New York Youth Symphony Announces its 58th Season

NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Press contact: John Stolen
541.310.1876 | jstolen@nyys.org

 

New York Youth Symphony Announces its 58th Season

With Programs in Orchestra, Jazz, Chamber Music, Composition,

Musical Theater Songwriting, and Conducting

Featuring its First Recorded Album

4 World Premieres

Performances at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage and Weill Recital Hall,

Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Joe’s Pub, and The Times Center

Tickets & Information: www.nyys.org/events

New York, NY - New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), is proud to continue its mission of educating and inspiring young musicians through its Orchestra, Jazz, Chamber Music, Composition, Musical Theater Songwriting, Conducting, and First Music commissioning programs. This season includes the NYYS Orchestra’s first recorded album featuring works by Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery, and Florence Price, with pianist Michelle Cann performing Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. The Coleman and Montgomery pieces will also be performed live by the NYYS Orchestra in their March and May concerts at Carnegie Hall. This season also includes 4 world premieres of new works commissioned through the First Music program, composed for the Orchestra, Jazz, and Chamber Music ensembles. Soloists joining the NYYS in concert this season include baritone Paolo Szot, and violinist Grace Park performing with NYYS Orchestra on Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, and trombone virtuoso Wycliffe Gordon, performing with NYYS Jazz at The Times Center. The complete NYYS 2020-2021 concert calendar follows at the end of this press release.

Founded in 1963, the NYYS is internationally recognized for its award-winning and innovative educational programs for talented young musicians. As the premier independent music education organization for ensemble training in the New York metropolitan area, the NYYS has provided over 7,000 music students unparalleled opportunities to perform at world-class venues including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, and The Times Center, and to study with world-renowned artists. Beyond the instruction from accomplished musicians, students gain valuable life skills — commitment, discipline, focus, collaboration — and friendships that last a lifetime. 

The NYYS is committed to making its educational offerings accessible to a wider and more diverse community. Through partnerships with organizations including the Harmony Program, Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s Harlem School of the Arts, New York Film Academy, SongSpace, Maestra, and Orpheus, the NYYS is creating pathways for young people from all backgrounds to find their way to music. These community partnerships include peer-to-peer instruction, financial support, mentorships with professional artists, free community concerts, and more.

Executive Director Shauna Quill noted, “The New York Youth Symphony is proud of its 58-year history of providing outstanding music education to students through its six outstanding programs. COVID-19 will not slow us down! Through a combination of smaller ensemble rehearsals, and online seminars and instruction, we are committed to providing outstanding education to all of our students this season. We are broadening access to the arts through our partnerships across the city as well as through fellowships which support students as they navigate the pathway towards college and beyond. We are grateful to all of our supporters as we navigate this pandemic together, including the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and more, and look forward to returning to stages around the city as soon as we are able.”

NYYS Orchestra

Under the baton of Music Director Michael Repper, the NYYS Orchestra kicks off its 58^th season with its first recorded album featuring the works of contemporary composers Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery, and two works by recently rediscovered composer Florence Price. Pianist Michelle Cann will be featured on Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. Both Coleman’s and Montgomery’s pieces will be performed live at Carnegie Hall later in the season. The album is slated for release in 2021.

On Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 2 pm, The McCrindle Concert in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage features violinist Grace Park performing Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. The performance also includes Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Valerie Coleman’s Umoja, and the world premiere of First Music commission Ruach (and Other Delights) by Jonathan Cziner.

The 2020/2021 NYYS Orchestra season concludes at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 2 pm, with The Spring Concert, featuring baritone Paolo Szot performing Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, and Rogers and Hammerstein’s Some Enchanted Evening. The program also includes the Carnegie Hall premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Soul Force, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan.”

NYYS Jazz

The 2020/2021 NYYS Jazz season opens this fall with an online course, Big Band Jazz Performance Practices with Andy Clausen. NYYS Jazz Director Andy Clausen and a host of world-renowned guest artists will lead this highly interactive eight-week online seminar exploring the performance practices, history, and evolution of Big Band Jazz from the 1920s through the present day. Providing specific practice materials tailored to each student, play-along recordings, musical scores, and expert masterclasses, the course will offer students first-hand playing experience, and critical understanding of the evolving stylistic intricacies and historical significance of the genre. The course will focus on four major periods of Big Band Jazz evolution, highlighting the artistic contributions of key figures of the day.

Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center presents the first live NYYS Jazz concert of the season on Monday, March 8, 2021, with sets at 7:30 and 9:30 pm. This concert includes the world premiere of a First Music commission by Drew Zaremba.

