On May 6 and 7, American Composers Orchestra will hold its 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings conducted by Music Director George Manahan at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Seven emerging composers were chosen from an international pool of more than 400 applicants from seven countries and 37 states ranging in age from 9 to 84. ACO’s Readings include two public events – a working rehearsal on May 6 at 10:30am, and a run-through performance on May 7 at 7:30pm. Both events are free and open to the public, giving audiences a chance to look behind the scenes at the process involved in bringing brand new orchestral music to life. The 24th Annual Underwood New Music Readings are under the direction of ACO’s Artistic Director, composer Derek Bermel, with mentor composers Gabriela Lena Frank,and Kevin Puts.
The conductors, mentor composers, and principal players from ACO provide critical feedback to each of the participants during and after the sessions, which will be professionally recorded. One composer from the Underwood New Music Readings will be chosen to receive a $15,000 commission to write a new piece for ACO, to be premiered during the orchestra’s 2016-2017 season. In addition, on both May 6 and 7, audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces, and the composer chosen as the “Audience Choice” winner will be commissioned to compose an original mobile phone ringtone. The ringtone will be available free of charge to everyone who voted.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS:
The Underwood New Music Readings also offer composers, students, or anyone interested in learning more about the business of being a composer a Career Development Workshop on Thursday, May 7 from 10am-4pm at the DiMenna Center. These invaluable talks, led by leaders in the industry, provide information ranging from copyright and commission agreements, to music preparation, to promotion, and fundraising.
The workshops are a practical guide for any composer wishing to gain a better understanding of these critical aspects to success as a composer today. Previously only available to participants in the Readings, ACO has made a limited number of spaces available to aspiring composers from the community for a small registration fee.
The cost for the Seminar is $30, which includes lunch. Reservations required.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP Thursday May 7, 2015 from 10-4
Cary Hall @ The DiMenna Center
topics include:
Copyright and Commissioning Basics James Kendrick, Esq. (Alter & Kendrick) LLP
Be Prepared: Introduction to professional score and parts production Bill Holab, Principal & Owner, Bill Holab Music Services
Support Structures for Composers Ed Harsh, President and CEO, New Music USA
John Nuechterlein, President and CEO, American Composers Forum
Publicity and Promotion Christina Jensen, principal, Christina Jensen PR
Jessica Lustig, managing director, 21C Media Group
Steven Swartz, founder and partner, dotdotdotmusic
Frank J. Oteri, Composer Advocate, New Music USA, moderator
Getting It Out There: What’s Going on in the Recording Industry Anyway?Programming Yourself in Today’s Market – panel discussion Sean Hickey, NAXOS USA
Frank J. Oteri, New Music USA
John Nuechterlein, American Composers Forum
Support for the Underwood New Music Readings comes from Paul Underwood, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. The project also receives public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
The New York Philharmonic and American Composers Orchestra, in collaboration with ACO’s EarShot: the National Orchestra Composition Discovery Network, announce the selection of six emerging composers from an international pool of more than 400 applicants from seven countries and 37 states ranging in age from 9 to 84, whose original scores for orchestra have been chosen for readings and performances by the Philharmonic as part of the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL.
New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the Philharmonic in a closed reading session of six works on June 3, at which the participants and mentor composers will be present. Three pieces will be selected to be performed on NY PHIL BIENNIAL concerts taking place on June 5 and 7, with Alan Gilbert conducting, and on June 6, with Matthias Pintcher conducting, at Avery Fisher Hall. Alan Gilbert will meet with the participating composers before the June 3 reading, take part in feedback meetings along with Philharmonic musicians and mentor composers, and meet individually with the three composers whose works are selected. The mentor composers for the New York Philharmonic EarShot Readings are Christopher Rouse, Steve Mackey, Derek Bermel, Robert Beaser, and Matthias Pintscher.
“The New York Philharmonic’s presentation of works discovered through the EarShot composition discovery program is a particularly important and gratifying element of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL,” Alan Gilbert said. “Our goal for this project is to share with our audience the freshest music from new voices today. When we announced the call for scores we had no idea what it would yield. We were overwhelmed by the more than 400 submissions we received, and it was quite a challenge to hone them down to six for the Orchestra to read — I can honestly say that I have no idea which three will be selected to be performed on our concerts. Supporting new compositions and composers is imperative in keeping orchestras and classical music vital, and on a personal level, it fills me with great joy to be able to work with emerging composers to give them a platform for discovery.”
