ACTIVIST, PERFORMER, ARTS LEADER
(he/him/his)

Fulbright scholar Dr. Derrell Acon is an award-winning bass-baritone who understands the power of the performing arts to foster human compassion and catalyze conversations on challenging subjects. He has over 15 years of experience in the equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) space and continues to establish himself as a leader in classical music, education, and ethnic studies as relates to the role of the artist-activist. Dr. Acon is known for his unique and provocative presentations, which often combine performance and scholarship.

French Hornist
(He/Him/His)

Described by the New York Times as “stunning and assured”, Atlanta native David Byrd-Marrow has worked with a uniquely wide range of performers and composers. David is the Assistant Professor of Horn at the Lamont School of Music, of The University of Denver.

Composer, Performer
(She/Her/Hers)

Described by The New York Times as “spellbinding” and “delightfully quirky matched with interpretive sensitivity,” Phyllis Chen is a composer, keyboardist, and creative force whose music draws from tactile exploration of objects and sound. Her interests include interdisciplinary work and finding ways music connects with other art forms and community. Chen is a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the director-founder of the UnCaged Toy Piano, a composition competition and festival for toy piano. She has received grants and commissions from New Music USA, Fromm Foundation, NYSCA, Far Cry Orchestra, Opera Cabal, Claire Chase’s Density project, Singapore Festival of the Arts and others.  Most recently, Chen was named one of the 2019 Cage Cunningham Fellows by Baryshnikov Arts Center. With an interest in Japanese music, Phyllis also plays and studies the shakuhachi flute.

Composer & Percussionist
(he/him/his)

Percussionist and composer Nathan Davis "writes music that deals deftly and poetically with timbre and sonority" (NYTimes). He has premiered hundreds of works by luminaries and by emerging composers, and has appeared as a concerto soloist on hammered dulcimer with the Seattle Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, and Nagoya Philharmonic. The BAM Next Wave Festival and American Opera Projects presented the world premiere of Davis’s “Hagoromo”, a chamber dance-opera featuring the International Contemporary Ensemble, soloists Katalin Karolyi and Peter Tantsits, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and featuring dancers Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto.

violinist, improviser, composer, multi-instrumentalist
(she/her/hers)

Recently described as a “multi genre loving maverick,” (San Diego union tribune) Jennifer’s solo recitals in Carnegie’s Weil Recital Hall have been described as “the gutsiest” (NY Times), her violin sound likened to “the first taste of your favorite ice cream” (anonymous). She travels the globe to study manuscripts of George Enescu and premiere his unknown works at his houses in Romania, investigates the North African roots of the sarabande through folklore and political history, has trained under shaman and performed in 43 countries. After spending three years at Juilliard completing her masters and studying Robert Mann, Jennifer joined International Contemporary Ensemble in 2007 while on tour with the ensemble in Mexico.

COMPOSER, IMPROVISER, TRUMPETER
(he/him/his)

Peter Evans is a trumpet player and composer based in New York City since 2003.   Evans is part of a broad, hybridized scene of musical experimentation and his work cuts across a wide range of modern musical practices and traditions. Peter is committed to the simultaneously self-determining and collaborative nature of musical improvisation as a compositional tool, and works with an ever-expanding group of musicians and composers in the creation of new music. His primary groups as a leader are the Peter Evans Ensemble (with Mazz Swift, Ron Stabinsky and Levy Lorenzo) and Being & Becoming (with Joel Ross, Nick Jozwiak and Savannah Harris). 