The NYYS Jazz season will conclude on Monday May 10, 2021 at 7:00 PM with Dreams of New Orleans, featuring trombonist Wycliffe Gordon at The Times Center. This final concert of the jazz season pays homage to the music of New Orleans and includes the world premiere of a First Music commission by Benjamin Morris.

NYYS Chamber Music

The NYYS Chamber Music program, led by director Dr. Lisa Tipton, offers young musicians an opportunity to explore the often-complex dialogue between instruments as a metaphor for learning skills that emphasize open communication, harmony, and compromise. The program provides coaching sessions and master classes with members of the Shanghai Quartet, The Juilliard Quartet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Imani Winds, and more to over 80 students in 22 ensembles each season. The students will perform three showcases in the spring, hosted this year at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 7:30 PM, and at Scandinavia House on Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7:30 PM. First Music commission tikka by Nina Shekhar will receive its world premiere at Weill Recital Hall.

NYYS Composition

The NYYS Composition program, led by Dr. Kyle Blaha and in partnership with BMI and ASCAP, has broken new ground in its acclaimed sessions for younger composers to examine orchestration styles, techniques, and skills. The program offers student composers the opportunity to explore the world of composition and orchestration through seminars, individual tutorials and workshops. This year’s guests composers and performers include Molly Joyce, Mari Kimura, Chen Yi, Reena Esmail, John Corigliano, David Ludwig, Andrea DelGuidice, Bridget Kibbey, David Fulmer, the Aizuri Quartet, and more. The annual Composition Date 2021 performance will be held on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 7:30 PM in Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space and will include original student compositions performed by members of the Orchestra, Chamber Music, Jazz, and Robert L. Poster Apprentice Conducting programs.

NYYS Musical Theater Songwriting

Led by director Anna K. Jacobs, the NYYS Musical Theater Songwriting Program continues into its third season, in partnership with the Harlem School of the Arts, New York Film Academy, Songspace, and Maestra. The program is specially designed to lead students through a range of musical theater songwriting processes. This season will feature guest lecturers including Tony and Grammy Award-winning music director and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen), producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper (Be More Chill, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Love In Hate Nation), composer Mike Pettry (The Light Princess,  The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, Vampirina), costume designer Amy Clark (A Night with Janice Joplin, Chaplin) and guest performers Britney Coleman (Tootsie, Sunset Boulevard), Austin Scott (Hamilton, Girl From The North Country), and Kirsten Childs (The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Bella: An American Tall Tale).

The students’ original works will be showcased at a final concert at Joe’s Pub on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm performed by the students themselves, plus students from the Harlem School of the Arts and the New York Film Academy.

 

NEW YORK YOUTH SYMPHONY 2020-2021 PERFORMANCE CALENDAR

Tickets & Information: www.nyys.org/events

ORCHESTRA

Michael Repper, Music Director

Recorded Album
Valerie Coleman: Umoja
Jessie Montgomery: Soul Force
Florence Price: Ethiopia’s Shadow in America
Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement, featuring Michelle Cann, piano

The McCrindle Concert
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 2:00 PM
Valerie Coleman: Umoja
Barber: Violin Concerto, op. 14, featuring Grace Park, violin
Jonathan Cziner: Ruach (and Other Delights) (First Music commission and World Premiere)
Gershwin: An American in Paris 

The Spring Concert
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM
Jessie Montgomery: Soul Force
Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer, featuring Paolo Szot, baritone
Rogers/Hammerstein: Some Enchanted Evening, featuring Paolo Szot, baritone
Mahler: Symphony No. 1, “Titan” 

 

NYYS JAZZ
Andy Clausen, Director

October 11 – December 6, 2020: Big Band Jazz Performance Practices with Andy Clausen (Online)

Monday, March 8, 2021, at 7:30 & 9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center
Drew Zaremba: First Music commission and World Premiere         

Dreams of New Orleans
Monday, May 10, 2021 at 7:00 PM at The Times Center
Benjamin Morris: First Music commission and World Premiere
Soloist: Wycliffe Gordon, trombone, trumpet, vocals

 

CHAMBER MUSIC
Dr. Lisa Tipton, Director
An Evening Among Friends
Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 7:30 PM at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Nina Shekhar: tikka (First Music commission and World Premiere)

An Evening of Chamber Music
Monday, May 17, 2021 at 7:30 PM at Scandinavia House
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7:30 PM at Scandinavia House

 

COMPOSITION
Dr. Kyle Blaha, Director
Composition Date 2021
Thursday May 13, 2021, at 7:30 PM at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space
Featuring original student compositions performed by members of the NYYS Orchestra, Jazz, and Chamber Music programs