Michael Geller, president of ACO, adds: “American Composers Orchestra is excited to extend our role as a catalyst for emerging American composers by collaborating with the New York Philharmonic, whose NY PHIL BIENNIAL has a mission kindred to our own.” Geller Continues, “We are also delighted to partner with the Philharmonic in its own readings program under the auspices of EarShot, the National Orchestra Composition Discovery Network. The New York Philharmonic is joining a growing roster of orchestras across the country in working with Earshot to connect to the next generation of great new composers and bring their music to their musicians and audiences.”
The New York Philharmonic Readings are organized in partnership with EarShot, a program of the American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with the American Composers Forum, League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot helps orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the early stages of their careers. EarShot advises organizations on the programs that would best suit their new-composer needs — from new-music readings to composer residencies and competitions — and assists with planning, identifying composers through its extensive nationwide calls, and program design and execution.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS:
The Underwood New Music Readings also offer composers, students, or anyone interested in learning more about the business of being a composer a Career Development Seminar on Saturday, June 7 from 10am-4pm at the DiMenna Center. These invaluable talks, led by leaders in the industry, provide information ranging from copyright and commission agreements, to music preparation, to promotion, and fundraising.
The workshops are a practical guide for any composer wishing to gain a better understanding of these critical aspects to success as a composer today. Previously only available to participants in the Readings, ACO has made a limited number of spaces available to aspiring composers from the community for a small registration fee.
The cost for the Seminar is $25, which includes lunch. Reservations required.
Topics Include:
Copyright and Commissioning Basics – C. Katherine Baron, Esq., Alter & Kendrick, LLP
Be Prepared: Introduction to professional score and parts production– Bill Holab, Principal, Bill Holab Music Services, president
Support Structures for Composers– John Nuechterlein, President and CEO, American Composers Forum & Ed Harsh, President and CEO, New Music USA Publicity and Promotion– Christina Jensen, Principal, Christina Jensen PR and others from New York Philharmonic Staff to be determined Reality Check: The Real Way Orchestra Programming Gets Done (and how to get in on it)– guest composers and administrators panel discussion moderated by Frank J. Oteri, composer advocate and senior editor, NewMusicBox
This event is part of the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a Musical Playground of the Here and Now
The New York Philharmonic EarShot New Music Readings are made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
On June 6 and 7, American Composers Orchestra will hold its 23rd annual Underwood New Music Readings conducted by Music Director George Manahan at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Seven emerging composers were chosen from an international pool of more than 400 applicants from seven countries and 37 states ranging in age from 9 to 84. ACO’s Readings include two public events – a working rehearsal on June 6 at 10am, and a run-through performance on June 7 at 7:30pm. Both events are free and open to the public, giving audiences a chance to look behind the scenes at the process involved in bringing brand new orchestral music to life. The 23rd Annual Underwood New Music Readings are under the direction of ACO’s Artistic Director, composer Derek Bermel, with ACO’s Artistic Director Laureate Robert Beaser, Olly Wilson,and Julia Wolfe as mentor composers.
The conductors, mentor composers, and principal players from ACO provide critical feedback to each of the participants during and after the sessions, which will be professionally recorded. One composer from the Underwood New Music Readings will be chosen to receive a $15,000 commission to write a new piece for ACO, to be premiered during the orchestra’s 2015-2016 season. In addition, on both June 6 and 7, audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces, and the composer chosen as the “Audience Choice” winner will be commissioned to compose an original mobile phone ringtone. The ringtone will be available free of charge to everyone who voted.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS:
The Underwood New Music Readings also offer composers, students, or anyone interested in learning more about the business of being a composer a Career Development Seminar on Saturday, June 7 from 10am-4pm at the DiMenna Center. These invaluable talks, led by leaders in the industry, provide information ranging from copyright and commission agreements, to music preparation, to promotion, and fundraising.
The workshops are a practical guide for any composer wishing to gain a better understanding of these critical aspects to success as a composer today. Previously only available to participants in the Readings, ACO has made a limited number of spaces available to aspiring composers from the community for a small registration fee.