Flutist/Improviser
(She/her/hers)

Flutist Isabel Lepanto Gleicher has been called “excellent” by The New York Times. Isabel is an artist member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Wild Up, new music sinfonietta Ensemble Echappe, the Annapolis Chamber Music Festival, and the band ShoutHouse. As part of these and other groups, Isabel has had the opportunity to premiere works by Steve Reich, Missy Mazzoli, John Zorn, Beat Furrer, Augusta Read Thomas, and Dai Fujikura among others. Isabel has been called a “rising talent and stand out performer in the new music scene” by Miller Theatre and in 2018, she was featured in a solo recital on Miller Theatre’s Pop Up series. In 2020 Isabel has presented several solo performances that included original works: International Contemporary Ensemble series Tues@7, ChamberQUEERantine Virtual Festival, Recital Stream and George Mason University’s Mason Arts at Home. Isabel has earned an MM in Contemporary Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, an MM from the Yale School of Music, and a BM from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music.

pianist, ensemble director of recordings
(he/him/his)

Pianist Jacob Greenberg’s work as a soloist and chamber musician has earned worldwide acclaim. He is a longtime member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, with whom he has performed throughout the Americas and Europe, and serves as the Ensemble’s Director of Recordings. Mr. Greenberg’s concert series, Music at Close Range, shows his equal commitment to classics of the repertoire; his own solo discs on New Focus Recordings include works by over a dozen composers. Mr. Greenberg is on the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center, and has taught at Hunter College, City University of New York, The Juilliard School, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. As a composer, he makes recorded works with spoken and sung texts.

Bassoonist, improviser, conversation partner
(She/Her/Hers)

Former Ensemble Artistic Director, and founding Ensemble Evolution Faculty member, Rebekah Heller's work aims to expand the sonic possibilities of her instrument — both in her solo work and through a deep collaborative practice. Called "an impressive solo bassoonist" by The New Yorker, she is dedicated to exploration, experimentation, and the democratization of sound. As bassoonist of the International Contemporary Ensemble since 2008, Rebekah has premiered hundreds of groundbreaking new works worldwide. She has two solo albums of music written for and with her, and in 2018, Rebekah made her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, playing the music of longtime collaborator Ash Fure.

saxophonist, composer
(he/him/his)

Darius Jones has created a recognizable voice as a critically acclaimed saxophonist and composer by embracing individuality and innovation in the tradition of African-American music. Jones has been awarded the Van Lier Fellowship, Jerome Foundation Commission, Jerome Artist-in-Residence at Roulette, French-American Jazz Exchange Award, and, in 2019, the Fromm Music Foundation commission at Harvard University. In 2020, Darius premiered a major new multimedia work entitled, We Can Change the Country, commissioned by New Music USA and New York State Council on the Arts. Jones has released a string of diverse recordings featuring music and images evocative of Black Futurism. The New York Times named Jones among the Best Live Jazz Performances of 2017. Jones’ music is a confrontation against apathy and ego, hoping to inspire authenticity that compels us to be better humans.

percussionist, videographer, arts administrator
(he/him/his)

Ross Karre (b. 1983 in Battle Creek, MI) is a per­cus­sionist and tem­poral artist based in New York City. His pri­mary focus is on com­bining media, including clas­sical per­cus­sion per­for­mance, elec­tronics, the­ater, moving image, visual art, and lighting design. Ross is a per­cus­sionist and the artistic director for the Inter­na­tional Con­tem­po­rary Ensemble.

Cellist
(She/Her/Hers)

Called “a player of formidable expressive gifts” by the NYT, cellist Katinka Kleijn has appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at Lincoln Center, and the Tokyo Metropolitan theater; in recital at Carolina Performing Arts and the Library of Congress; and her record STIR with Bill MacKay came out on Drag City Records.. A member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and International Contemporary Ensemble, Kleijn enjoys a genre defying career; her composition Forward Echo for 11 improvisers premiered at the Instigation Festival, and her devised work Water on the Bridge for cellos and swimming pool with Lia Kohl was presented by the city of Chicago.

cellist, gambist, educator
(he/him/his)

Praised in the New York Times for his versatility, Kivie Cahn-Lipman is the founding cellist of the International Contemporary Ensemble, founder/lironist of baroque string band ACRONYM, founder/director of the Scottish HiP ensemble Makaris, and co-founder/gambist of the viol consort LeStrange. Kivie appears on more than fifty recordings, on labels including Nonesuch, Harmonia Mundi, and ECM, and his complete Cello Suites of J.S. Bach was acclaimed for its "eloquent performances," "fresh thinking," and "energy and zeal" (The Strad). He teaches in Tuscany each summer at the Cortona Sessions for New Music, and he is currently an Assistant Professor at Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music.

