| New York, NY — May 29, 2026 — Composers Concordance presents CompCord Polka Band, the closing event of the 14th Annual CompCord Festival: Comedy, on Friday, May 29 at 7:00 PM at Loft393 (393 Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York City). Blending contemporary composition, folk traditions, political satire, and theatrical performance, the concert transforms the polka into a vehicle for social commentary, absurdist humor, and musical rebellion.
At a time when political discourse often veers toward the surreal, the program responds with music that is equally incisive and outrageous. Through exaggerated gestures, subversive texts, and playful distortions of vernacular traditions, these works confront power structures while reveling in the comic.
The evening features compositions by Natasha Bogojevich, Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Lara St. John, Eugene W. McBride, Ginka Mizuki, Gene Pritsker, Jay Rozen, William Schimmel, Marina Vesic, Joseph Martin Waters, and Stefan Zeniuk, with featured works including:
- Grab That Pussy Polka – Gene Pritsker
- Let’s (All Now) Yodel! – William Schimmel
- The Little Room Behind Your Left Ear – Joseph Martin Waters
- Polka – Eugene W. McBride
Performed by the CompCord Polka Band:
- Charles Coleman, vocals
- Michiyo Suzuki, clarinet
- Stefan Zeniuk, saxophone
- William Schimmel, accordion
- Jay Rozen, tuba
- Cesare Papetti, drums
- Max Pollak, dance
As the culminating event of this year’s CompCord Festival: Comedy, the concert underscores the festival’s exploration of humor not as diversion, but as a profound artistic and political strategy. Through irony, absurdity, and exuberant collective performance, CompCord Polka Band asks what happens when protest learns to dance.
This concert will also be live-streamed, check Composers Concordance’s Facebook Pagemfor link
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Event Details
What: CompCord Polka Band
When: Friday, May 29th at 7pm
Where: Loft393 – 393 Broadway (2nd floor), NYC
Composers
Natasha Bogojevich, Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Lara St. John, Eugene W. McBride, Ginka Mizuki, Gene Pritsker, Jay Rozen, William Schimmel, Marina Vesic, Joseph Martin Waters, and Stefan Zeniuk, with featured works including:
Performers
CompCord Polka Band:
Charles Coleman, vocals
Michiyo Suzuki, clarinet
Stefan Zeniuk, saxophone
William Schimmel, accordion
Jay Rozen, tuba
Cesare Papetti, drums
Max Pollak, dance
TICKETS
$30 at the door, $20 in advance
Facebook
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Staying in rotation for 42 years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past but also an ethic of keeping one’s ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene. Composers Concordance, founded in 1984 by Joseph Pehrson and Patrick Hardish, advised by Otto Luening, strives to present contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. Directors Gene Pritsker and Dan Cooper co-curate the programs and lead the CompCord Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Big Band. Associate Directors are Milica Paranosic, Peter Jarvis, Debra Kaye, Seth Boustead, and Audrey Morse. Composers Concordance has also created a Naxos-distributed record label: Composers Concordance Records. Composers Concordance’s overriding vision is to promote contemporary music, composers, and new works as a rightful and respected part of society. Good music performed and recorded well, pushing the boundaries of sound and composition.
“Composers Concordance..a veritable New York new music institution of concerts, album production and multiple ensembles under a sweeping, tenacious brand, thriving on the emulsion of contemporary classical, free improv, jazz and rock, overt humor and fearless political statements, all very much in evidence..The ensemble..was masterful throughout.”- John Pietaro, The New York City Jazz Record
“An unwavering force in giving composers exposure through concert bookings and its own record label, the intrepid new-music organization Composers Concordance” – The Brooklyn Rail
“The Composers Concordance folks are unpredictable and at times refreshingly irreverent in a reverent sort of way….ingenious fun” – Classical-Modern Music Review
“Enterprising new music organization” – The New York Times
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