The cost for the Seminar is $25, which includes lunch. Reservations required.
Topics Include:
Copyright and Commissioning Basics – C. Katherine Baron, Esq., Alter & Kendrick, LLP
Be Prepared: Introduction to professional score and parts production– Bill Holab, Principal, Bill Holab Music Services, president
Support Structures for Composers– John Nuechterlein, President and CEO, American Composers Forum & Ed Harsh, President and CEO, New Music USA Publicity and Promotion– Christina Jensen, Principal, Christina Jensen PR and others from New York Philharmonic Staff to be determined Reality Check: The Real Way Orchestra Programming Gets Done (and how to get in on it)– guest composers and administrators panel discussion moderated by Frank J. Oteri, composer advocate and senior editor, NewMusicBox
This event is part of the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a Musical Playground of the Here and Now.
Support for the Underwood New Music Readings comes from Paul Underwood, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. The project also receives public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
The New York Philharmonic and American Composers Orchestra, in collaboration with ACO’s EarShot: the National Orchestra Composition Discovery Network, announce the selection of six emerging composers from an international pool of more than 400 applicants from seven countries and 37 states ranging in age from 9 to 84, whose original scores for orchestra have been chosen for readings and performances by the Philharmonic as part of the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL.
New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the Philharmonic in a closed reading session of six works on June 3, at which the participants and mentor composers will be present. Three pieces will be selected to be performed on NY PHIL BIENNIAL concerts taking place on June 5 and 7, with Alan Gilbert conducting, and on June 6, with Matthias Pintcher conducting, at Avery Fisher Hall. Alan Gilbert will meet with the participating composers before the June 3 reading, take part in feedback meetings along with Philharmonic musicians and mentor composers, and meet individually with the three composers whose works are selected. The mentor composers for the New York Philharmonic EarShot Readings are Christopher Rouse, Steve Mackey, Derek Bermel, Robert Beaser, and Matthias Pintscher.
“The New York Philharmonic’s presentation of works discovered through the EarShot composition discovery program is a particularly important and gratifying element of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL,” Alan Gilbert said. “Our goal for this project is to share with our audience the freshest music from new voices today. When we announced the call for scores we had no idea what it would yield. We were overwhelmed by the more than 400 submissions we received, and it was quite a challenge to hone them down to six for the Orchestra to read — I can honestly say that I have no idea which three will be selected to be performed on our concerts. Supporting new compositions and composers is imperative in keeping orchestras and classical music vital, and on a personal level, it fills me with great joy to be able to work with emerging composers to give them a platform for discovery.”
Michael Geller, president of ACO, adds: “American Composers Orchestra is excited to extend our role as a catalyst for emerging American composers by collaborating with the New York Philharmonic, whose NY PHIL BIENNIAL has a mission kindred to our own.” Geller Continues, “We are also delighted to partner with the Philharmonic in its own readings program under the auspices of EarShot, the National Orchestra Composition Discovery Network. The New York Philharmonic is joining a growing roster of orchestras across the country in working with Earshot to connect to the next generation of great new composers and bring their music to their musicians and audiences.”
The New York Philharmonic Readings are organized in partnership with EarShot, a program of the American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with the American Composers Forum, League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot helps orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the early stages of their careers. EarShot advises organizations on the programs that would best suit their new-composer needs — from new-music readings to composer residencies and competitions — and assists with planning, identifying composers through its extensive nationwide calls, and program design and execution.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS:
The Underwood New Music Readings also offer composers, students, or anyone interested in learning more about the business of being a composer a Career Development Seminar on Saturday, June 7 from 10am-4pm at the DiMenna Center. These invaluable talks, led by leaders in the industry, provide information ranging from copyright and commission agreements, to music preparation, to promotion, and fundraising.
The workshops are a practical guide for any composer wishing to gain a better understanding of these critical aspects to success as a composer today. Previously only available to participants in the Readings, ACO has made a limited number of spaces available to aspiring composers from the community for a small registration fee.
The cost for the Seminar is $25, which includes lunch. Reservations required.