Guitarist, Recording Artist, Label Owner & Director (New Focus Recordings)
(he/him/his)

Guitarist Daniel Lippel, called an “exciting soloist” (New York Times) has a multi-faceted career, premiering more than fifty works and recording several on his label, New Focus Recordings. Recent highlights include recitals at Le Poisson Rouge, Sinus Ton Festival (Germany), National University of Colombia, and the New York and Cleveland Classical Guitar Societies, He has worked with many prominent composers including Mario Davidovsky, Nils Vigeland, Ken Ueno, Dai Fujikura, Tyshawn Sorey, Wang Lu, and Du Yun. He appears on recordings on several other labels including Kairos, Bridge, Innova, Tzadik, and Wergo. In improvised settings, he has collaborated with Cory Smythe, Alejandro Florez, Dan Bruce and Aidan Plank as Collage Project, as well as eclectic indie group Mice Parade on several albums and international tours.  Lippel has given presentations at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule (Berlin), Curtis Institute, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory, among others. 

Percussionist, Sound Engineer, Electronic Artist
(He/Him/His)

Filipino-American Levy Marcel Ingles Lorenzo works at the intersection of music, art, and technology. On an international scale, his body of work spans custom electronics design, sound engineering, instrument building, installation art, free improvisation, and classical percussion. With a primary focus on inventing new instruments, he prototypes, composes, and performs new electronic music. Dr. Lorenzo holds a position as Assistant Professor of Creative Technologies at The New School, College of Performing Arts.

violinist, improviser, composer
(he/him/his)

Josh Modney is a violinist and creative musician working at the nexus of composition, improvisation, and interpretation. A “new-music luminary” (The New York Times) hailed for “jaw-dropping technical skill…” and as "one of today's most intrepid experimentalists" (Bandcamp Daily), Modney is a foremost interpreter of adventurous contemporary music, and has cultivated a holistic artistic practice as a composer, solo improviser, bandleader, music director, writer, arts administrator, and collaborator.

saxophonist
(he/him/his)

Ryan Muncy is saxophonist of the International Contemporary Ensemble, having been praised for his “amazing virtuosity” (The Chicago Tribune) and ability to "show off the instrument's malleability and freakish extended range as well as its delicacy and refinement" (The Chicago Reader). He is a recipient of the Kranichstein Music Prize awarded at the 46th Darmstadt Summer Courses, a Fulbright Fellowship in France, the Edes Foundation Prize for Emerging Artists, and has participated in the creation of more than 250 new works for the saxophone, highlighted by deeply collaborative relationships with leading artist-creators including Ashley Fure, Tyshawn Sorey, Du Yun, Wang Lu, Marcos Balter, Wojtek Blecharz, and Matana Roberts. 

violist, singer, educator
(she/her/hers)

Wendy Richman is a distinguished educator and interpreter of both contemporary and traditional repertoire. She is a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, regularly performs with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and has been a frequent guest with the viola sections of the Atlanta Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony. Wendy is on the string faculty of NYU Steinhardt, teaching viola, chamber music, and a class on contemporary string techniques. Through her vox/viola project, loosely inspired by Giacinto Scelsi’s Manto III for singing female violist, she commissions pieces in which she sings and plays simultaneously. Wendy’s debut solo album, vox/viola, was released on International Contemporary Ensemble’s TUNDRA imprint on New Focus Recordings.