 

MUSICAL THEATER SONGWRITING
Anna Jacobs, Director
Musical Theater Songwriting Showcase 2021
Wednesday, May 26, 2021, at 7:00 PM at Joe’s Pub
Featuring original works, performed by NYYS students, and students from the Harlem School of the Arts and the New York Film Academy

 

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS AND ARTISTS                                                                        

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Praised by the Baltimore Sun for his “confidence and expressive nuance,” Michael Repper has earned a reputation for his ability to engage and excite audiences across all spectrums. As the Music Director of the New York Youth Symphony, which he leads at Carnegie Hall, and the Northern Neck Orchestra of Virginia, he has a dedicated record of building communities committed to the shared spirit of music. With regular guest conductor engagements with the Baltimore Symphony and other orchestras worldwide, Mr. Repper has established himself in the United States and abroad as a strong voice within the symphonic field, and a champion of new and diverse musical talents. Mr. Repper is a recipient of the prestigious 2020 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award.

Andy Clausen is a New York-based trombonist, composer, and educator. A graduate of The Juilliard School, he currently serves as Artistic Director for Jazz at New York Youth Symphony. Clausen is also a founding member of The Westerlies, an award-winning new music brass chamber ensemble. From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along, creating music that is "folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” -NPR. Clausen has collaborated with a diverse range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Gerald Wilson, Common, Dave Douglas, Theo Bleckmann, John Zorn, American Brass Quintet, Fleet Foxes, Feist, Nico Muhly, and Gabriel Kahane, appearing at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Radio City Music Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, The Kennedy Center, Newport Folk Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Coachella, Pitchfork Music Festival, The Stone, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, and Jazz A Vienne. An active composer for film, television, radio, and advertising, Clausen has been commissioned by Showtime, The New York Times, Bloomberg TV, Carnegie Corporation, The Whitney Museum, Freedom House, and NPR.

Dr. Lisa Tipton is a violinist and co-founder of the award-winning Meridian String Quartet, has toured internationally and held residencies at Queens College, Bard College, and the Turtle Bay Music School. She has won distinctions from the Evian International Competition, Artists International, and Chamber Music America. As a devoted interpreter of new music, Dr. Tipton established the “Made in America” series at Weill Recital Hall with pianist Adrienne Kim and has performed on the “Interpretations” series at Merkin Concert Hall. She performs regularly with Amici New York, Stamford Symphony, Little Orchestra Society, on Broadway, and is a co-founder of NY Chamber Music CoOp. Dr. Tipton’s recording of Ives’ violin sonatas with Ms. Kim was released in 2006 on Capstone Records. She is on the faculty of School for Strings, Music Conservatory of Westchester, Princeton Playweeks, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Queens College. Dr. Tipton earned a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, and a D.M.A. from the CUNY Graduate Center.

Dr. Kyle Blaha received his D.M.A. and M.M. from Juilliard and his B.M. from Eastman School of Music with high distinction in composition, clarinet, and German. He has studied composition with Darrell Handel, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez Gutierrez, Samuel Adler, Philip Lasser, and Robert Beaser, and Solfège with Mary Anthony Cox. He is faculty at the European American Musical Alliance Program in Paris, faculty at The Juilliard School where he teaches Ear Training, Music Theory, and Advanced Score Reading and Musicianship for conducting majors, and chair of Music Theory and Ear Training at Juilliard Pre-College. He has received multiple ASCAP Young Composer Awards and awards for study in German, including a Fulbright grant and a D.A.A.D. (German government) grant as well as Arabic study in Cairo, Egypt. Dr. Blaha’s work has been premiered by the Juilliard Orchestra and multiple performances by the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute and has received commissions from the NYYS, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the New Juilliard Ensemble, Donald Sinta Quartet, and the American Composers Orchestra.

