Performances
& Events

Alarm Will Sound brings it’s virtuosic 20-member band to Brooklyn’s newest experimental music venue.

Toulmin Commissioning Consortium: ACO and LAO have established a 30-orchestra consortium to support commissions by 6 women and nonbinary EarShot alumni. Each composer will write a 6–8 minute orchestral work and develop an educational or community-focused program presented in partnership with each orchestra.

American Composers Orchestra announces its 14th annual Underwood New Music Readings Sessions and Commission. Up to eight composers in the early stages of their careers will be selected to participate. One will be awarded a $15,000 commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO at Carnegie Hall. The Readings are led by Artistic Director Robert Beaser and Music Director Steven Sloane, and will be held on May 5-6, 2005 at Columbia University. The application deadline is November 10, 2004. The submission form, guidelines, and additional information is available at www.americancomposers.org/nmr or by calling ACO at 212 977 8495 x202/readings@americancomposers.org.

American Composers Orchestra announces its 16th annual Underwood New Music Reading Sessions to be held at the Skirball Center for Performing Arts in New York City on May 8 & 9, 2007. Up to eight composers in the early stages of their careers will be selected to participate. One will be awarded a $15,000 commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO.Writing for the symphony orchestra remains one of the supreme challenges for the aspiring composer. The subtleties of instrumental balance, timbre, effective part preparation, and communication with conductor and musicians are critical skills. But openings for composers to gain hands-on experience working with a professional orchestra are few. ACO's New Music Reading Sessions are designed to give emerging composers the opportunity to work with an orchestra singular in its commitment to the development of the American composer and to hear their work performed by some of the country's most outstanding contemporary music instrumentalists.Led by ACO Artistic Director Robert Beaser, the Readings are the core of ACO's ongoing professional training programs for emerging American composers.At the Readings, composers will meet with ACO artistic staff, orchestra members, and composer advisors and receive critical commentary and feedback. Members of ACO's composer advisory panel and guest composers participate in preliminary reviews of scores, post-Reading evaluations and selection of the composer to receive the commission award. The Reading are professionally recorded, and each composer a high-quality audio recording to be used for study purposes.ACO's related programs include an annual composer fellowship that allows a composer to work with ACO's artistic and administrative staffs over the course of a season; and Orchestra Tech, a multi-year project to explore the past, present and future applications of electronics and digital technologies in orchestral music. Through Orchestra Tech, works employing electronics and digital technology are now encouraged for the Readings.Lead support for the New Music Readings comes from Mr. Paul Underwood, the Fromm Foundation and The Helen F. Whitaker Fund. ACO's emerging composers programs are made possible with the support of Jerome Foundation, and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Underwood New Music Readings present an opportunity to selected young composers to have there works read and recorded by a professional orchestra. The event is open to the public and ACO reaches out to schools and other music organizations inviting them to attend the readings.

21st Annual Underwood New Music Readings and Commission June 1-3, 2012Up to six composers in the early stages of their careers will be selected to participate. One will be awarded a $15,000 commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO. The readings are the core of ACO’s ongoing professional training programs for emerging American composers. At the Readings, composers will meet with ACO artistic staff and orchestra members—including conductor and music director George Manahan, artistic director Robert Beaser and mentor composers Derek Bermel, Steven Stucky, and Melinda Wagner—and receive critical commentary and feedback. The Readings are professionally recorded, and each composer is given a high-quality audio recording to be used for study purposes. Composers also participate in a series of professional development workshops covering such topics as promotion, score preparation, copyright and commissioning agreements, and other career essentials. Participants’ travel expenses are provided.

19th Annual Underwood New Music Readings

American Composers Orchestra announces its 15th annual Underwood New Music Readings Sessions and Commission. Up to eight composers in the early stages of their careers will be selected to participate. One will be awarded a $15,000 commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO at Carnegie Hall. The Readings are led by Artistic Director Robert Beaser and, and will be held on May 18 & 19, 2006 in New York City. Composers Paul Moravec and Stephen Paulus will serve as composer-mentors.

The American Composers Orchestra presents the 17th Annual Underwood New Music Readings, featuring readings by six emerging American Composers.

The American Composers Orchestra meets for their 23rd Annual Underwood New Music readings. Featuring seven emerging American composers.