Saxophonist, Composer, Multidisciplinary Artist
(two spirit)

Matana Roberts works in many contexts and mediums, including improvisation, dance, poetry, and theater. She is perhaps best known for her acclaimed Coin Coin project, a multi-chapter work of “panoramic sound quilting” that aims to expose the mystical roots and channel the intuitive spirit-raising traditions of American creative expression while maintaining a deep and substantive engagement with narrativity, history, community and political expression within improvisatory musical structures.

clarinetist
(he/him/his)

As a clarinetist Joshua Rubin has been praised by the New York Times as "incapable of playing an inexpressive note." He is a founding member and former Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble, where he oversaw the creative direction of more than one hundred concerts per season. He works with technologies to make electronic music easier for performers and composers, and to build platforms to assist ensembles and other arts organizations that value transparency and collective management.

Flutist, Vocalist, Sound Artist
(She/Her/Hers)

Flutist and vocalist Alice Teyssier brings “something new, something fresh, but also something uncommonly beautiful” to her performances. She has appeared as a soloist with the San Diego Symphony, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Bach Collegium San Diego, Talea Ensemble, La Jolla Symphony, Ensemble Echappé, Cantata Profana, International Contemporary Ensemble and is regularly featured on Los Angeles’ renowned Monday Evening Concerts series.

Sound Artist, Composer, Educator.
(She/Her/Hers)

“She’s essentially invented her own hybrid of song and spoken word, a scat style for today’s avant-garde.” — Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times
Fay Victor is a sound artist that uses performance, improvisation and composition to examine representations of modern life and blackness. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Victor’s ‘everything is everything’ aesthetic permeates her work and approach to the vocal instrument. Victor's released eleven critically acclaimed albums as a leader, including her latest release,“WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!” with her improvising quartet SoundNoiseFUNK (ESP-Disk) just released in October 2020. Victor is breaking ground as an educator and is on the faculty of the New School of Jazz & Contemporary Music in NYC.

Operatic Soprano, Producer, Educator, Activist
(she/her/hers)

Empowerment, uplift, and education are grounding principles driving every aspect of life for Jayme Alilaw. As an artist, Jayme is committed to elevating the voices of Black creators, producing performance art such as La Femme Noire: The Celebrated Women, a celebration of the contributions of African American women to classical music as composers, poets, and singers. With a passion for education, Jayme partnered with composer B.E. Boykin to create Tapestry: A Historical Journey Through Song, an interactive workshop performance commissioned by The Atlanta Opera for grades K-8 that explores the origins of Spirituals and Freedom Songs and the musical and literary elements that comprise them. Jayme finds some of her greatest impact as a transformational coach, supporting individuals and arts organizations in the integration of their anti-racism work. 

Jayme’s greatest work is that of raising a self aware and powerful daughter, who happens to be part of the incoming Class of 2025 at The New School! (Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts).

Violist, Podcaster
(She/her)

Kathryn Brown is a violist hailing from Evanston, IL. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where she studied Viola Performance and Music Education. She studied viola with George Taylor. Kathryn received her degree in Music Education from Illinois State University where she studied viola with Dr. Katherine Lewis. Kathryn has performed, given lectures, and lecture recitals in cities around the world including Wellington, Poznań, Seoul, Nashville, and Salt Lake City. An advocate for access to quality music education for aspiring musicians of all backgrounds, Kathryn teaches in the El Sistema inspired programs RocMusic and Bravo Buddies. Aside from playing and teaching, Kathryn is co-host of Classically Black Podcast, a classical music podcast that discusses classical music from the Black perspective. Katie is currently a fellow with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

cultural strategist
(he/him/his)

Dr. Durell Cooper is one the nation's leading cultural strategists and is the Founder and CEO of Cultural Innovation Group; a boutique consulting agency specializing in systems change and collaborative thought leadership. He is also the creator and host of the web series, Flow. He is also an adjunct instructor at New York University and The City College of New York. He is a former Program Officer at the New York City Department of Cultural Affair (DCLA). Prior to joining DCLA, he worked at Lincoln Center Education on multiple social impact projects. Durell graduated from the Impact Program for Arts Leaders (IPAL) at Stanford University in 2018. He is also a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan. He earned a B.F.A from Southern Methodist University, and both a M.A & Doctorate of Education from New York University.

