Composers Now Inc

The Cheswatyr Commissions was created and produced by Composers Now with underwriting for the Cheswatyr Foundation. The award commemorates Cece Wasserman and foregrounds her legacy of empowering living composers. In FY24 the 2023 commission awardee Alyssa Regent presented her world premier "The Island Before Open Waters" at the Forum Columbia University in October 2023. Bora Yoon served as her mentor. Composers Now awarded Spanish composer Milena Casado with the commission. She will present her world premier in November 2024 at the Forum at Columbia University.

Dialogues is an innovative initiative hosted by the orgs Founder & Artistic Director Tania Leon. Each Dialogue opens with inspiring performances followed by thought-provoking town-hall style conversations culminating in meaningful exchanges among composers performers and audiences. The composers highlight the rich cultural diversity of NYC. In FY24 CN brought Dialogues to audiences in Queens The Bronx and Brooklyn. Dialogues No. 12 showcased composers Wang Lu Fernando Otero and Laurie Spiegel. Bargemusic in Brooklyn hosted this Dialogue. Dialogues No. 13 featured Victoria Cheah Susie Ibarra and Kamala Sankaram. CN partnered with Bronx Arts Ensemble and the Van Cortlandt Part Alliance. With the support of a grant from the Mellon Foundation CN took Dialogues on the road - Dialogues 14 was hosted at the Miami Light Project in Miami Florida. This Dialogue was co-hosted by Orlando Garcia and featured Yissy Garcia Juraj Kojs and Milly Turner. Dialogue No 15 was held in Chicago IL at PianoForte. The co-host was Coco Elysees and the featured composers were Edward Wilkerson Jr. Sophie McMillian-Myers and Kari Watson. Dialogues No. 16 held in Sept 2024 was held at LaGuardia Community College featuring Daniel Blake Lisa DeSpain and Anais Maviel.

Impact an online series launched during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues twice a month. Impact is a space in which the guest composers can reflect on their creativity influences pathways and responsibilities as living artist. CN premieres each half-hour episode on its YouTude channel as well as its website and social media. In FY24 we featured Meg Okura Declan Sheehy-Moss SPACE CADETS Elizabeth Gartman Molto Ohm Noelle Tannen Hiliard Greene Rachel Terrien Eric Lemmon Joelle Wallach Stefania de Kennesey Stephanie Griffin James Ilgenfritz Dafna Naphtali Che Buford Andrew Drury Jeryl Johnson Shoko Nagai Kathleen Tagg Itza Garcia and Lucie Vitkova

The Second Stage is a commissioning mentoring and professional development initiative established with the support of the Toulmin Foundation. The programs offers each composer a comprehensive experience that concludes with a concert featuring a premiere of their work. Three graduates are selected from the Luna Composition Lab Fellowship and 3 mentors are paired with each graduates. Mentors are chosen based on their educational backgrounds and artistic practices. FY24 awardees are KiMani Bridges Alicia Erlanson and Haeon. The three mentors chosen to support the above mentioned composers were Judith Clurman Javier Diaz and Ingrid Laubrook.

In collaboration with the Rockerfeller Brothers Fund and Asian Cultural Center composers are chosen through a juried process to participate in a week long residency with like minds in the tranquil gardens of the Pocantico Center to create new works. Composers conductor and educator Whitney George and pianist composer and curator Shih Yang Lee help a presentation and discussion in November 2023 at the David Rockerfeller Creative Arts Center.

Composer Curator offers music creators who collaborate with artists in other arts disciplines a platform to share their creative processes curate programs and engage in conversations with fellow composers around the nation and the world. In FY24 CN hosted composer and sound artist Miya Masako. She was joined by Patricia Alessandrini James Fei and Guillermo Galindo.