PAST SEASONS:
2013 - 2019
2019 Season
Our 2019 Season (May 26-June 8) featured contemporary violinist Miranda Cuckson as guest artist, as well as our resident entrepreneurial artist Jessica Meyer. Fellows participated in masterclasses and performed concerts at Music Mountain (Falls Village, CT), Egremont Village Inn (Egremont, MA), and National Sawdust (Brooklyn, NY), playing the music of living composers.
Described as “one of the most sensitive and electric interpreters of new music” (Downbeat Magazine), Miranda Cuckson has collaborated with an array of renowned composers including Dutilleux, Carter, Ades, Sciarrino, Adams, Boulez, Hyla, Mackey, Crumb, Iyer, Saariaho, Davidovsky, Ran, Hurel, Bermel, Wyner, Murail, Wuorinen, and Currier.
We were also excited to continue our composer/choreographer workshops with GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize Winner Aaron Jay Kernis and Tony Nominee choreographer Christopher D’Amboise. Our 2019 Composer/Choreographer Workshop was held at The Center for Ballet and the Arts (New York, NY).
Press & Reviews:
-Review: Miranda Cuckson (violin) Orchestra of the Next Festival of Emerging Artists/Peter Askim, The Strad, 7/25/19
-Music Mountain Festival of Emerging Artists benefits Hunt Library, The Litchfield County Times, 5/29/19
-Music Interview: Peter Askim’s Next Festival Of Emerging Artists, WSHU Public Radio, 5/28/19
-Interview: The Next Festival Of Emerging Artists, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, 5/24/19
-Listen to the podcast: Marshall Miles Interviews Peter Askim, Robin Hood Radio on Demand, 5/13/19
2018 Season
The 2018 season featured guest artist soprano Tony Arnold, who performed with festival musicians at Music Mountain’s Gordon Hall and (le) poisson rouge. The season’s program included works by Liisa Hirsch, Jessica Meyer, and Peter Askim and featured the World Premiere of the orchestral version of Brett Dean’s “And once I played Ophelia,” commissioned by the Festival. Liisa Hirsch and Jessica Meyer worked closely with Festival musicians on the interpretation of their compositions and attended both performances.
The second half of the festival included workshopping and recording works by student composers Tanner Porter, James Budinich, and JP Redmond. 2018 was also the second season involving the composer/choreographer workshop, and featured invited choreographers Dashown Rawl, William Briscoe, and Gabrielle Lamb.
2017 Season
The 2017 season featured Guest Artist violinist Jennifer Koh performing with the festival musicians at Music Mountain and at New York’s National Sawdust. The program included music by Anna Clyne, Caroline Shaw, Peter Askim, Ted Hearne and Brett Dean, with composers Anna Clyne and Caroline Shaw in attendance.
The Festival was awarded the 2017 Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music and was recognized for its innovative programming by the Marijosius Award in Orchestral Programming.
In addition to the second season of our Composer Workshop, 2017 was also the inaugural season for our Composer/Choreographer workshop at NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts. The innovative workshop explores the possibilities of real time collaboration between composers, choreographers, musicians and dancers and is led by Tony-nominated choreographer Christopher D’Amboise, Peter Askim, and composer Aaron Jay Kernis.
Workshop participants included composers Marco-Adrián Ramos, Eli Greenhoe, TJ Cole; choreographers Evvie Allison, Ellie Hardwick and Celeste Patton and professional dancers from Mark Morris Dance Company and the Metropolitan Opera ballet.
2016 Season
The 2016 season featured guest artists violist Nadia Sirota and legendary guitarist/songwriter Richard Thompson, for performances at Music Mountain’s Gordon Hall, and sold out performances at NYC’s (le) poisson rouge and the Performing Arts Center in Albany, NY. Concerts included works by Judd Greenstein, Derek Bermel, Peter Askim, Christopher Theofanidis and the World Premieres of Aleksandra Vrebalov’s “Echolocations” and Richard Thompson’s “Killed In Action.” The Festival also marked the first ever performance of repertoire from Kronos Quartet’s “Fifty for the Future” program. Student string quartet Quartet Dō worked closely with Aleksandra Vrebalov on her string quartet “My Desert, My Rose” and gave the first ever non-Kronos Quartet performance as part of “Fifty for the Future.”
2016 was also the inaugural year of the Composer Workshop, led by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis. The Workshop fosters close collaboration between the next generation of performers and composers in an intensive series of rehearsals and workshops, culminating in a recording session. Composers Lilia Ugay and Krists Auznieks composed new music for the Festival, collaborating closely with Festival musicians to bring them to life.
2015 Season
The 2015 season featured guest artist cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and the Festival’s New York debut at (le) poisson rouge. The program was recorded by WQXR/Q2 and was featured on “New York Now.” Music of Peter-Anthony Togni, Peter Askim, Pierre Jalbert and Lisa Bielawa and Paola Prestini. Festival musicians collaborated with composers Togni, Jalbert and Bielawa on the interpretation of their music.
The Festival’s performances of Pierre Jalbert’s “Autumn Rhapsody” and Lisa Bielawa’s “The Trojan Women” were awarded the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.
2014 Season
The 2014 season included the string quartet ETHEL and the filming of our first video documentary. The concert featured the World Premiere of Phil Kline’s “Blood,” composed for the Festival. The program for this season included music of Kline, Askim, ETHEL and Shostakovich.
2013 Season
The inaugural 2013 season featured guest cellist Matt Haimovitz, and included masterclasses, our first chamber music house concert, and a Music Mountain concert program including music of Osvaldo Golijov, Luna Pearl Woolf, Toru Takemitsu, Peter Askim, and Luigi Boccherini.