Composer, Drummer, Scholar
(He/Him)

One of the world’s most brazenly experimental composers, Swiss artist Jessie Cox makes music about the universe - and our future in it. Through avant-garde classical, experimental jazz, and sound art, he has devised his own strand of musical science fiction, one that asks where we go next. For the last decade, his music has been marked by its freeness; his embrace of otherness has led to a body of work described by the LA Times as ‘some of the most experimental music, not just of the day, but the season’. Cox’s music goes forward. When he describes it, he compares it to time travel and space exploration, likening the role of a composer to that of a rocket ship traversing undiscovered galaxies. He is influenced by a vast array of artists who have used their music to imagine futures, and takes Afrofuturism as a core inspiration, asking questions about existence, and the ways we make spaces habitable. (Bio by Robin Smith).

soloist, composer, researcher
(she/her)

Elshan Ghasimi (1981- Isfahan, Iran) is a Tar virtuoso, composer, performance artist, and master of classical Iranian music. At the age of 9, she began studying at the Tehran Conservatory of Music. In her final year of study, before continuing her education at the Tehran University of Art and Sculpture, Ghasimi became the youngest member of the Iranian National Orchestra (1998-2006) under the direction of Farhad Fakhreddini at the age of 17. During her studies, Ghasimi deepened her knowledge of the Radīf (repertoire of classical Iranian music), improvisation, and tar playing with different masters. In Baku, Azerbaijan, she continued her education by learning the Mugham (traditional music of Azerbaijan) and Caucasian tar. Since 2016, Ghasimi lives in Tehran and Berlin, performing both as a soloist and in collaboration with other musicians. Her concerts have taken her to Radialsystem Berlin, the Kölner Philharmonie, resonanzraum in Hamburg, PODIUM Festival Esslingen and Bundeskunsthalle Bonn among others.

Bassoonist, Composer
(they/them)

Radical self-love, compassion, laughter, and the drive to amplify Black art-makers and noise-makers comprise the core of Clifton Joey Guidry III’s work. The NYC bassoonist, composer, and activist excels in many spheres; the San Diego Tribune hails their performances as “lyrical and haunting…hair-raising and unsettling.” Clifton is not simply an acclaimed bassoonist, rather they are also a versatile improviser and a composer of experimental and daring new works that embody a deep love of storytelling. Clifton’s compositions channel their inner child, in honor of their ancestors and predecessors. In every aspect of their practice, Clifton seeks to support, hire, and promote Black artists. In support of this mandate, Clifton has spearheaded Sounds of the African Diaspora, a competition and commissioning platform for composers from the African diaspora. This new initiative ensures that composers from the diaspora have access to the space, resources, and time necessary to foster new, innovative music. Clifton holds a bachelor’s degree in Bassoon Performance from the Peabody Conservatory and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Mannes School of Music. They have attended and been featured by such prestigious festivals as the Spoleto Festival USA and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Double Bassist, Podcaster
(she, her)

Dalanie Harris is a double bassist and podcaster from Los Angeles, CA. She began her musical studies with piano at age 7, and later switched to double bass at age 12. She has played in orchestras all over Los Angeles, including the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Harris is a fierce advocate for equity and cultural inclusivity in classical music spaces. In November 2018 Harris co-founded Classically Black Podcast, which brings listeners into the world of classical music through the eyes of Black classical musicians with a new and interesting twist. Harris has hosted and presented at conferences promoting equity and inclusion for Black musicians across the country including SphinxConnect, the YOLA National Symposium, and the El Sistema USA National Symposium.

