Applications are now open for The Next Festival’s 2024 Season, June 1-14

String players are invited to apply | Priority deadline is March 1

Two-time GRAMMY®-nominated cellist Seth Parker Woods is the 2024 Guest Artist and soloist for concerts at PS 21 (Chatham, NY) on June 7 and New York City’s Merkin Hall on June 8.

The June 7 & 8 concert program features world premieres of commissioned works for string orchestra, including Essay #1: Leave the People, by four-time GRAMMY®-nominee Curtis Stewart, Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) and violinist with PUBLIQuartet, and a new work by Michael Dudley Jr.  Dudley is an alum of the 2023 Next Festival/American Composers Orchestra EarShot Readings and is on the jazz faculty at SUNY Potsdam. His new string orchestra work is commissioned in collaboration with ACO.

The concert also includes a world premiere by the Next Festival’s Artistic Director Peter Askim and will feature Woods as soloist in Rebecca Saunders cello concerto Ire.

Following a residency in Chatham, NY focused on performance, the second week of the festival, based in NYC, is centered on collaboration. Both the Composer Workshop (led by Aaron Kernis) and the Composer/Choreographer Workshop (with choreographer mentor Sidra Bell) provide early-career creators the opportunity to develop new works in close collaboration with Festival performer fellows. The week culminates in an open workshop on June 14, providing a view into the creative and collaborative process.

A select group of 20 string Fellows are invited to participate in the two-week Festival – living, eating, rehearsing and performing together as the Festival string orchestra.

Priority application deadline is March 1, 2024 | Apply online

Fund the Future!

The Next Festival of Emerging Artists is designed to cultivate the next generation of 360° artists by focusing not only on contemporary music, but also on entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and developing artist citizens. The Festival was founded on the idea that deserving artists can participate regardless of financial circumstances and we offer a unique “pay-what-you-can” model. Your support will help us fund the future of this amazing opportunity for young artists. Learn more!

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With Gracious Support From

 
 


Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University  •  The Amphion Foundation  •  The Williamson Foundation  •  The Heineman Foundation