#WeAreNewMusic Spotlight:
Clarice Assad

Clarice Assad Photo Courtesy: Clarice Assad

Clarice Assad Photo: Marcelo Macauê

Brazilian-born, Chicago based composer, arranger, pianist, and singer Clarice Assad comes from an illustrious musical family and continues in their footsteps while at the same time constantly expanding her own musical vocabulary that embraces classical music, jazz, and numerus Brazilian popular music traditions. Over the past decade, New Music USA has supported her orchestral commissions, various educational projects, and her forays into opera.

Clarice discusses New Music USA’s impact:

“Funding for new music projects can be a complex world to navigate, as they are often multi-sourced. New Music USA makes this process more tangible for composers and organizations with a vision and a desire to work together.

New Music USA has encouraged me tremendously throughout several endeavors involving educational projects, orchestral commissions, and Experiments in Opera from 2014 to 2020. It is challenging to pinpoint the most important as many became high points in my life as a composer, educator, and performer.

As a woman composer, in a profession that has historically comprised mainly of men, receiving support from New Music USA at least four times during the past ten years has been a positive reminder of how important they value equality in our field.”