American Composers Orchestra Returns to Carnegie Hall with Sanctuary

Marin Alsop, Guest Conductor & Jennifer Koh, Violin Soloist

Premieres by Composers Lisa Bielawa, Anna Clyne, Hannah Kendall, Paula Matthusen, & Dai Wei

Friday, March 25, 2022 at 7:30pm
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall | 57th St. and 7th Ave. | NYC
Tickets: $45-$55 at www.carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge 212.247.7800, or the Carnegie Hall Box Office

 www.americancomposers.org

New York, NY – American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its 2021-2022 season, under the leadership of Artistic Director Derek Bermel and President Melissa Ngan, with its first performance back at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall since 2019 – Sanctuary, on Friday, March 25, 2022 at 7:30pm. Sanctuary explores the places, company, and states of mind in which humankind seeks inviolable refuge. Guest conductor Marin Alsop leads ACO in five world and New York premieres by composers Lisa Bielawa, Anna Clyne, Hannah Kendall, Paula Matthusen, and Dai Wei. Violin soloist Jennifer Koh joins the orchestra for the New York premiere of Bielawa’s concerto Sanctuary, written for her and co-commissioned by ACO. The concert also includes the New York premieres of Clyne’s Restless Oceans and Kendall’s Tuxedo: Vasco ‘de’ Gama, and the world premieres of Matthusen’s Prophecy in Reverse and Dai Wei’s Invisible Portals.

• Lisa Bielawa researched Sanctuary in 2018 and composed it in 2019, at a time when the word had a new, charged meaning in the cultural climate. Inspired by the role of sanctuary in the lives of American people, including people in her own life and in soloist Jennifer Koh’s life, Bielawa undertook a large-scale research project around the word. Seeking a greater understanding of its layered meaning within the American consciousness, she read hundreds of texts dating back to the nation’s founding – including broadsides, poetry, political speeches, and novels – during a fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society. The violin concerto for Koh is in three movements that articulate a journey towards sanctuary – “Speak,” “Threshold,” and “Breathe.” Bielawa says, “So many people on our stages and in our audiences are immigrants and refugees. Personal journeys and tribulations also find us urgently seeking new ground. Music provides a sanctuary; through it we create sacredness and refuge for ourselves and for each other.”
   
• Anna Clyne’s Restless Oceans from 2018 was composed for Marin Alsop and the all-women Taki Concordia Orchestra for the opening of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in 2019, at which Alsop was honored. The piece is inspired by Audre Lorde’s poem A Woman Speaks, and when performing it, the musicians also raise their voices in song and rise to their feet. Clyne says of the work, “My intention was to write a defiant piece that embraces the power of women.”
   
• Hannah Kendall’s alternately buoyant and serene Tuxedo: Vasco ‘de’ Gama takes its title from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s iconic collection of diagrammatic block pieces. With a nod to the traditional African American spiritual “Wade in the Water,” the work conjures both the majesty and elegance highlighted by the artist as well as Kendall’s own reflective take on the history of globalization and multiculturalism ushered in by the Portuguese explorer.
   
• Paula Matthusen’s Prophecy in Reverse considers whether the notion of sanctuary evokes a space, a feeling, or a sound – or the overlapping of these ideas. The work is a collaboration with poet Danielle Vogel, whose work Sea Margin: a prophecy in reverse, punctuates the movements via projections. Matthusen says, “The piece seeks an ebb and flow in shifting moments of musical space, noting that moments of respite and healing can come from surprising interconnections.”
   
• Dai Wei’s Invisible Portals was commissioned by ACO through its EarShot Readings program in 2020. The inspiration for the piece came from the composer’s recent trips to Tibet and the Yunnan province, when she collaborated with local musicians. Dai Wei says of Invisible Portals, “The new work involves musical elements such as throat singing, traditional ethnic dance music, contemporary resonance, and the propulsive rhythms of pop music. I want to create a multicultural and multidimensional conversation that goes beyond time and space, which ultimately takes me to the sanctuary I carry inside.” 

ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel says, “Throughout the two years of the pandemic, sanctuary has taken many forms for us all, as we have grappled with challenges both quotidien and metaphysical. For those of us who love and participate in the performing arts, the period has assured us that we will never again take for granted the kind of communal experience in which we will partake during this concert.”

Learn more about the artists and hear their music: www.americancomposers.org/events/sanctuary

About American Composers Orchestra: Founded in 1977, American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers. With commitment to diversity, disruption and discovery, ACO produces concerts, middle school through college composer education programs, and composer advancement programs to foster a community of creators, audience, performers, collaborators, and funders. ACO identifies and develops talent, performs established composers, champions those who are lesser-known, and increases regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music, reflecting gender, racial, ethnic, geographic, stylistic, and age diversity. To date, ACO has performed music by 800 American composers, including over 350 world premieres and newly commissioned works.

