#WeAreNewMusic Spotlight:
Derrick Skye
Derrick Skye, artistic director of chamber music ensemble and arts organization Bridge to Everywhere, creates music that breaks down barriers between musical genres through exploring musical elements from cultural traditions from around the world as well as electronics in the context of contemporary classical music performance. Over the past decade he has participated in New Music USA’s Music Alive Program and has contributed to our web magazine NewMusicBox.
Derrick discusses New Music USA’s impact:
“Support from New Music USA was one of the most influential contributions to the beginnings of my professional career. Aside from the funding, the connections with the classical community I was able to form, especially through the Music Alive: New Partnerships program, have continued to lead to other meaningful projects. Not only has my music been supported, but there was also space for me to express my ideas when NewMusicBox reprinted my article titled “What Does It Mean to be American?” New Music USA has had a lasting impact on the development of my career in the last ten years.
Looking ahead at the next ten years, I hope to see the new music community broaden, with more collaborations across cultures and disciplines. I would also love to see the classical community in particular become more comfortable incorporating electronics as a standard practice. I hope music continues to be a powerful force that brings people together, building bridges between languages, cultures, and people.”