MISSION STATEMENT
Contemporaneous is an ensemble of 25 musicians whose mission is to bring to life the most transformative music by living composers through performances, commissions, recordings, and educational programs. Described as "exact and detailed, but also lively and openly dancing" (The New York Times) and "leading new music towards its better self" (I Care If You Listen), Contemporaneous particularly champions the creation of large-scale works and “dream projects,” which composers might not otherwise have opportunities to realize due to scale.
Based in New York City and active throughout the United States, Contemporaneous has premiered over 200 new works, and has been presented by such institutions as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Park Avenue Armory, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall, PROTOTYPE Festival, Merkin Concert Hall, MATA Festival, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and Bang on a Can and has worked with such artists as David Byrne, Donnacha Dennehy, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Dawn Upshaw, and Julia Wolfe. Contemporaneous' programming has also received acclaim from community members, artists, and press of all kinds, with the ensemble’s recent performance of Stranger Love being listed as one of 2023’s “best classical music performances” by the New York Times.
Contemporaneous also leads participatory programs for public school students in the communities where the ensemble performs. These workshops are designed to instill a passion for new music and to convey the power of careful listening and meaningful expression through music. The ensemble has held residencies at such institutions as Colgate University, Hamilton College, City University of New York, the University of New Orleans, Williams College, and Bard College, where the group was founded in 2010. Contemporaneous is a federally tax-exempt not-for-profit organization, supported by a dedicated community of listeners.
The mission of Contemporaneous is:
To present music by living composers with the capacity to offer a transformative experience to the audience.
To center new voices in classical music, presenting composers whose names are not yet familiar to the audience, and/or who have not yet had the opportunity to write for a large ensemble of orchestral instruments.
To empower composers — through commissions without restrictions — to take risks, challenge themselves and their audiences, and focus on large-scale passion projects without restraints on creative imagination. We believe the most meaningful art is created when artists have free reign to pursue what they most want to create.
To bring educational and outreach programs to communities in need, especially those that would not otherwise have access to new music.
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