Kaufman Music Center's Luna Composition Lab Announces Spring Festival of Masterclasses, Workshops, and World Premieres

For the first time since Luna Composition Lab went virtual in the spring of 2020, Kaufman Music Center will welcome the program's 2021-22 Fellows and more than 30 alumni to NYC in person for a festival of masterclasses, workshops, performances and networking events with celebrated composers and performers. The festival culminates in the annual Solar Flare concert on Wednesday, April 27, which features world premieres by this year's Fellows in Merkin Hall performed by ensembles from NYC's top pre-college music programs: Kaufman Music Center's Special Music School High School and Face the Music teen new-music program as well as Juilliard Pre-College, Manhattan School of Music Pre-College and Mannes Prep at The New School.

Now in its sixth year of setting young composers on the path to success, the mentorship program for female, non-binary and gender nonconforming teens is addressing the gender gap in the field of classical music and "changing the playing field" (The New Yorker) for young artists. The impact of Luna Composition Lab is reverberating through concert halls and classrooms across the U.S. Its alumni are already making their mark in the composition field, with commissions and performance opportunities from professional orchestras and ensembles including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Contemporaneous Ensemble, loadbang, Ensemble intercontemporain and Mousai Remix among others. Over 90% of the program's alumni go on to study composition in college. The recipients of numerous awards and honors, former Luna Composition Lab Fellows are now studying composition at Curtis Institute of Music, Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, The Juilliard School, New York University, Oberlin College, Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, SUNY Geneseo, the University of Southern California and Yale University.

During the festival, more than 30 alumni will be invited to join the current Fellows for workshops and a panel discussion with mentor-composers Valerie Coleman, Dawn Norfleet and Alex Temple, and Luna Composition Lab co-founders Ellen Reid and Missy Mazzoli. The week also includes a performance and masterclasses with Kronos Quartet, masterclasses with New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinetist Anthony McGill and visual/sonic artist Jules Gimbrone, and an Alumni Showcase at New York Public Radio's The Greene Space on April 25 featuring the International Contemporary Ensemble.

The 2021-22 Luna Composition Lab Fellows range in age from 14 to 18 and hail from New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Seattle and Wallingford, PA. They are: Gabriella Cariddo, Alicia Erlandson, Elisa Johnson, Devon Lee, Rachel Mugemancuro and Cecelia Olszewski.

"Luna Lab is quite possibly the best thing that could have happened to me in my musical journey," says 2019-20 Fellow Madeline Clara Cheng, a From the Top finalist and winner of the Illinois Young Composer Contest who has been commissioned by the Cincinnati Youth Orchestra. "It is a unique community with opportunities and connections that helped me realize I could pursue a career in the music industry. As an alumna, I am grateful that multiple people have discovered me through Luna Lab, and that I have gotten to participate in programs to which I previously wouldn't have dreamed of applying."

2021-22 Luna Composition Lab mentor Valerie Coleman says, "Luna Composition Lab has created a significant connection between gifted young voices and their mentors. Having the honor of being a mentor has proven to be such a richly rewarding experience, allowing me to connect with great young minds."

"We are so proud of our alums' achievements," says Luna Composition Lab co-founder Ellen Reid. "It's exhilarating to watch a young composer move from their first composition lesson, to acceptance at a major university, to their first professional commission, all the while staying true to their artistic voice. We are proud of the ever-growing community of women, non-binary and gender nonconforming composers, creators and allies the program has fostered. We find so much joy and inspiration in this work."

"In the six years since Luna Composition Lab's inception, we have watched the field change in real time," says co-founder Missy Mazzoli. "Maybe most important is an increasing awareness of the vital role of mentorship in a young composer's career. We have seen, again and again, the huge impact that even one mentor can have on an artist, and the immense benefits to having a mentor who shares one's life experience."