ACO offers an array of programs for emerging composers including its own annual New Music Readings in New York City, which has served over 150 composers since its inception in 1991, and EarShot Readings, which since 2008 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. 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. Read more: www.americancomposers.org

American Composers Orchestra – Upcoming Performances & Events

Fundraising for Ensembles 
Panelists: Melissa Ngan, Yolanda F. Johnson
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 3pm ET
Zoom Webinar
Registration: https://bit.ly/ACOProfDevFundraising

Healing, Liberation and Joy: A Conversation on Mental Health and the Arts 

Tuesday, March 8, 2023 at 7pm ET

Presented by the Apollo and CUNY School of Medicine 

A community engagement program of The Gathering 

Apollo Soundstage | 253 W 125th St. | NYC

Registration: https://bit.ly/ACOApolloHealingLiberationJoy

Commissioning and Consortia Contracts 101 
Panelists: Melissa Ngan, Ari Solotoff, Jennifer Arnold
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 3pm ET
Zoom Webinar 
Registration: https://bit.ly/ACOProfDevContracts

Tricks of the Trade
Presenter: Derek Bermel
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 3pm ET
Zoom Webinar 
Registration: https://bit.ly/ACOProfDevTricksTrade

Orchestra Etiquette
Presenter: Aaron Jay Kernis
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 3pm ET
Zoom Webinar 
Registration: https://bit.ly/ACOProfDevOrchEtiquette

Sanctuary
Friday, March 25, 2022 at 7:30pm ET
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall | 57th St. & 7th Ave. | NYC
Marin Alsop, Conductor
Jennifer Koh, Violin
Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACO2022Sanctuary
ANNA CLYNE: Restless Oceans (2018)
HANNAH KENDALL: Tuxedo: Vasco 'de' Gama (2020)
DAI WEI: New Work (ACO Commission, World Premiere)
PAULA MATTHUSEN: New Work (ACO Commission, World Premiere)
LISA BIELAWA: Sanctuary (Co-commissioned by ACO, New York Premiere)

Houston Symphony EarShot New Music Readings 

Tuesday, March 29 – Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Houston, TX 

Mentor Composers: Derek Bermel, Jimmy Lopez, Gabriela Ortiz   

Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOEarShotHouston

JOSÉ G. MARTÍNEZ R.: En El Otro Lado/On the Other Side   

PATRICIA MARTÍNEZ: PHOSPHORUS 

MARCO-ADRIÁN?RAMOS RODRÍGUEZ: Rehén de tus labios, o Escena de telenovela   

DIANA M. RODRIGUEZ AGUILAR: Mudai  

Orchestra Unions 101

Panelists: Melissa Ngan, Joseph Kluger, Elena Dubinets
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 4pm ET
Zoom Webinar 
Registration: https://bit.ly/ACOProfDevUnions

Oregon Symphony EarShot New Music Readings 

Monday, April 18 – Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Portland, OR 

Raúl Gómez-Rojas, conductor 

Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOEarShotOregon

Resistance and Healing: Engaging The Ring Shout

Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 3pm ET

Presented by the Apollo, the American Composers Orchestra, and the National Black Theatre 
A community engagement activity of The Gathering
Apollo Soundstage | 253 W 125th St. | NYC

Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOApolloResistanceHealing (Free with RSVP) 

Live Wire: The Sound of Social Justice   

Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 6:30pm ET

Presented by the Apollo’s Education Department

A community engagement program of The Gathering 

Apollo Soundstage | 253 W 125th St. | NYC
Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOApolloLiveWire

The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout
Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 8pm
Co-presented by the American Composers Orchestra and the Apollo Theater
Co-curated with National Black Theatre
In partnership with Gateways Music Festival and Harlem Chamber Players
Creative concept and direction by Jonathan McCrory
Chelsea Tipton, conductor
Gregory Hopkins, choirmaster 
Featuring: American Composers Orchestra with Gateways Music Festival and Harlem Chamber Players, Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Convent Avenue Baptist Church Choir and Sing Harlem Choir
Apollo Mainstage | 253 W 125th St. | NYC
Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOApolloTheGathering
JOEL THOMPSON: Seven Last Words of the Unarmed (New York Premiere) 
JASON MICHAEL WEBB: New?Commission?(World Premiere)?
COURTNEY BRYAN: Sanctum for orchestra and recorded sound
TOSHI REAGON: New Commission (World Premiere)
CARLOS SIMON: Amen! (New York Premiere of orchestral version)

Tucson Symphony EarShot New Music Readings 

Tuesday May 17 – Saturday, May 21, 2022

Tucson, AZ 

Mentor Composers: Billy Childs, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Melinda Wagner 

Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOEarShotTucson

ACO EarShot New Music Readings & Commission 

Thursday, June 16 – Friday, June 17, 2022 

Venue TBD | NYC

George Manahan, Music Director & Conductor 

Tickets & Information: https://bit.ly/ACOEarShotNYC

The commission of Sanctuary by Lisa Bielawa is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and American Composers Orchestra 2020-21 Commission Club. It is co-commissioned by ACO, Orlando Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Carnegie Hall, for violinist Jennifer Koh.  

The commission of a new work by Dai Wei is supported by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.

The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout is generously supported by Art for Justice, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Linda and Stuart Nelson, Anonymous, JP Morgan Chase, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and The New York Community Trust. 

EarShot is a program of American Composers Orchestra completed in partnership with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, and is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Fromm Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and the Steven R. Gerber Trust. Additional funding is provided by the League of American Orchestras with support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

American Composers Orchestra is grateful to the many organizations that make its programs possible including Herb Alpert Foundation, American Orchestras’ Futures Fund, Amphion Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, AmazonSmile Foundation, ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, BMI, Inc., Cheswatyr Foundation, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee, Francis B. Goelet Charitable Trust, Fromm Music Foundation, Steven R. Gerber Trust, Hearst Foundations, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jephson Educational Trusts, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Morgan Stanley, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund in The New York Community Trust, Rexford Fund, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

ACO programs are made possible with public funds 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.