Composer Portraits 2024/25

The Miller Theatre at Columbia University is a renowned venue in New York City. In the Composer Portraits series, which has been running for 25 years, the audience dives deep into the work of a composer in one evening and learns more about the creative process in on-stage conversations. All composers are invited for a five-day residency at the Miller Theatre to work closely with the musicians during rehearsals and bring performances of a high artistic standard to the stage. The conversations with the composers take place after the interval of the concerts and illuminate the music on the programme so that audiences, from music professionals to novices, leave with more nuanced ideas about the music they have just heard. These conversations are often cited by audiences as one of their favourite parts of the series.

Composer Portraits 2024/25 will feature five composers and major premieres of several new works, representing a wide range of cultural and stylistic backgrounds. The series opens in September with the International Contemporary Ensemble performing the works of Courtney Bryan. November will see the New York premiere of Miguel Zenón’s Suite Golden City, a musical homage to the immigrant communities of San Francisco. The full-length work, which is both notated and improvised, was written for nine musicians and features projections by David Murakami. In a portrait in February, the New York audience will get to know the Swedish composer Lisa Streich. Ensemble Yarn/Wire will be joined by violinist Miranda Cuckson in a programme that includes the New York premiere of ORCHESTRA, a Miller Theatre commission, as well as Safran and Falter. Miya Masaoka is the subject of a portrait in March, which will be performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble. The series concludes in April with a portrait concert by Jessie Montgomery. The Everything Band will be accompanied by guest pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, who will perform the world premiere of a new work commissioned by Miller Theatre.

The Miller Theatre’s Composer Portraits 2024/25 are supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
millertheatre.com

Dates

September 12, 2024 (Portrait of Courtney Bryan)
November 14, 2024 (Portrait of Miguel Zenón)
February 6, 2025 (Portrait of Lisa Streich)
March 6, 2025 (Portrait of Miya Masaoka)
April 3, 2025 (Portrait of Jessie Montgomery)

Miller Theatre, New York City