American Composers Orchestra Announces 2024-2025 EarShot Readings, CoLABoratory Workshops, Call for Scores & EarShot Opportunities

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American Composers Orchestra Announces 2024-2025 EarShot Readings, CoLABoratory Workshops, Call for Scores & EarShot Opportunities 

October 28–29, 2024: EarShot Readings with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra 
Mentor Composers: Jimmy López Bellido, Ana Sokolovic & Dinuk Wijeratne

March 25-27, 2025 & Fall 2025: EarShot Readings with Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University
Mentor Composers: Augusta Read Thomas, Han Lash, David Dzubay & Curtis Stewart

May 12-13, 2025 & January 26-30, 2026: EarShot Readings with Lawrence University Conservatory of Music
Mentor Composers: Joanne Metcalf, Asha Srinivasan & Marcos Balter

June 5–6, 2025: EarShot Readings with American Composers Orchestra

EarShot CoLABoratory Workshops with the Gateways Music Festival and Jordyn Davis; Alarm Will Sound with Joseph C. Philips, Jr.; and Boston Landmarks Orchestra with Horacio Fernández 

EarShot Call for Scores for New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute

EarShot Publishing with Boosey & Hawkes Announces Eight Artists To Publish Work & EarShot Alumni Win Commissions & Positions

Searchable Online Composer & Works Database Launches on ACO’s Website Featuring Over 1,000 Composers and 1,500 American Works 

“In an ideal musical world, there would be no need for an orchestra 
dedicated to performing new and recent works by American composers. 
That mission would be crucial to every American orchestra. 
But we don’t live in an ideal musical world.” – The New York Times

www.americancomposers.org
 

New York, New York (October 9, 2024) – Hailed as an “essential organization” (The New York Times) with “an expansive vision of orchestral composition” (Represent Classical), the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) announces details of its 2024-2025 EarShot Readings, including at Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, EarShot Readings: American Composers Orchestra at Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, and Lawrence University Conservatory of Music; in addition to a call for scores for the New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute, presented in partnership with EarShot in 2025. Plus, EarShot CoLABoratory Workshops will include partnerships with Gateways Festival with New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow Jordyn Davis, Alarm Will Sound with Joseph C. Philips, Jr, and Boston Landmarks Orchestra with Horacio Fernández.

Encompassing all of ACO's composer advancement initiatives, EarShot is the first ongoing, systematic program for developing relationships between composers and orchestras on the national level. Serving over 390 composers since its inception, EarShot began in NYC with new music Readings in 1991. It expanded in 2008 to national Readings in partnership with orchestras nationwide in collaboration with the League of American Orchestras, New Music USA, and American Composers Forum. EarShot has also included the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, CoLABoratory, Pathways, and more. Readings composer alumni have gone on to win every major composition award, including Pulitzer, GRAMMY®, Grawemeyer, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Rome Prizes. Since 2009, more than 25 works have been commissioned by partner orchestras from EarShot participants, and more than half of selected EarShot composers report receiving a commission directly resulting from their participation. 

EarShot now includes orchestral readings, CoLABoratory fellowships, professional development, commissioning/consortia, and publishing. Its goal is to broaden the definition and role of the composer and build replicable models for co-created projects between composers, artists, and community partners. Artistic projects developed via EarShot form are a key component of ACO’s concert programming. ACO’s EarShot programs taking place in NYC serve as replicable models for organizations nationwide seeking to undertake similar work.

EarShot Readings, presented in partnership with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, continues with debut workshops and performances on October 28–29, 2024 with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. The readings will be led by Henry Kennedy, the Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra’s newly-appointed Resident Conductor, alongside mentor composers Jimmy López Bellido, Ana Sokolovic, and Dinuk Wijeratne. Selected composers from an international call for scores include Charles Chen, Edna Longoria, Estrella Cabildo, Osnat Netzer, Saman Shahi, and Shanti Sivarulrasa. This will be the first EarShot Readings event in Canada, following the international footsteps of predecessors in Mexico and China.

