Brave New Works Reading Session at Northeastern

On November 15, ACF New England, in collaboration with the Northeastern University Department of Music, hosted a composer reading session in which the excellent new-music ensemble Brave New Works read compositions by ACFNE members:

Composers:
Jean Y. Foo
Karl Henning
David Patterson
Lee C. Smith
Rob Seaback
Brian Dixon

Brave New Works Performers:
Steven Miahky, Violin
Maria Sampen, Violin
Tim Christie, Viola
Norbert Lewandowski, Cello
Sarah Brady, Flute
Kevin Schempf, Clarinet
Amy Ley, Harp
Winston Choi, Piano
Chris Kim, Conductor

Brave New Works is a vibrant chamber ensemble of ten musicians dedicated to performing and promoting new music. The mission of Brave New Works is to engage, enrich and educate through contemporary music. Started by students at the University of Michigan eleven years ago, Brave New Works has turned into a non-profit touring ensemble with residencies that span the coasts. Working with established composers such as William Bolcolm, Bernard Rands, Marilyn Shrude and Bright Sheng and championing the music of the newest voices in the field through a college residency program, Brave New Works has been hailed as one of the finest new music groups in this country. Awarded an Aaron Copland grant for recording, the ensemble will be premiering their first cd of chamber music by William Bolcom and William Albright in fall of 2008.

ACFNE would like to thank Brave New Works and the Northeastern Department of Music for helping to make this opportunity possible. For more information about our partners, please visit their respective websites: www.bravenewworks.org , www.music.neu.edu.

World premiere of David Kechley's
ACFNE-commissioned orchestral work

March 10, 2007, Littleton, MA

Bruce Hangen and the Orchestra of Indian Hill premiered composer David Kechley’s Wakeful Visions/Moonless Dreams: Three Movements for Orchestra before an enthusiastic sold-out audience of over 700 listeners. Kechley’s new work was commissioned by ACF New England in collaboration with the New England Orchestra Consortium, as part of ACFNE’s Composer Residency Program. This program, funded by the LEF Foundation, the Cherbec Advancement Foundation, and the John and Naomi Tomfohrde Foundation, enables community, cultural, and educational institutions to select a composer to create original musical works for public performance.

The new work will be performed again on May 5 by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and in the fall by the Hingham Symphony Orchestra and Longwood Symphony Orchestra. Last spring, as part of the same project, Michael Weinstein’s ACFNE-commissioned Chamber Symphony reached nearly two thousand listeners through performances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Boston Classical Orchestra and Symphony by the Sea.

ACF New England Chapter Director speaks to students
at New England Conservatory

On March 8, ACFNE Director David McMullin spoke to undergraduate students in Professor Angela Beeching's course about the process of applying for grants, residencies and competitions.

On December 7, McMullin gave a presentation to Professor Pozzi Escot's composition seminar, about the American Composers Forum and other resources for composers.

SONIC CIRCUITS 2006 - US and Israel

Carrying on the tradition of ACF's Sonic Circuits International Festival of Electronic Music and Art, ACF New England was proud to present an exciting new collaboration between American and Israeli composers in November and December of 2006.

Our SONIC CIRCUITS 2006 festival featured concerts and related events in four Israeli and American cities: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Boston, and New York. It commenced on November 3 with a concert produced in conjunction with the Tel Aviv Biennale of New Music, with subsequent events in Jerusalem and Haifa in the days following. The American events took place between November 29 and December 9 in Boston and New York. The festival featured works by composers Neil Leonard, Kiki Keren-Huss, Amnon Wolman, Arie Shapira, Dennis Miller, Jonathan Chen, Yosi Mar-Chaim, Ido Govrin, and Keren Rosenbaum, including live performances with electronics, video art, sound installation, and compositions for electroacoustic tape.

Sonic Circuits was made possible by funding from the Argosy Foundation, the Boston-Haifa Connection of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in-kind support from Berklee College of Music, Northeastern University, Gallery Artists Studio Projects (GASP), the Music Department of the University of Haifa, and the Tel Aviv New Music Biennale. ACFNE is also grateful to Beth Denisch, our founding Director, for her inspiration and initiative as the original architect of Sonic Circuits 2006, and to Neil Leonard and Kiki Keren-Huss for curating and producing the events.