Copyright and Commissioning Basics – C. Katherine Baron, Esq., Alter & Kendrick, LLP
Be Prepared: Introduction to professional score and parts production– Bill Holab, Principal, Bill Holab Music Services, president
Support Structures for Composers– John Nuechterlein, President and CEO, American Composers Forum & Ed Harsh, President and CEO, New Music USA Publicity and Promotion– Christina Jensen, Principal, Christina Jensen PR and others from New York Philharmonic Staff to be determined Reality Check: The Real Way Orchestra Programming Gets Done (and how to get in on it)– guest composers and administrators panel discussion moderated by Frank J. Oteri, composer advocate and senior editor, NewMusicBox
This event is part of the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a Musical Playground of the Here and Now
The New York Philharmonic EarShot New Music Readings are made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Reading Series Submission Deadline: August 30, 2013 Readings: February 2-3 & May 4-5, 2014
Berkeley Symphony, Joana Carneiro, music director, in cooperation with EarShot, is pleased to invite applications for the 2014 Under Construction Reading Series. Three emerging composers will be selected to participate from a national candidate pool. Each will compose a new 10-minute work for orchestra, and have the opportunity to have the new piece workshopped, rehearsed and read by Berkeley Symphony, in two reading sessions on February 2 and May 4, 2014.
Composers will receive artistic and career guidance from the Symphony artistic staff, orchestra musicians, and renowned mentor-composers Edmund Campion and Robert Beaser, to further develop professional skills. Composers selected will be responsible for delivering score and parts and attending both session dates with the Berkeley Symphony. Composers will receive a recording of their work for archival and study purposes. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Applications and submitted works for the Berkeley Symphony Readings are due by August 30, 2013. Please see below for submission procedures and guidelines.
Hailed as “the Bay Area’s most adventurous orchestra” by the Contra Costa Times, Berkeley Symphony has established a reputation for presenting major new works for orchestra alongside fresh interpretations of the classical European repertoire. It has been recognized with an Adventurous Programming Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in eight of the past ten seasons.
About EarShot
Under Construction is part of EarShot: the nationwide network of new music readings and composer-development programs. The goals of EarShot are to create the nation’s first ongoing systematic program for identifying emerging orchestral composers; to provide professional-level working experience with orchestras from every region of the country; and to increase awareness of these composers and access to their music throughout the industry. EarShot is a partnership of American Composers Orchestra, American Composers Forum, New Music USA, and the League of American Orchestras.
EarShot is made possible with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
New Music Readings for African-American Composers Submission Deadline: October 11, 2013 Readings: March 9-10, 2014
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, Music Director, and EarShot announce DSO New Music Readings to be held in conjunction with the DSO’s “Classical Roots” celebration March 9-10, 2014, in Detroit, MI. The Readings will provide up to four emerging African-American composers the opportunity to work closely with the nationally acclaimed DSO under the baton of music director Leonard Slatkin.
Composers will be selected for the readings on a competitive basis. The experience will include feedback from DSO musicians, Maestro Slatkin, and mentor composers Bright Sheng, Gabriela Lena Frank, Derek Bermel, and Carman Moore. In addition, professional development workshops with leading professionals in the field will be offered.
Composers selected will be responsible for delivering professional-quality score and parts. Composers will receive a recording of their work for archival and study purposes. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Submissions are due by Friday, October 11, 2013. Please see below for submission procedures and guidelines. There is no application fee.
The internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in December 2012, is known for trailblazing performances, visionary maestros, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and an unwavering commitment to Detroit. Esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin, called “America’s Music Director” by the Los Angeles Times, became the 12th Music Director of the DSO in 2008. The DSO’s performance schedule includes Classical, Pops, Jazz, Young People’s, Neighborhood concerts, and collaborations with chart-topping musicians from Smokey Robinson to Kid Rock. A commitment to broadcast innovation began in 1922 when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a radio broadcast and continues today with the free Live from Orchestra Hall webcast series. Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, one of America’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact and serve the community through music. DSO has a special commitment to honoring African-American contributions to classical music, hosting “Classical Roots” for the last 34 years.
About EarShot
The DSO ‘Classical Roots’ Readings are part of EarShot: the nationwide network of new music readings and composer-development programs. The goals of EarShot are to create the nation’s first ongoing systematic program for identifying emerging orchestral composers; to provide professional-level working experience with orchestras from every region of the country; and to increase awareness of these composers and access to their music throughout the industry. EarShot is a partnership of American Composers Orchestra, American Composers Forum, New Music USA, and the League of American Orchestras.
