complete in a worldwide release on Arabesque Records. Funding was provided by a grant from the Group for Contemporary Music. The project was managed for the composer by Gina Genova at American Composers Alliance, and Atlanta-based audio engineer-composer Robert Scott Thompson at Au Courant Media.  

The first album, "Harvey Sollberger, composer" contains recordings of five works written in the years between 1975 and 1993. Overall, they comprise a concentrated chunk of the more than 90 pieces Sollberger has composed.

The Advancing Moment (1993) performed by the SONOR Ensemble, University of California San Diego; John Fonville: flute, piccolo, and alto flute Robert Zelickman: clarinet and bass clarinet; Erik Ulman: violin, Peter Farrell: cello, Aleck Karis: piano; and Steven Schick: percussion, with Harvey Sollberger: conductor.  Aurelian Echoes (1989) features Cathy Comrie and Patricia Spencer on flute and alto flute, duo. Original substance/ manifests/ traces I (1987) features Indiana University New Music Ensemble with Harvey Sollberger, flute, and J. Mark Scearce: conductor.  Met him pike hoses (1979) is a duo for flute and violin, with Cathy Comrie, and Andrew Wise. Flutes and Drums (1977) completes the album with a large sound featuring a mix of The Group for Contemporary Music and The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble.

The second album, "Harvey Sollberger, flute" contains four works. Known as a virtuosic flutist, his 2nd album release of the series features an "early" work (c. 1963) of a live concert performance of Pierre Boulez’s “Sonatine” for flute and piano which Sollberger performed with Charles Wuorinen; A “middle period work” is a 1987 studio recording of Sollberger's own “Hara” for solo alto flute; And a “later” recording here includes a 2007 recording of two solo flute works: the elegant  “Partita” in A-Minor of Bach and the powerhouse "Tetratkys" by Giacinto Scelsi. 

The third release is a double album, released digitally, Harvey Sollberger, Fourteen Works, contains 23 tracks, starting with the New York New Music Ensemble's recording of Sollberger's 7-movement work, Obsessions (2008). Following this is a one-movement work nearly 20 minutes in duration, As Things Are and Become (1972) performed by members of the Group for Contemporary Music: Rolf Schulte, violin; Jacob Glick, viola; and Fred Sherry, cello. Thin Music / Thick Music is performed by the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, David Dzubay, conductor.

Three or four things I know about the oboe (1986) features James Ostryniec, oboe with the Group for Contemporary Music players.  Quodlibitudes for solo flute (1987) also featuring Harvey, tracks before the Silent Film Suite, performed by Red Cedar Chamber Music: Jan Boland, flute and piccolo; John Dowdall, guitar; and Carey Bostian, cello. 

Mural for piano 4-hands (2014) is performed by Duo Runedako: Daniel Koppelman and Ruth Neville, pianists. Iron Mountain Song (1971) is performed by  Ronald Anderson, trumpet and Aleck Karis, piano. Music for Sophocles Antigone (1968) was recorded in New York City, with narrator-actor William Beckwith, featuring an electronic sound background by Sollberger. The text is an excerpt from Three Choruses of "Antigone" by Sophocles, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. 

The Catskill Woodwind Quintet recorded Humble Heart (1982), featuring Floyd Hebert, flute; Rene Prins, oboe; Timothy Perry, clarinet; Stephen Walt, bassoon; and Julia Hasbrouck Clay, horn. Two Oboes Troping features Peggy Pearson on oboe, followed by Compositions (1961) featuring Harvey Sollberger, flute; Joel Krosnik, cello; and Charles Wuorinen, piano.

Taking Measures (1987) is the last work on the album, featuring Benjamin Hudson, violin; and James Winn, piano.  

Active as a musician for 82 years (as of 2024), Harvey Sollberger in 1942, at the age of four, began to study the accordion under the tutelage of Elmer Young, a dance band leader in hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The following year won radio station WMT’s Rath Talent Revue competition performing “The Prune Song.” Flute studies began: 1949. Winner of the Major Landers Award of the Iowa Bandmasters Association: 1956. Composition studies at the University of Iowa: 1958 – 1960. Moved to New York City for composition studies at Columbia University: 1960. In May, 1961 performed in a concert of Edgard Varese’s works conducted by Robert Craft at Town Hall, NYC. In January, 1962 performed Stefan Wolpe’s “Piece in Two Parts” for flute and piano with David Tudor on a NYC ISCM concert. Shortly thereafter performed the alto flute part of Pierre Boulez’s “Le marteau sans maitre” in Carnegie Hall, Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, and Cambridge. Varese and Stefan Wolpe were major influences at this time.

Scores are available at ACA.

June 22: Steven Christopher Sacco's Trio No 3, at St. John's in the Village

The David Oei Classical Salon coming up for June 22 will include music by Schubert, Stravinsky, and Trio No 3, for violin, cello, and piano by Steven Christopher Sacco. Artists include David Oei, Eriko Sato, Ben Larsen, and Chin Kim. 

June 22, 2025 - 3pm
St. John’s in the Village
218 West 11th Street, New York, NY

Joel Gressel computer music, album release on Ravello, August 22

June 1: Daniel Brewbaker's Violin Concerto featured at UC Davis, with Rachel Lee Priday, violin

Playing and Being Played, a concerto for violin and orchestra by Daniel Brewbaker, was performed on June 1, 2025 at the Mondavi Arts Center, at UC Davis. The soloist was Rachel Lee Priday, and the orchestra was conducted by Christian Baldini.

A celebration of the concerto form, this program unusually presented three very different concertos on one program. Through these specific works, composers make broader human connections beyond the concert space. 

Gershwin famously folded jazz — exploding in popularity at the time — into the orchestra with the piano at center.

Daniel Brewbaker took inspiration from 12th century poet Sufi, asking: Is the violinist playing the violin or the violin playing the violinist?

Eliza Brown vividly connected, in one ten-minute soaring work, her mother’s favorite music with Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” with the essence of both her own (and her mother’s) musical spirit.

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.   

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. 

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!

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: 5^th 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. 

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.

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.

Friday, May 9, 2025
7:30 PM
Kaufman Music Center 129 West 67th Street New York, NY, 10023