08/19/2026
Music for 18 Musicians | 50th Anniversary Performance
Steve Reich | ensembleNEWSRQ {listen bellow}
https://youtu.be/glfgUNdyr4k?si=idRZLKWrrk448RSj
For this performance, ensembleNEWSRQ assembled an extraordinary group of pianists, singers, orchestral musicians, contemporary-music specialists, GRAMMY-winning and GRAMMY-nominated artists.
Written between 1974 and 1976, Music for 18 Musicians remains one of Steve Reich’s defining works: a continuously evolving architecture of pulse, harmony, breath, rhythm, and resonance.
PERFORMERS
Piano
Conor Hanick
Han Chen
Stephen Drury
Wesley Ducote
Voice
Nicole Estima
Katy Avery
Lily Wohl
Thea Lobo
Clarinet / Bass Clarinet
Stephanie Key
Seok Hee Jang
Violin
Samantha Bennett
Cello
David Mollenauer
Percussion
George Nickson
Clara Warnaar
Svet Stoyanov
Mike Truesdell
Scott Crawford
Molly Yeh
Jordan Holley
Matthew Kibort
ensembleNewSRQ
The ensemble brings together musicians whose careers span major American orchestras, leading contemporary-music ensembles, international concert stages, higher education, commissioning, and the creation and performance of new music.
Pianist Conor Hanick has premiered more than 200 works and collaborated with many of the defining composers of contemporary music. Han Chen is a GRAMMY-nominated pianist and internationally acclaimed interpreter of contemporary repertoire. Pianist and conductor Stephen Drury has spent decades championing new music and working with composers including John Cage, György Ligeti, Frederic Rzewski, Steve Reich, and John Zorn.
George Nickson is Principal Percussionist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Chair of Percussion at Southern Methodist University, and Artistic Director and Co-Founder of ensembleNEWSRQ. The percussion section also includes internationally recognized soloists and contemporary-music specialists Clara Warnaar, Svet Stoyanov, and Mike Truesdell, alongside Scott Crawford, Jordan Holley, Matthew Kibort, and Molly Yeh..
Before becoming the host of Food Network’s Girl Meets Farm, cookbook author and television personality Molly Yeh studied percussion at The Juilliard School. For this performance, she returned to the percussion section for Reich’s landmark work.
Steve Reich — *Music for 18 Musicians
ensembleNEWSRQ
April 24, 2026
Sarasota Opera House
Sarasota, Florida
Presented as part of ensembleNEWSRQ Season 10.
Filmed and edited by Brian J Boyd
Final sound edit by Sam Nelson
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