On June 5 and 6, 2025, American Composers Orchestra will present its own EarShot Readings at Neidorff-Karpati Hall at the Manhattan School of Music. Participating composers include Grace Ann Lee, Marie Douglas, Cheng Jin KOH, Lavell Blackwell, Shawn Johnson, and Arjan Singh, a 2024 BMI Composer Award Winner whose participation is made possible through a partnership with BMI Foundation, Inc. Violinist Curtis Stewart will be a mentor, with additional mentors to be announced soon. American Composers Orchestra will also award a $15,000 commission to one Readings participant.

After a highly successful EarShot Readings collaboration with Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music during the 2023-24 season, ACO partners with IU once again in a new model that will include an initial set of composer workshops with orchestra in March 2025, followed by EarShot Readings in the fall of 2025 featuring newly composed works emerging from the spring workshops and subsequent mentorship sessions. Mentor composers include Augusta Read Thomas, Han Lash, David Dzubay, and Curtis Stewart. Within this new model, working with IU faculty, ACO staff, and mentor composers, EarShot participants will have the opportunity to deepen both the collaborative processes and levels of creativity in the creation of new orchestral works. Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music is currently calling for scores, with a deadline of October 20, 2024. More information can be found here.

Additional calls for scores come from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, with a deadline of October 20, 2024. Mentor composers for this program include Joanne Metcalf, Asha Srinivasan, and Marcos Balter. This collaboration aims to workshop scores that fall outside of typical performance and notation standards; graphic scores, scores that engage improvisation, and scores with other components that are non-typical to Western musical notation will be prioritized. Lawrence University is seeking composers with works for new music ensemble, preferably featuring flexible instrumentation of 5 to 15 players (including saxophone), to be rehearsed, performed, and recorded in Appleton, WI, on May 12-13, 2025. Selected participants will develop and expand the new music ensemble compositions toward participation in EarShot Readings hosted by the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra, scheduled for January 26-30, 2026. More information can be found here.

Also upcoming in December 2024 is the call for scores for the 2025 New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute with lead mentorship by Institute Director Steven Mackey, presented in partnership with ACO’s EarShot program. More information about this year’s Institute and winners can be found here.

EarShot CoLABoratory Workshops for the 2024-2025 season include Gateways Music Festival on October 16, 2024 with Jordyn Davis; Alarm Will Sound with Joseph C. Philips, Jr. at a date to be confirmed in 2025; Boston Landmarks Orchestra with Horacio Fernández in 2025, date to be determined; and American Composers Orchestra with Edmar Castañeda (October 31, 2024), Mali Irene (January 20, 2025), Mazz Swift (March 5 & 7, 2025), and Kian Ravaei and Horacio Fernández (May 8, 2025). CoLABoratory provides a generative environment for composers from any and all musical backgrounds to create definition-expanding works for orchestra. Commissioned artists develop their ideas in partnership with ACO and partner ensembles through an artist-led process.

Composer and bassist Jordyn Davis’s upcoming composition Each One Teach One will be workshopped by Gateways Music Festival artists at Hatch Recital Hall at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY on October 16, 2024. During Gateways’ Fall Festival, Gateways String Artists and Gateways Brass Collective collaborate with Davis to explore new sonic possibilities to shape an innovative orchestral composition. Gateways Artists will provide feedback about the parts and directions to Davis in person. There will be a public portion of the presentation open to the Rochester composition and Eastman School of Music communities.

In 2025, Alarm Will Sound will workshop Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.’s We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident. The composition is the first in a series of orchestral, choral, and chamber works which, while tied to the various themes of his eight-opera 1619 cycle, will also represent distinct, independent addendums and companions to the operas. The composition highlights the physical, spiritual, intellectual, and imaginative ideas of freedom for Black Americans and how the desire of ‘what could be’ is actualized as resistance to the strictures of Black life within the country’s systemic inequalities and inequities. To inform the composition process and create a companion film, Phillips is looking for community submissions of images, videos, and stories. The submission form is available online. Alarm Will Sound’s upcoming work with the American Composers Orchestra's Earshot program aligns with their broader mission of championing new music and fostering emerging composers. The partnership with the Earshot program, which also focuses on supporting new talent and giving composers hands-on experience with professional ensembles, reinforces Alarm Will Sound’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of musical voices and expanding the boundaries of contemporary music performance.

