Meredith Monk & Missy Mazzoli to Take Part in American Composers Orchestra's Next COMPOSER TO COMPOSER TALK

American Composers Orchestra will present its next Composer to Composer Talk online with Meredith Monk and Missy Mazzoli on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 5pm ET. The talk, which will be hosted by ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel, will be live-streamed and available for on-demand viewing for seven days. Tickets are free; registration is highly encouraged. Registrants will receive links to join the event in advance.

ACO's Composer to Composer series features major American composers in conversation with each other about their work and leading a creative life. The intergenerational discussions begin by exploring a single orchestral piece, with one composer interviewing the other. Attendees will gain insight into the work's genesis, sound, influence on the American orchestral canon, and will be invited to ask questions of the artists.

On March 31, Missy Mazzoli talks with Meredith Monk about her work WEAVE, from 2010, of which Monk writes, "I conceived of WEAVE for Two Voices, Chamber Orchestra and Chorus as a continuous, seamless form in which layers that are at first part of a texture are gradually revealed, take on their own life and then are modified by the next layer that appears. Each passage evolves from the preceding one . . . There is an organic build of momentum in each passage of WEAVE leading naturally to the next, as indicated by the marked tempi. The ebb and flow of the piece depend on the relationship of tempi from one passage to another and the balance between the solo voices, instruments and chorus."

ACO's Composer to Composer Talks will be archived by Oral History of American Music (OHAM) within Yale University's Irving S. Gilmore Music Library.

Upcoming Professional Development Panels:

ACO also continues its series of free Professional Development Panels co-presented with the American Composers Forum, featuring panel discussions by esteemed professionals in the industry about topics including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Entrepreneurship and Creating an Ensemble; Film Composition; Fundraising via Supportive Individuals; Programming and Digital Curation; Publishing, Self-Publishing, and Management; Recording Law and Practice; Project Production and Recording; and more. All panels are free and open to the public; registration is required.

Equity in Orchestras - March 24, 2021 at 3pm ET

A panel of experts converse about the role of race in orchestral culture, individual responsibility, and how racism manifests in the classical music industry. They will use Nebal Maysaud's article, "It's Time to Let Classical Music Die'" as a jumping off point. Pratichi Shah, President and CEO, Flourish Talent Management Solutions, moderates the panel which includes Nebal Maysaud, composer and consultant; Melissa Ngan, American Composers Orchestra CEO & President; and Daniel Bernard Roumain, composer, violinist, educator. A Q&A with the audience will follow.

Conductor's Roundtable with Mei-Ann Chen & Alan Gilbert - April 7, 2021 at 3pm ET

Orchestral conductors Mei-Ann Chen and Alan Gilbert provide insight into the conductor-composer relationship, programming new works, and other topics relevant to composers. A Q&A with the audience will follow.

Recording Law & Licensing for Composers - April 21, 2021 at 1pm ET

Chris Campbell, Director of Recordings at Innova Recordings, leads a panel covering the basics of recording law and licensing. The panel, which includes Meerenai Shim, flutist, artist, record producer, music educator, movement coach; and Ari Solotoff, Esq., entertainment lawyer / Founder & Managing Attorney, Solotoff Law Group, PLLC; will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Conductor's Roundtable with Marin Alsop & George Manahan - May 5, 2021 at 5pm ET

Orchestral conductors Marin Alsop and George Manahan provide insight into the conductor-composer relationship, programming new works, and other topics relevant to composers, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Programming & Digital Curation - May 19, 2021 at 3pm ET

How does traditional programming change when it's focused online? Where is classical music headed in the digital age? American Composers Orchestra CEO and President Melissa Ngan moderates a panel of experts including Keith Obadike, maker of music, art, and literature; Mendi Obadike, maker of music, art, and literature; Paola Prestini, composer, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of National Sawdust; and Kamala Sankaram, composer, performer. A Q&A with the audience will follow the panel discussion.

About the March 31 Composers - Meredith Monk & Missy Mazzoli

Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, and creator of new opera and music-theater works. Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer in what is now called "extended vocal technique." Celebrated internationally, her work has been presented at major venues around the world. Over the last six decades Ms. Monk has been hailed as one of National Public Radio's 50 Great Voices and "one of America's coolest composers." Her numerous awards and honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Republic of France, induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, and a National Medal of Arts. Most of her music can be heard on the ECM label, including the Grammy-nominated impermanence. Since the early 2000s, Monk has been creating vital new repertoire for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments, with recent commissions from the San Francisco Symphony and Carnegie Hall where she held the 2014-15 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair in conjunction with her 50th Season of creating and performing. Currently Monk is developing Indra's Net, the third part of a trilogy of music-theater works exploring our interdependent relationship with nature.

Missy Mazzoli has had her music performed by the Kronos Quartet, LA Opera, eighth blackbird, the BBC Symphony, Scottish Opera and many others. In 2018, she became the first woman to receive a main stage commission from the Metropolitan Opera and was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best Classical Composition. She is currently Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and from 2012-2015 was Composer-in-Residence with Opera Philadelphia. Upcoming commissions include works for Opera Philadelphia, the National Ballet of Canada and Norwegian National Opera. In 2016, with composer Ellen Reid and in partnership with the Kaufman Music Center she founded Luna Lab, a mentorship program for young female, nonbinary and gender non-conforming composers. Her works are published by G. Schirmer.