New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices Program Announces 2023-2024 Performances Including More World Premieres

Written By

Kate Dreyfuss

Amplifying Voices Fosters Collaboration Toward Racial and Gender Equity in New Orchestral Music Through a Co-Commissioning Network of 51 Orchestras

The 11 Participating Composers are Clarice Assad, Katherine Balch, Valerie Coleman, Juan Pablo Contreras, Vijay Iyer, Tania León, Jessie Montgomery, Brian Raphael Nabors, Nina Shekhar, Tyshawn Sorey, and Shelley Washington

Works by Clarice Assad, Katherine Balch, Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery, and Nina Shekhar will Premiere in November 2023-June 2024

Jessie Montgomery’s Snapshots Premiered in October 2023

Amplifying Voices composers, top row L-R: Katherine Balch, Jessie Montgomery, Vijay Iyer, Nina Shekhar; Middle row L-R: Brian Raphael Nabors; Clarice Assad; Juan Pablo Contreras; Bottom row, L-R: Valerie Coleman, Shelley Washington, Tyshawn Sorey, Tania León

New Music USA is proud to announce that its Amplifying Voices program continues to create a lasting impact this season with 11 upcoming performances of new orchestral works taking place across the nation, and more underway. The program – which launched in 2020 to create collective action toward racial and gender equity between U.S. orchestras and composers through a network of co-commissions – is continuously expanding and now includes 11 composers and 51 partner orchestras from across the U.S. and beyond, creating 51 performances of new pieces of music by women and BIPOC composers. More orchestras are slated to join in the coming year.

This performance season includes the fifth performance of Tania León’s Pasajes, this time given by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., the fourth and fifth performances of Shelley Washington’s Both by the Kansas City Symphony and Detroit Symphony, and four upcoming Amplifying Voices world premieres, starting with Nina Shekhar’s Mad Libs with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) on November 18, 2023. Shekhar’s piece is inspired by the popular word game and written specifically for youth orchestra, which asks the performers to fill in blanks and insert themselves and their identities into the music. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will premiere Clarice Assad’s The Birth of AI January 12-13, 2024, with additional performances by the Chicago Sinfonietta March 15-17, 2024; The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will premiere a New Work by Katherine Balch February 16-18 2024, with subsequent performances by co-commissioner The New York Philhamonic April 12-14, 2024; and The Philadelphia Orchestra will premiere Valerie Coleman’s Concerto for Orchestra May 30-June 2, 2024.

Additionally, the world premiere performances of Jessie Montgomery’s Snapshots recently took place with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from October 12-15, 2023, followed by subsequent performances by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra October 19-22, 2023. Snapshots is part of a series of pieces Montgomery has been writing recently that are short “vignettes,” each movement distinct in character and based on an imagined scene, mood, or effect.

During the 2022-23 concert season, Amplifying Voices fostered 13 orchestral premieres which took place across the U.S. and in London, including new works by Juan Pablo Contreras, Vijay Iyer, Tania León, Brian Raphael Nabors, Nina Shekhar, Tyshawn Sorey, and Shelley Washington. To read about all of the composers and their pieces, and to see a complete list of participating orchestras, visit the Amplifying Voices program page at newmusicusa.org/program/amplifying-voices.

Upcoming 2023-2024 Performance Details

November 2-4, 2023 – Tania León’s Pasajes, National Symphony Orchestra, Washington D.C. (Event link)
November 18, 2023 – Nina Shekhar’s Mad Libs (world premiere), Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), Los Angeles, CA (Event link)
December 2023 (Tentative) – Nina Shekhar’s Mad Libs, The People’s Music School, Chicago, IL
January 12-13, 2024 – Clarice Assad, The Birth of AI (world premiere), The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul, MN (Event link)
February 2-4, 2024 – Shelley Washington’s Both, Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City, KS (Event link)
February 16-18, 2024 — New Work by Katherine Balch (world premiere), Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh, PA (Event link)
March 1-2, 2024 – Shelley Washington’s Both, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit, MI (Event link)
March 15-17, 2024 – Clarice Assad, The Evolution of AI, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago, IL (Event link)
April 12-14, 2024 — New Work by Katherine Balch, The New York Philharmonic, New York, NY (Event link)
May 30-June 2, 2024 – Valerie Coleman’s Concerto for Orchestra (world premiere), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia, PA (Event link)
May 31-June 2, 2024 – Jessie Montgomery’s Snapshots, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit, MI (Event link)

About Amplifying Voices

The Amplifying Voices program was created in 2020 in reaction to startling statistics such as 4.5% of orchestral repertoire being performed was written by women and composers of color. This has increased to only 22.5% in 2022, showing there is still a crucial need for this program.

Alongside the co-commissioning program, participating orchestras, composers and industry guests are coming together through the Amplifying Voices Learning Lab. Anticipated focal points of these regular conversations include best approaches to co-commissioning, centering existent repertoire by BIPOC composers, and enabling audiences around the country to discover the most exciting music of our time. The program also purposefully fosters deep collaboration between the composer and orchestras by funding multiple visits with lead orchestras, and encouraging orchestras to include community experiences such as local school visits and education programs as part of their partnerships.

New Music USA is grateful for the support of its funders that make this work possible; Amplifying Voices is powered by the Sphinx Venture Fund, with additional support from ASCAP, the Sorel Organization, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and Wise Charitable Trust.

The Amplifying Voices program continues New Music USA’s legacy of connecting living composers and orchestras in the U.S. to create new works. From 2011-2019, New Music USA ran the Music Alive Composer in Residence program with support from the Mellon Foundation. This built on the work of one of New Music USA’s founding organizations, Meet The Composer (MTC), which launched its breakthrough Composer In Residence program in 1982. In its 20-year span, Music Alive, which was run in partnership with the League of American Orchestras, supported 116 composers, 79 orchestras, and 121 distinct residencies. New Music USA was awarded the Gold Baton from The League of American Orchestras, its highest honor, in 2020 for its outstanding work in the sector.

About New Music USA

New Music USA nurtures a vibrant and inclusive community for artists and listeners by supporting the creation, performance, and appreciation of new music throughout the United States. We empower and connect US-based music makers, organizations, and audiences by providing funding through our grants; offering support and fostering new connections through our programs; deepening knowledge through our online magazine, NewMusicBox; and working as an advocate for the field. New Music USA envisions a thriving and equitable ecosystem for new music throughout the United States. newmusicusa.org

For more information about Amplifying Voices, contact New Music USA’s Communications Director Kate Dreyfuss at [email protected].

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