A CoLABoratory commission by Horacio Fernández will be workshopped by Boston Landmarks Orchestra in 2025, exact date to be determined later. Vázquez shares, “In the CoLABoratory initiative, I aspire to delve into intriguing questions that push the boundaries of orchestral possibilities within the intersection of classical and Latin pop music. Workshops become a space where the synergy between classical and Latin pop music is not only explored but also amplified through the collective expertise and creativity of orchestral collaboration.”

Future EarShot opportunities are available to those who attend or complete the programs. Following EarShot Readings with ACO in NYC, New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow Malachi Brown received the 2024 ACO EarShot Commission, and Anuj Bhutani was selected to participate in Composer’s Atelier Program, hosted by the Korean National Symphony Orchestra from November 3-5, 2025 in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea. Following participation in their respective Readings, Patricia Leonard was commissioned for a ROCO EarShot Readings Commission, conducted by Anthony Parnther on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, and Sepehr Pirasteh received an Illinois Philharmonic EarShot Commission.

EarShot Publishing in partnership with Boosey & Hawkes, has announced eight artists have been selected to publish works for professional orchestra; four of these pieces will be arranged for youth orchestra. All of the composers have created teaching modules/lesson plans that can be implemented during residences and site visits with orchestras’ community partners or schools. The selected artists are Edmar Castañeda, Iván Enrique Rodríguez, James Díaz, Rufus Reid, Mali Irene, Mazz Swift, and Joseph Sowa.

Finally, ACO has launched its searchable online Composer & Works Database at www.americancomposers.org. For over 40 years, ACO has championed composers at all stages of their careers including Philip Glass, Tania León, Joan Tower, Wynton Marsalis, Paola Prestini, Du Yun, Alex Temple, and Carlos Simon. The newly-launched database lists 1,000 composers and 1,500 works amplified by ACO since its founding via concerts across NYC at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, via EarShot Readings and CoLABoratory Residencies across the country, and via EarShot Publishing. This publicly-available resource brings ACO’s rich history to all creative listeners, including those who are positioned to support artists with repeat performances and commissions.

Program Details:
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 2PM
Gateways Fall Festival – EarShot Co/LABoratory Residency: Jordyn Davis
Hatch Recital Hall at Eastman School of Music | Rochester, NY
Tickets: Pay What You Choose General Admission.
Link: www.gatewaysmusicfestival.org/fall-festival-2024

Jordyn Davis, composer
Gateways String Artists
Gateways Brass Collective

Monday, October 28, 2024 – Tuesday, October 29, 2024
EarShot Readings: Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
Centrepointe Theatre | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/earshot-readings-national-arts-centre-orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
Henry Kennedy, conductor
Jimmy López Bellido, mentor composer
Ana Sokolovic, mentor composer
Dinuk Wijeratne, mentor composer

Featured Artists and Works:
Charles Chen, Merging with Andromeda
Edna Longoria, La Banda
Estrella Cabildo, Perenne Mar
Osnat Netzer, Common Ground
Saman Shahi, Chained
Shanti Sivarulrasa, Plutonian Revival

Thursday, June 5, 2025 to Friday, June 6, 2025
EarShot Readings: American Composers Orchestra
Neidorff-Karpati Hall, Manhattan School of Music | New York City, NY
Tickets: Free and Open to the Public. Reservation Required.
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/earshot-readings-american-composers-orchestra-2025

Conductor Rei Hotoda

Featured Artists and Works
Grace Ann Lee, In Crystallized Time
Arjan Singh, Live Salmon
Marie Douglas, The People Could Fly
Cheng Jin KOH, Midnight Visions
Lavell Blackwell, My Toccata
Shawn Johnson, The Cardinal Takes Flight

About American Composers Orchestra
In 1977, a collective of fearless New York City musicians came together to form the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), an ensemble dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers. Over more than 40 years committed to artistry, creativity, community and equity, ACO has blossomed into a national institution that not only cultivates and develops the careers of living composers, but also provides composers a direct pipeline to partnerships with many of America’s major symphony orchestras.