Anna K. Jacobs is a Jonathan Larson Award-winning composer, lyricist, and librettist. Her works include POP! (Yale Rep, Pittsburgh City Theatre, Studio Theatre; book/lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman), TEETH (NAMT, O’Neill; co-book/lyrics by Michael R. Jackson), ANYTOWN (George Street Playhouse; book by Jim Jack), HARMONY, KANSAS (Diversionary Theatre; book/lyrics by Bill Nelson), ECHO (Musical Theatre Factory), and STELLA AND THE MOON MAN (Sydney Theatre Company/Theatre of Image; play by Richard Tulloch, co-composed by Adrian Kelly), and the movie musical, KAYA: TASTE OF PARADISE (NY Film Academy; screenplay by Jerome A. Parker, directed by Paul Warner). She also contributed music and lyrics to the multi-composer song cycle, LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT (Berkshire Theatre Group). Currently, she and playwright Anna Ziegler are collaborating on a new musical for Barbara Whitman Productions and Grove Entertainment that is inspired by the life and disappearance of child prodigy novelist, Barbara Newhall Follett. Ms. Jacobs is a recipient of the Eric Salzman Award for New Music Theater Composition and the Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award, which aims to celebrate female musical theater composers. She is a former Sundance Fellow and Dramatists Guild Fellow and holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU-Tisch. As an educator, she is passionate about helping the next generation of songwriters to develop their voices and craft, and has served on the faculties of Temple University, Mannes School of Music, and the Dramatists Guild Institute.

ORCHESTRA SOLOISTS

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as being “fresh, different and exhilarating” and Strings Magazine as “intensely wrought and burnished“, violinist Grace Park captivates audiences with her artistry, passion and virtuosity. Winner of the 2018 Naumburg International Violin Competition, she is one of the leading artists of her generation. Ms. Park’s upcoming season includes her Carnegie Hall debut recital and a world premiere performance of Mason Bates’ first violin sonata. She will also make recital appearances at the Schubert Club, Krannert Center, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series, and Merkin Concert Hall, and giving her Mexico debut with the Mexico City Philharmonic. Ms. Park has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada at venues such as Walt Disney Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Rudolfinum in Prague, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jordan Hall and Tri-Noon at Rockefeller University. She has toured with the North Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, and Russian Chamber Orchestra. She has performed and participated in festivals such as Music @ Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, Festival Mozaic, Yellowbarn, and Perlman Music Program, where she has performed with many of today's celebrated artists. Ms. Park began violin studies at the age of 5 and attended Colburn School of Music. She continued her studies at Colburn Conservatory and New England Conservatory for her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Principal teachers were Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Robert Lipsett. 

Paulo Szot is one of the most acclaimed and versatile baritones in the world, having garnered international acclaim as an opera singer and an award-winning musical theater actor. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, he began his musical training at the age of five (studying piano and violin) and studied at the Jagiellonian University in Poland, the country from which his parents had emigrated during World War II. Over the years, Mr. Szot has presented a vast, both operatic and symphonic repertoire with major opera companies, orchestras and festivals throughout Europe, North & South America and Australia. After winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in 2008 for South Pacific at Lincoln Center, Mr. Szot made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2010 with Shostakovich’s The Nose, conducted by Valery Gergiev. In 2012, the baritone made his debut at La Scala in the leading role of A. Raskatov’s A Dog’s Heart. In 2019, Mr. Szot completed his 7th season with The Met. He also completed his “Artist in Residence” year with the OSESP Orchestra, performing in a series of concerts, recitals, and masterclasses. Mr. Szot has recorded a CD of Brazilian songs by Claudio Santoro, “Jardim Noturno”. Broadcasts and DVDs include South Pacific (LCT, 2010), Le Nozze di Figaro (Aix-en-Provence, 2012), The Nose (Met, 2013), Manon (Met, 2014), New Year’s Gala (NY Phil, 2016), Cosi fan Tutte (Paris Opera, 2017), Street Scene (Teatro Real Madrid, 2018), Merry Widow (Rome Opera, 2019), Mahler's Symphony No. 8 & Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (OSESP, 2019), Bernstein’s Mass (Ravinia Festival, 2020).

JAZZ SOLOISTS

Wycliffe Gordon experiences an impressive career touring the world performing to great acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Most recently he received the “Louie Award” honoring his dedication and commitment to the music of Louis Armstrong, and received the International Trombone Association Award in 2017, which recognizes the highest level of creative and artistic achievement. In 2015, Mr. Gordon was presented the Satchmo award from the Sarasota Jazz Club, received the Louis Armstrong Memorial Prize presented by the Swing Jazz Culture Foundation, and was named Artist of the Year (2015) by the Augusta Arts Council. He is also a past recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Vanguard Award, among others. Mr. Gordon tours regularly with his quintet known as Wycliffe Gordon and His International All-Stars. He is commissioned frequently and has an extensive catalog of original compositions that span the various timbres of jazz and chamber music. Musicians and ensembles of every caliber perform his music throughout the world. Mr. Gordon has previously played with the Wynton Marsalis Septet, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's "Jazz at the Kennedy Center" Series. Mr. Gordon is one of America's most persuasive and committed music educators, currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at Augusta University in Augusta, GA, and is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

