Chamber Music America (CMA), the national network for ensemble music professionals, has announced the awardees of its commissioning programs for 2016, facilitating the creation of new works for small ensembles. A sum of $483,100 will be distributed to 21 ensembles via two of CMA’s major grant programs: Classical Commissioning, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and New Jazz Works, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
As stated in a press release distributed this morning, “The ensembles selected this year reflect the diverse array of styles performed by small ensembles in the U.S. today, ranging from classical/contemporary keyboard sextet to jazz piano-violin duo to traditional wind, string, vocal, and jazz quartets.” The grantees were chosen in the spring, by independent peer panels of musicians.
The recipients of New Jazz Works grants-including the grantees, composers and instrumentation-are listed below:
Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet (Oakland, Calif.)
Composer: Ambrose Akinmusire
Instrumentation: Trumpet, piano/keyboards, bass, drums
Geof Bradfield Ensemble (Chicago, Ill.)
Composer: Geof Bradfield
Instrumentation: Tenor saxophone/bass clarinet, flute/tenor saxophone, alto saxophone/clarinet, trumpet, trombone, guitar/live electronics, bass, drums
Sylvie Courvoisier/Mark Feldman DUO (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Composer: Sylvie Courvoisier
Instrumentation: Piano, violin
Musae (Union City, N.J.)
Composer: Roman Filiu O’Reilly
Instrumentation: Alto saxophone, tenor saxophone/vocals, piano, guitar, bass, drums, percussion
Ryan Keberle and Catharsis (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Composer: Ryan Keberle
Instrumentation: Trombone/melodica, voice, trumpet, bass, drums
Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Composer: Chris Lightcap
Instrumentation: Bass, saxophones, guitars, keyboards, drums
Todd Marcus Jazz Orchestra (Baltimore, Md.)
Composer: Todd Marcus
Instrumentation: Bass clarinet, alto saxophone/flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums
Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures (Maplewood, N.J.)
Composer: Adam Rudolph
Instrumentation: Multiple percussion instruments, thumb piano, sintir, cornet/flugelhorn, multiple woodwinds, electronic keyboards, guitar, bass
Wayne Shorter Quartet (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Composer: Wayne Shorter
Instrumentation: Soprano/tenor saxophone, piano, bass, drums
For more information on Chamber Music America, visit chamber-music.org.