EarShot is made possible with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
New York Philharmonic EarShot New Music Readings Submission Deadline: December 2, 2013 Readings: June 3, 2014 Performances: June 5-7, 2014
New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, music director, in cooperation with EarShot, is pleased to invite applications for the New York Philharmonic New Music Readings to be held in conjunction with the 2014 NY PHIL BIENNIAL. Composers will be selected for the readings on a competitive basis. Each work will be read in an open rehearsal on Tuesday, June 3, followed by feedback from principal New York Philharmonic musicians, Maestro Gilbert, and mentor composers Christopher Rouse, Steven Mackey, Robert Beaser and Derek Bermel. Three of the works included in the Readings will be selected to be performed as part of the Philharmonic’s subscription concerts later that week, on June 5, 6 and 7, 2014. (One performance for each work.) Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Submissions must be received by December 2, 2013.
Founded in 1842 the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. It currently plays some 180 concerts a year, and has given more than 15,000 concerts. Alan Gilbert began his tenure as Music Director in September 2009, the latest in a distinguished line of musical giants that has included Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, and Leonard Bernstein. Since its inception the Orchestra has championed the new music of its time, commissioning or premiering many important works, such as Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World; Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3; Gershwin’s Concerto in F; and Copland’s Connotations. This pioneering tradition has continued to the present day, with works of major contemporary composers regularly scheduled each season, including John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy Award–winning On the Transmigration of Souls; Melinda Wagner’s Trombone Concerto; Wynton Marsalis’s Swing Symphony (Symphony No. 3); Christopher Rouse’s Odna Zhizn; John Corigliano’s One Sweet Morning, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra; Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 2; as well as 14 works in CONTACT!, the new-music series.
About EarShot
EarShot is the nationwide network of new music readings and composer-development programs. The goals of EarShot are to create the nation’s first ongoing systematic program for identifying emerging orchestral composers; to provide professional-level working experience with orchestras from every region of the country; and to increase awareness of these composers and access to their music throughout the industry. EarShot is a partnership of American Composers Orchestra, American Composers Forum, New Music USA, and the League of American Orchestras.
EarShot is made possible with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
Derek Bermel Named Artistic Director & Music Director George Manahan Re-Ups
Derek Bermel has been named ACO’s new Artistic Director, becoming the top composer in ACO’s artistic leadership. Meanwhile, conductor George Manahan has renewed his commitment as Music Director, with a new five-year contract.
Bermel has been ACO’s Creative Advisor since 2009, and succeeds composer Robert Beaser who has been served as an artistic leader with ACO since 1993.
Departing Artistic Director Robert Beaser has dedicated over twenty years to the orchestra, and will continue as ACO’s Artistic Advisor Laureate. Executive Director Michael Geller said, “ACO and the entire community of composers owe a great debt to Bob. He has been a key member of ACO’s artistic team for over 20 years, and helped shape programs during the tenures of three ACO principal conductors. His work in launching and guiding our New Music Readings for 22 years has provided mentorship and career-building experience to over 100 young composers. I am thrilled that Bob will continue to play an integral role on ACO’s board, as artistic advisor laureate.”
Derek also just finished his residency at the Institute for Advanced Study, and as Director of Copland House’s Cultivate. Bermel, an “eclectic with wide open ears” (Toronto Star), has become recognized as a dynamic and unconventional curator of concert series that spotlight the composer as performer. Alongside his international studies of ethnomusicology and orchestration, an ongoing engagement with other musical cultures has become part of the fabric and force of his compositional language, in which the human voice and its myriad inflections play a primary role.
Bermel first came to ACO’s attention as a participant in the Whitaker Emerging Composers Readings with his piece Dust Dances in 1994. ACO has provided Bermel with numerous commissions and premieres including his first professional orchestral commission, and his Carnegie Hall debut, with his clarinet concerto Voices, which premiered in 1998; the commission and premiere of A Shout, A Whisper, and a Trace (2009); Elixir (2006); and The Migration Series with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which premiered to sold-out audiences in 2006. Bermel was ACO’s Music Alive Composer-in-Residence from 2006-09 and later joined ACO’s board and became the orchestra’s Creative Advisor in 2009.