Nasim Khorassani (b.1987, Tehran) is an Iranian composer, currently studying her PhD in Music Composition with Katharina Rosenberger and Marcos Balter at the University of California San Diego. She studied her second masters' with Andrew Rindfleisch and Greg D'Alessio at Cleveland State University. The University of Tehran was where she gained her first master's and studied composition with Mohammad Reza Tafazzoli, Kiawasch Sahebnassagh, and Sara Abazari. Mainly as a self-taught composer, Nasim started composing since the age of eight. However, her works did not receive any performance in Iran, until 2016 when she moved to the United States. Since then, she has received various commissions from No Exit New Music Ensemble, Del Sol String Quartet, Patchwork Duo, Zeitgeist, and Loadbang.

teacher, musician, arts professional
(she/her/hers)

As a teacher, musician and arts professional, Eun Lee has prioritized socially relevant musical experiences for audiences of all ages. From 2012 to 2016 Eun worked as a teaching artist throughout New York City, and since 2015 has worked as an administrator at institutions such as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Carnegie Hall. She currently serves as a Senior Manager of New Initiatives at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Eun is also the executive director of The Dream Unfinished, an Activist Orchestra, which she co-founded in 2014. She has been invited to speak on The Dream Unfinished at Chamber Music America, the Kennedy Center, Harvard University, and other institutions. Eun is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.

Artist, Organizer, Social Justice Educator & Consultant
(She/her/hers/they/them/their)

Rania El Mugammar is a Sudanese artist, anti-oppression consultant, and liberation educator based in Toronto. Rania's artistic and community work is deeply rooted in Black Liberation. Rania is a published writer, award winning organizer, speaker, arts educator, and multidisciplinary performer. Her work explores reproductive justice, transformative justice & abolition, art as liberation and digital justice. As a writer, Rania's work explores themes of identity, womanhood, Blackness, flight, exile, migration, belonging, gender, sexuality and beyond. Rania's primary mediums are poetry, spoken word and oral storytelling. She is a published poet, storyteller and playwright. Rania is deeply interested in poetic form and the auditory texture of words as well as the visual/aesthetic impact of language and form.

bassonist & Digital/Broadcast media producer
(he/him/his)

Garrett McQueen is a bassoonist who has performed with orchestras across the country, including the Knoxville Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Today, Garrett works as a producer of digital and broadcast media, with content featured on the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and local public radio stations across the country. In 2017, Current named McQueen a Black talent in public media “that you may not know, but should,” and in 2021 the New York Times noted his weekly podcast, TRILLOQUY, as "a standout" that's "required listening for industry leaders and listeners alike.” In addition to working as the Executive Producer and co-host of the TRILLOQUY podcast, Garrett works as an equity consultant, guest speaker, curator and presenter at the intersection of race and "classical" music. He serves on the board of the American Composers Forum as the Equity Committee Chair, and is on the leadership teams of the Black Opera Alliance, the Gateways Music Festival, and the International Society for Black Musicians.

Director of Community Outreach, Colin Kaepernicks Know Your Rights Camp

Patricia Robinson is a trailblazing leader that is highly recognized for her contributions in the media industry, community and social activism engagement. Her exceptional work ethic, apparent leadership, commitment, consistency, and consummate professionalism has earned her a dynamic career as Vice President of HR and Community Engagement for Hot 97, WBLS, and WLIB–spanning over twenty years in the broadcast media industry.

Groove and Gratitude
(She/They)

Frae-Frae: Daughter of Drexciya is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, educator, composer and electro acoustic adventurer. Bedrock to her artistry is the roots and the fruits of the blues from spirituals to afro diasporic futuristic soundscapes that explore time travel, prayer, meditation, and the African American ecstatic tradition. As a composer, she writes for film, theater, and large and extended jazz and classical orchestras and her creative range spans immersive and ambisonic music, blues, various ethnomusicological traditions, rock, pop, hip-hop, and her own brand of subaquatic deconstructed techno soul. To date, she has shared her intentional creativity in 38 countries. Frae-Frae is also the Executive Director/Dir of Artistic Programming at Willie Mae Future Sounds named after Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. W.M.F.S. is a STEAM based, year round empowerment through music program that includes spiritual activism, Afro Diasporic futurism, critical thinking and leadership, including music technology through the lens of the blues tradition for girls and gender non conforming youth in New York City.