FIRST MUSIC COMPOSERS

2020/2021 Grand Prize Winner Jonathan Cziner (b. 1991) is an American composer based in New York City. His music combines colorful harmony and texture with nostalgic lyricism, creating a sound-world that ranges from mysterious to vibrant. A 2018 Charles Ives Scholarship recipient from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Mr. Cziner’s works have been performed in the United States and Europe by ensembles including the Minnesota Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), Juilliard Orchestra, and New Juilliard Ensemble. His orchestral work Resonant Bells, premiered by David Robertson and the NJSO, was awarded the William Schuman Prize for most outstanding score at the BMI Student Composer Awards as well as the 2018 Palmer Dixon Prize, awarded to the most outstanding work composed at the Juilliard School. flowers of fire, was written to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the World War I armistice and was premiered by the Juilliard Orchestra with soprano Kathleen O’Mara and Jeffery Milarsky in February 2019. Mr. Cziner received a Bachelor of Music degree at NYU studying with Justin Dello Joio, and completed his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert Beaser. He is currently in the midst of his studies in Juilliard’s C.V. Starr doctoral program.

Benjamin Morris is a composer and pianist who lives equally in the worlds of jazz and contemporary classical music. His projects, which include chamber and large ensemble music, theater music, film scores, and electroacoustic and intermedia works, blur the lines between these two worlds. He recently lived in Oslo, Norway studying jazz on a Fulbright Grant, composing a work for extended big band and video inspired by his Norwegian heritage. His compositions have been performed around the world by ensembles and musicians including the American Composers Orchestra, the NOW Ensemble, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Jazz at Lincoln Center Trombonist Vincent Gardner, unassisted fold, Imani Winds, The Living Earth Show, and the NDR Big Band. Mr. Morris’s accolades include performing at the Newport Jazz Festival, attending the Aspen Music Festival, studying traditional music at the National Gugak Center in Korea, and receiving both the ASCAP Morton Gould and Herb Alpert Young Composer Awards, a commission from the American Composers Orchestra Jazz Composers Institute, and a Downbeat Award for best original graduate composition. A passionate educator, Mr. Morris completed his studies at Rice University and the University of Miami and is currently pursuing a DMA at the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Drew Zaremba is quickly earning a worldwide reputation as a passionate conductor, award-winning writer, and fiery performer. As a writer, he has composed and arranged pieces for the BBC Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Randy Brecker, Lee Loughane of Chicago, Chuck Findley, Eddie Gomez, the Vietnam Classical Players, the Pyramid Jazz Orchestra in Kanazawa, and Erin Dickins of the Manhattan Transfer.  Mr. Zaremba joined the esteemed faculty of the University of Northern Colorado in 2018 to teach jazz composition and arranging. One of Drew’s most ambitious projects was writing a concert of music entitled “Crossing Chinese Opera with Jazz” during a two-month residency in Zhuhai, China. Mr. Zaremba has published music through Sierra Music, UNC Jazz press, and has recorded twenty of his pieces with the University of North Texas One and Two O’Clock Lab Bands.  In 2015, he was awarded 1st prize in the Sherman/Barsanti Inspiration Award at the UNT for his premier concert with his orchestra, the Unity Orchestra, which featured Eddie Gomez. Mr. Zaremba was ecstatic to receive the Sammy Nestico Award for his original composition in 2018, which includes a follow-up commission with the world-renowned Airmen of Note.

Nina Shekhar’s music explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter. Her works have been performed by Eighth Blackbird, ETHEL, Tony Arnold, Third Angle New Music, The New York Virtuoso Singers, and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and have been featured by Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Sawdust, National Flute Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, GLFCAM, I Care If You Listen, and WNYC/New Sounds. Upcoming projects include multiple performances by Eighth Blackbird, a piece for Music from Copland House, and a commission for the International Contemporary Ensemble to be premiered at LA Philharmonic’s Noon to Midnight Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall.  She is a recipient of the 2015 ASCAP Morton Gould Award and 2018 Leonard Bernstein Award. Ms. Shekhar is also a versatile performing artist, studying flute with Amy Porter, performing as a piano soloist with the Lublin Philharmonic, and as a saxophonist in the Detroit International Jazz Festival. Ms. Shekhar is pursuing composition graduate studies at University of Southern California, studying with Ted Hearne and serving as a composition and aural skills teaching assistant. She earned dual undergraduate degrees in composition and chemical engineering at University of Michigan, studying with Evan Chambers, Bright Sheng, Kristin Kuster, Michael Daugherty, and Erik Santos.

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