Among his major accomplishments, Bermel excels at programming the innovative Orchestra Underground series at Carnegie Hall which has reinvented and reinvigorated the orchestra with dozens of premieres featuring new technology, multidisciplinary collaborations, and new influences not often encountered in the symphonic concert hall; and SONiC, Sounds of a New Century Festival (2011) that featured 21st century music by 120 emerging composers. Bermel has also been active in several of ACO’s composer development initiatives including serving as a mentor for the Underwood New Music Readings and EarShot programs, and serving as an artist-faculty member for the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute.
In addition to his commissions from American Composers Orchestra, he has received commissions from the Pittsburgh, National, Saint Louis, and Pacific Symphonies, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, WNYC Radio, eighth blackbird, the Guarneri String Quartet, Music from Copland House and Music from China, De Ereprijs (Netherlands), Jazz Xchange (U.K.), violinist Midori, electric guitarist Wiek Hijmans among others. Bermel’s clarinet playing has been hailed by The New York Times as “brilliant,” “rhythmically fluid, rich-hued” and “first-rate.”
George Manahan, Music Director
Music Director George Manahan, who joined ACO in 2010, said of his five-year renewal with the orchestra, “Nothing could make me happier than to be continuing as Music Director of ACO. For me the work is one of constant discovery and enjoyment. In no other conducting job do I get to explore so much new work. It certainly keeps me on my toes! And the ACO musicians are phenomenal. Nowhere else have I experienced the level of collaboration, commitment and experience that our players bring to new music. I can’t wait to see what surprises next season brings.” In addition to his work with ACO this season, Manahan continues his commitment to working with young musicians as Director of Orchestral Studies at the Manhattan School of Music as well as guest conductor at the Curtis Institute of Music.
Manahan was Music Director at New York City Opera for fourteen seasons. There he helped envision the organization’s groundbreaking VOX program, a series of workshops and readings that have provided unique opportunities for numerous composers to hear their new concepts realized, and introduced audiences to exciting new compositional voices. In addition to established composers such as Mark Adamo, David Del Tredici, Lewis Spratlan, Robert X. Rodriguez, Lou Harrison, Bernard Rands, and Richard Danielpour, through VOX Manahan has introduced works by composers on the rise including Adam Silverman, Elodie Lauten, Mason Bates, and David T. Little.
In May 2011 Manahan was honored by the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) for his “career-long advocacy for American composers and the music of our time has enriched and enabled Concert Music both at home and abroad.” His recent Carnegie Hall performance of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra was hailed by audiences and critics alike. The New York Times reported, “the fervent and sensitive performance that Mr. Manahan presided over made the best case for this opera that I have encountered.”
George Manahan’s wide-ranging recording activities include the premiere recording of Steve Reich’s Tehillim for ECM; recordings of Edward Thomas’s Desire Under the Elms, which was nominated for a Grammy; Joe Jackson’s Will Power; and Tobias Picker’s Emmeline. His enthusiasm for contemporary music continues today; he has conducted numerous world premieres, including Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, David Lang’s Modern Painters, and the New York premiere of Richard Danielpour’s Margaret Garner. As music director of the Richmond Symphony (VA) for twelve years, he was honored four times by the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) for his commitment to 20th century music.
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This event is part of the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a Musical Playground of the Here and Now.
Bermel has been ACO’s Creative Advisor since 2009, and succeeds composer Robert Beaser who has been served as an artistic leader with ACO since 1993.
Music Director George Manahan, who joined ACO in 2010, said of his five-year renewal with the orchestra, “Nothing could make me happier than to be continuing as Music Director of ACO. For me the work is one of constant discovery and enjoyment. In no other conducting job do I get to explore so much new work. It certainly keeps me on my toes! And the ACO musicians are phenomenal. Nowhere else have I experienced the level of collaboration, commitment and experience that our players bring to new music. I can’t wait to see what surprises next season brings.” In addition to his work with ACO this season, Manahan continues his commitment to working with young musicians as Director of Orchestral Studies at the Manhattan School of Music as well as guest conductor at the Curtis Institute of Music.