In ACO’s 40 year history, 26 of those years have included a New Music Reading program, first known as The Whitaker New Music Readings and subsequently as The Underwood New Music Readings. They have become one of this country’s most coveted opportunities for emerging composers. This year, six of the nation’s most promising composers in the early stages of their professional careers have been selected from over 200 submissions received from around the country. Writing for symphony orchestra remains one of the supreme challenges for the aspiring composer. Learning the subtleties of instrumental balance and timbre, effective part preparation, and how to effectively communicate with the conductor and musicians are critical skills, but openings for composers to gain hands-on experience working with a professional orchestra are few. The Underwood New Music Readings give emerging composers the opportunity to work with an orchestra singular in its commitment to the development of the American composer, and to hear their work performed by some of the country’s most outstanding contemporary music instrumentalists. This year’s participants are composers with diverse backgrounds and stylistic approaches. Each meets with the conductor, key orchestra members, a publishing consultant and mentor composers in preparation for two sessions with the orchestra. Following the sessions with the orchestra, the composers will meet with ACO staff, orchestra members, the conductor and mentor composers to receive critical commentary and feedback. The Readings are professionally recorded to assist each composer in analysis and professional development. Additionally, ACO provides a Career Development Workshop with sessions and panel discussions on publishing, copyright law and promotional strategies with industry leaders. After the conclusion of the Readings, one composer will be awarded a $15,000 commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO in a future season. The audience is also invited to vote for an audience choice award. To date, the New Music Readings have offered a vital resource to the industry by providing essential career development opportunities to over 150 composers, including such award- winning composers as Derek Bermel, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Sebastian Currier, Pierre Jalbert, Randall Woolf, Jennifer Higdon, and Augusta Read Thomas. Since participating in ACO’s readings, these composers have held important residencies and had scores of works commissioned, premiered, and performed by many of the country’s most prominent symphony orchestras.

25th Annual Underwood New Music Readings for emerging composers. Six composers heard ACO perform their work live for the first time, received personalized mentorship, and an archival recording.

AmericanComposersOrchestraannouncesthe28thAnnualUnderwoodNewMusicReadingsonMay23and24,2019atNYU’sFrederickLoeweTheater(35West4thStreet). ACO continues its commitment to the creation and development of new orchestral music by identifying and celebrating emerging composers with the Underwood New Music Readings, giving audiences a chance to look behind the scenes of bringing new, diverse orchestral music to life. The first day of Readings, an open rehearsal, is Thursday, May 23, 2019 at 10:30 am; the second day of Readings is Friday, May24, 2019 at 7:30 pm during which the new works will be polished and performed in their entirety. ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel directs the Readings; Ludovic Morlot, Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, conducts. This year, six of the nation’s most promising composers in the early stages of their professional careers were selected from over 200 submissions. Rodrigo Castro, Chen Yihan, inti figgis-vizueta, Jack Hughes, Jihyun Kim, and Aaron Israel Levin represent a broad spectrum of musical backgrounds and sound worlds.Three commission opportunities will be available to this year’s participants: the Underwood Commission and Audience Choice each award the chance to write 2a new work for ACO while the Consortium for Emerging Composers winner will receive a commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and American Youth Symphony (Los Angeles).Each composer participating in the Underwood New Music Readings receives rehearsals, a reading, anda digital recording of his or her work. Feedback sessions with guest conductor Ludovic Morlot, ACO principal players, mentor composers, and ACO’s directors provide crucial artistic, technical, and conceptual assistance.This year’s mentor composers are Tania León, Anthony Cheung,and ACO Artistic Director, Derek Bermel.In addition, the Readings offer a Career Development Workshop for composers, students, or anyone interested in exploring the business and realities of being a professional composer on Friday, May 24, from 10am-3pm. These invaluable talks, led by leaders in the industry, present topics ranging from copyright and commission agreements to music preparation,from promotion to fundraising.

24th Annual Underwood New Music Readings for emerging composers. Six composers heard ACO perform their work live for the first time, received personalized mentorship, and an archival recording.

22nd Annual Underwood New Music Readings and CommissionApril 8-10, 2013Up to six composers in the early stages of their careers will be selected to participate. One will be awarded a $15,000 commission to write a new work to be performed by ACO. There are no age restrictions; however, applicants should be at the early stages of their professional careers. Each composer may submit only one composition for consideration. Only works that will not have been performed or read by a professional orchestra nor received a public performance prior to the reading date are eligible. Do not submit recordings. Only works completed after January 1, 2008, will be considered. Compositions should be up to 15 minutes in length. Shorter works, or a portion or movement from longer works, will also be considered. Maximum instrumentation is: Winds 3*3*3*3*; Brass 4.3*3*1; Timpani + 4 Percussion, Harp, Keyboard; and Strings 10.8.6.6.4. (Standard orchestral doublings are permitted.) Works requiring soloists will not be considered. If selected, composers must provide professional, legible orchestral parts and scores prepared according to guidelines established by the Major Orchestral Librarians Association (MOLA) by March 1, 2013. MOLA guidelines can be found at:http://www.mola-inc.org/MOLAGuidelinesText.htm The quality of the score submitted is the primary evaluation criteria. It is therefore in the applicant’s best interest that the score be clear and accurate. Works employing electronics, MIDI, digital technology, and/or sound reinforcement in combination with the above instrumental forces will NOT be considered, neither will incomplete, illegible, or late applications. Composers who have applied previously for an UNMR are eligible to apply. However you must submit a new, complete application, including score and all required background information. Please contact the American Composers Orchestra with any questions concerning eligibility.At the Readings, composers will meet with ACO artistic staff and orchestra members—including conductor and music director George Manahan, artistic director Robert Beaser and mentor composer Christopher Theofanidis. The Readings are professionally recorded, and each composer is given a high-quality audio recording to be used for study purposes. Composers also participate in a series of professional development workshops covering such topics as promotion, score preparation, copyright and commissioning agreements, and other career essentials. Participants’ travel expenses are provided.