Composers Now

06/02/2026

On Friday, July 10th, Music Academy of the West will premiere “A Cathedral of Rust and Birds” by composer Mia Turakhia as part of their Picnic Concert, also highlighting works by Missy Mazzoli, Hildegard Von Bingen, and Meredith Monk! This concert is in celebration of Luna Composition Lab’s 10th anniversary, Luna Lab@10.

For tickets, please visit https://shorturl.at/7BvSn

05/28/2026

Tomorrow, May 29th @ 6:30 PM, will be our 24th edition of ‘Dialogues’, in partnership with Museum of Chinese in America, the organization’s signature performance-and-conversation series hosted by Founding Artistic Director and Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León.

This town hall–style conversation brings together Chinese and Chinese American composers Jing Zhou, Weiyang Ding, and Sophia Kunxu Dou.

They will share reflections on their musical paths, the challenges they have navigated, and the accomplishments that have shaped their work, offering a window into their evolving artistic voices. Presented as an open and engaging forum, ‘Dialogues’ fosters thoughtful exchange and meaningful conversation among composers, performers, and audiences alike.

For tickets for tomorrow’s event, please visit https://shorturl.at/UpM4h

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

Honor! 2026 Visionary Awardee!

05/25/2026

On May 29th, Composers Now will hold our 24th edition of Dialogues in partnership with Museum of Chinese in America, featuring composer Sophia Kunxu Dou and her piece “The Applicant”, for soprano and cello.

Sophia Kunxu Dou is a New York–based artist whose work aspires to “challenge artistic expressions through interdisciplinary collaborations where music, dance, visual arts, and theatre collide”. Currently studying composition with Valerie Coleman at The Juilliard School, she has received honors including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and The American Prize in Composition. Her works have been performed at venues and festivals including John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Sawdust, and the Busan Maru International Music Festival.

The evening will begin with a performance by the featured artists, setting the stage for a rich and engaging dialogue. For tickets and info, please visit https://shorturl.at/n4vfD

05/22/2026

On May 29th, Composers Now will hold our 24th edition of Dialogues in partnership with Museum of Chinese in America, featuring composer Weiyang Ding and her works “Five Mini Dramas of Human Observation, Movements IV and V”, for string quartet!

Weiyang Ding is a composer and multi-disciplinary artist whose music explores themes of “mimicking creatures on this planet, stuttering, and human interactions, to the slow-burning anger and long-lived dark humor in womanhood”. She has an obsession with integrating music, movement, physical gesture, and spatial elements into immersive forms of storytelling across chamber and orchestral music, live electronics, motion-sensor technology, visual media, and theater. Her work has been performed internationally by ensembles including JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, and loadbang Ensemble, with performances at venues such as Lincoln Center and The Stone.

The evening will begin with a performance by the featured artists, setting the stage for a rich and engaging dialogue. For tickets and info, please visit https://shorturl.at/n4vfD

05/18/2026

On May 29th, Composers Now will hold our 24th edition of Dialogues in partnership with Museum of Chinese in America, featuring composer Jing Zhou and her piece “Chilly”, for solo zheng.

Zhou blends bold contemporary ideas with her Chinese musical heritage to create a distinctive sound. Her music has been performed across China, Europe, and the U.S. by ensembles including Music from China, members of Eighth Blackbird, and the NEC Philharmonia. A DMA graduate of the University of Missouri–Kansas City, she was also recognized as an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award finalist.

The evening will begin with a performance by the featured artists, setting the stage for a rich and engaging dialogue. For tickets and info, please visit https://shorturl.at/n4vfD

05/17/2026

Presenter Partner Alert! On May 20th, The Junction Trio will perform composer John Zorn’s “Ghosts”, a haunting work inspired by the slow movement of Beethoven’s trio, at The Morgan Library and Museum in NYC. The program will also include a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major “Ghost” and Dvorak’s Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 65. For tickets and info please visit https://shorturl.at/qrAoe

05/14/2026

Presenter Partner Alert! From May 15-16 at the Church of St. Francis Xavier in NYC, Cantori New York will perform “Stabat Mater” by composer Frank Ferko! “Stabat Mater” (The Mother Stood) is a choral work that “broadens the embrace of this profound medieval hymn depicting Mary at the Crucifixion.” Ferko used original Latin text on the theme of premature death with passages from classical Greek drama and modern verse. For tickets and info, please visit https://shorturl.at/EzbcA

05/12/2026

On Thursday, May 14th, composer Nirmali Fenn will be featured on our IMPACT Series!
Nirmali Fenn is a Sri Lankan-born Australian composer who has been island-hopping since finishing her PhD at Oxford University. At the heart of all her music is the message that home is mobile – each piece responds to what is happening in the place where the composition was born. She senses herself as a musical nomad. Nirmali’s music has been described as “dynamic and sculpturally fluid” exploring the “poetics of spacetime thematic resonance”.

To learn more about her musical journey, tune in on our Youtube Channel this Thursday @ 7:00 PM EST!