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Students, Faculty + Alumni

Yale Composers Featured at SONiC Festival in New York City

The American Composers Orchestra's SONiC Festival, focusing on composers ages 40 or younger, returns to New York City this month from Oct. 15–23. The second edition of the festival includes music by Yale faculty member Hannah Lash, current YSM composition students Michael Gilbertson and Molly Joyce, and YSM graduates Andy Akiho, Christopher Cerrone, Reena Esmail, Judd Greenstein, Ted Hearne, Missy Mazzoli, and Brendon Randall-Myers.

The festival begins on Thursday, Oct. 15, with Music from Copland House at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR. Featuring an array of young composers—all participants in Copland House’s CULTIVATE national fellowship program for emerging professional composers—in an eclectic selection of new works for mixed chamber music ensemble, including New York premieres from alumnus Reena Esmail and current student Michael Gilbertson.

SONiC continues on Friday, Oct. 16, at the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place with the American Composers Orchestra. A concert of all world premieres, the program includes music by alumni Andy Akiho and Judd Greenstein. Then on Saturday, Oct. 17, music by alumni Ted Hearne and Missy Mazzoli will be performed by vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, at the new venue National Sawdust. Later at National Sawdust on that same night, work of alumnus Christopher Cerrone will be performed with video in the SONiC AfterHours concert.

The festival continues with a marathon event at Merkin Concert Hall on Sunday, Oct. 18, including music by alumnus Brendon Randall-Myers, and on Monday, Oct. 19 at (Le) Poisson Rouge, in a concert featuring the Dutch ensemble Nieuw Amsterdams Peil, including music by current student Molly Joyce.

Lastly, SONiC concludes on Friday, Oct. 23 in a concert with the American Composers Orchestra, and featuring faculty member Hannah Lash performing the world premiere of her Concerto for Harp and Chamber Orchestra.

Heralded in its 2011 inauguration as “a brilliant and unpretentious showcase for music in the new millennium” (The Guardian), SONiC is the soundscape of our time is being re-invented by a new generation. With 80+ up-and-coming composers and over 20 world premieres in every conceivable style, SONiC continues as the most significant and startling display of what composers are up to now. SONiC doesn’t attempt to define this moment in music, but brings composers, performers and audiences together to explore the richness, vitality and diversity of the Sounds of a New Century.

SONiC is curated by ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel (main stage concerts) with Associate Curator Anna Clyne (AfterHours concerts), and is presented in collaboration with Carnegie Hall, Arts Brookfield, National Sawdust, Kaufman Music Center, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, DROM, ShapeShifter Lab, and Americas Society, with lead support from The Fromm Music Foundation and additional support from the Howard Gilman Foundation. Q2 Music, the new music online stream of WQXR, is the digital media partner for SONiC. SONiC FESTIVAL