In addition to its annual season, presented by Carnegie Hall since 1987, the ACO serves as a New York City hub where the most forward-thinking experimental American musicians come together to hone and realize new art by developing talent, established composers, and underrepresented voices, increasing the regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music.

ACO produces national educational programs for all ages, and composer advancement programs to foster a community of creators, audience, performers, collaborators, and funders – all dedicated to American composition. 

To date, ACO has performed music by 800 American composers, including over 350 world premieres and newly commissioned works. Recent and notable commissioned composers include John Luther Adams, Andy Akiho, Clarice Assad, Carlos Bandera, Courtney Bryan, Valerie Coleman, Dai Wei, Du Yun, inti figgis-vizueta, Marcus Gilmore, Vijay Iyer, Yvette Janine Jackson, Joan La Barbara, Steve Lehman, Tania León, Paula Matthusen, Trevor New, Mendi Keith Obadike, Ellen Reid, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Carlos Simon, Henry Threadgill, and many more.

Now encompassing all of ACO’s composer advancement initiatives, EarShot is the first ongoing, systematic program for developing relationships between composers and orchestras on the national level. Through orchestral readings, CoLABoratory fellowships, consortium commissions, publishing and professional development, EarShot ensures a vibrant musical future by investing in creativity today. Serving over 350 composers since inception, ACO Readings in NYC began in 1991, and since 2008, national Readings have been offered in partnership with orchestras across the country in collaboration with the League of American Orchestras, New Music USA, and American Composers Forum. EarShot Readings composers have gone on to win every major composition award, including the Pulitzer, Grammy, Grawemeyer, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Rome Prizes.

ACO has received numerous awards for its work, including those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and from BMI, recognizing the orchestra’s outstanding contribution to American music. ASCAP has awarded ACO its annual prize for adventurous programming 35 times, singling out ACO as “the orchestra that has done the most for new American music in the United States.” ACO received the inaugural MetLife Award for Excellence in Audience Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. Learn more at www.americancomposers.org.

*Pictured: ACO Director of Artist Equity with featured artist Madeline Merwin at ACO’s 2024 EarShot Readings in June 2024. Credit: Alfred Kan 

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The commission of new works by Malachi Brown, Patricia Leonard, and Sepehr Pirasteh is made possible with the support of Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.

Lead support of CoLABoratory comes from TD Charitable Foundation, with additional funds from G. Schirmer/Wise Music Foundation, Jerome Foundation, New York Community Trust, and Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

The participation of Arjan Singh Dogra, a 2024 BMI Composer Award Winner, in EarShot Readings with ACO is made possible through a partnership with BMI Foundation, Inc.

Works commissioned by American Composers Orchestra via EarShot: Advancing Equity through Publishing & Repertoire Development are made possible through support from the Sphinx Organization, and administered by EarShot Publishing, exclusive publisher, in partnership with Boosey & Hawkes, sole licensing agent.

The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships for Malachi Brown, Kebra-Seyoun Charles and Jordyn Davis are made possible by The New York Community Trust’s Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund.

American Composers Orchestra is grateful to the many organizations that make its programs possible including Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Fund, Altman Foundation, Amphion Foundation, Benevity, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, BMI Foundation, BMI, Inc., Charity Navigator's Giving Basket, Cheswatyr Foundation, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee, Give Lively, Francis B. Goelet Charitable Trust, Fromm Music Foundation, Steven R. Gerber Trust, G. Schirmer/Wise Music Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jephson Educational Trusts, Jerome Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, Mellon Foundation, New Music USA’s Organization Fund, The New York Community Trust (Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund), Pacific Harmony Foundation, Paypal Giving Fund, Rexford Fund, Sphinx Venture Fund,  TD Charitable Foundation, Turrell Fund, UKOGF Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Corporate gifts to match employee contributions are made by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Triton Container International Incorporated of North America, and Neiman Marcus.
Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts.