2023 NEW YORK WOMEN COMPOSERS SEED MONEY GRANT RECIPIENTS
Presenting the winners of our 2023 Seed Money Grants! This year we have awarded eight grants of $1,000 each to a diverse group of performers. Unusually, for this period all of the grants were made for focused concerts; most performances will take place in the New York City area, including several in Brooklyn and one in Queens as well as Manhattan. We will also look forward to a concert in Brazil in 2024. All the projects will include open calls for some or all the NYWC composers to be represented.
The winners are listed alphabetically:
The Astoria Music Project (chamber ensemble): The Astoria Music Project will present a concert titled “Women of New York: Then and Now,” in a concert to take place in Queens as well as a planned second one in a different location, either in Queens or another borough. The group’s instrumentation is flexible, with its core group comprised of soprano, violin, horn, and piano. For more information on the group, visit their website at https://www.astoriamusicproject.com/, their Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/theastoriamusicproject/, and their YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@theastoriamusicproject9811.
Tessa Brinkman and Kathleen Supové (flutist and pianist): Here is Tessa and Kathleen’s intriguing description of their proposal: “We are proposing an experience of flute and piano that feels like an imaginative immersive journey rather than a series of separate pieces. We’re interested in the concert experience as a kind of surrealist speculation, often employing fixed media (audio and video) which are by their nature “world-making”, as well as the breadth of our own instruments (as listed above).” The concert will take place in Manhattan at a venue to be confirmed later. For more information on this duo, visit their detailed individual websites at www.supove.com and www.tessabrinckman.com.
Cobalt Quartet (saxophone quartet): This saxophone quartet (or subsets of the group, depending on the works chosen) is well-known for its performances of the music of today’s composers. Their concert will take place either in New York or New Jersey. Their website can be found at https://cobaltquartet.com/ and their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/cobaltSaxophoneQuartet.
Conservatorio Villa Lobos, São Paulo, Brazil (symphonic band): The conservatory will offer a concert by the Conservatory’s students and faculty, featuring its Symphonic Band (Banda Sinfônica) and Dance Ensemble. Works that utilize piano, guitar or female voice (in English or Portuguese only) are also encouraged. Members may submit works for full wind ensemble, or smaller ensembles drawn from within its instrumentation, as well as works that include piano, guitar, female voice, multimedia, or live dance as added elements. The Conservatorio’s website can be found at https://fito.edu.br/conservatorio-villa-lobos/
Dall’Ombra Ensemble (chamber ensemble): Dall’Ombra takes a contextual approach in their curated concerts, engaging audiences by sharing each composer’s life story, the personal inspirations they felt as they composed each piece, and the historical circumstances that influenced their work. They will feature NYWC composers in a concert that also honors Dutch composers Henriette Bosmans and Rosy Wertheim, notable for their activities and organization of clandestine concerts in Amsterdam during WWII. Their website is currently under construction, but you can visit Dall’Ombra clarinetist member Morrie Sherry’s site at www.morriesherry.com.
The Nu Quintet (woodwind quintet): The quintet will present a concert in September 2024 at the DiMenna Center in Midtown Manhattan. They live-stream their concerts as an integral part of their performance approach. You can view their website at https://www.nuquintet.com.
Josh Perry and Dennis Sullivan (percussion duo): The duo will present a concert combining the works of NYWC composers and their own compositions, featuring music that incorporates the use of electronics and/or multimedia, including (but not limited to) works with: fixed audio media, live audio electronic processing (analog or digital), fixed video media, and/or live video processing. The concert will take place at MISE-EN_PLACE in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Josh Perry’s website is https://joshperry-music.com/ and Dennis Sullivan’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/dennis.sullivan.75248.
Ginevra Petrucci (flutist): Supplementing her prior concert with NYWC composers featuring the flauto d’amore, Ginevra will present a recital for flutes (C flute, alto, piccolo, flauto d’amore) and piano, with the support of her colleague Amir Farid, who is himself a keen champion of repertoire of women composers. They plan a recital and recording in New York City in the Fall 2023 with works by women from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, as well as world premieres. Ginevra and Amir’s websites are found at www.ginevrapetrucci.com and www.amirfarid.com.
2022 SEED MONEY GRANT RECIPIENTS
Presenting the winners of our 2022 Seed Money Grants! We have awarded seven grants, two foreign (Belgium and Argentina) and five domestic (one of these is actually both, a concert in New York to be repeated in Tokyo, Japan). One grant is in a disseminated format, and the rest are focused grants. One concert will initially be streamed online, with subsequent performances being planned. Additionally, some of the other concerts will be either streamed or available later on YouTube and Instagram or other such platforms. All the projects will include open calls for some or all the NYWC composers to be represented.
The winners are listed alphabetically:
Donna Weng Friedman, pianist: Ms. Friedman will present a two-part concert event called “Five Composers and a Pianist.” The first portion will be a 50-minute concert of works by NYWC composers, three of whom (Beata Moon, Kim Sherman, and Stefania De Kenessey) have been chosen, with an additional two composers to be selected through an open call. The second portion of the event will be a 30-40-minute panel discussion with the composers. The venue will be in New York City, with Steinway Hall and the National Arts Club under consideration. The target date for this event will be March 2023. Her website is here: (https://www.newschool.edu/mannes/faculty/Donna-Weng-Friedman)
Javier Oviedo, saxophonist: Mr. Oviedo, Executive Director of the Classical Saxophone Project, will present a 90-minute solo recital at the National Opera Center’s Scorca Hall accompanied by Dr. Suk Hee Hong entitled “New York Faces.” The live concert will be supplemented by a videotaping that will be available to view on the Saxophone Project’s YouTube and Instagram platforms. More information about the Classical Saxophone Project is available on their website, www.classicalsaxproject.org.
Milica Paranosic, composer (project with NYWC composers Lynn Bechtold and Ann Warren): This unique concert in coordination with Ms. Paranosic’s “Secret City” art projects will be in four parts, with compositions by Lynn Bechtold (played by Miolina, her violin duo with NYWC member Mioi Takeda), Ann Warren, and Ms. Paranosic, along with a fourth composer chosen through an open call. Each segment will include a mini “set design” created out of abandoned or discarded objects, be co-coordinated by Paracademia, and be performed either at Gallery MC or The Bernie Wohl Center/Goddard Riverside. Ms. Paranosic’s multi-faceted website is https://milicaparanosic.com/
Thomas Piercy, clarinetist and hichiriki player: Mr. Piercy, along with pianist Tengfu Irfan and a cellist, will perform twin 90-minute concerts in New York and Tokyo, including the works of Tokyo-based composers Kyoko Hirai, Miho Sasaki, Yu Kuwabara, already selected NYWC composers Elisenda Fabregas, Nina Siniakova, and Lora Al-Ahmad, as well as two more NYWC composers to be selected from an open call. His website is here: http://www.thomaspiercy.com/ and his project information is here:
http://www.tonadaproductions.com/tokyo-to-new-york-home.html
Sergio Puccini, guitarist: Mr. Puccini, whose celebrated career spans 45 years, will present a concert in Rosario, Argentina at the Museo Castagnino or similar venue which will also be streamed live. The concert is tentatively scheduled to take place in October 2022. He will be choosing his repertoire for the concert through an open call. His website is currently undergoing maintenance, but here is a substitute for now: https://ppsites.wixsite.com/sergiopuccini
Françoise Vanhecke, soprano: Ms. Vanhecke’s project is an online streamed concert for the coming season at toitoiDROME http://drome.wtf/, an artist-run media space and collective based in Zendelingenstraat 38 A – 2140 Borgerhout (Antwerp, Belgium), consisting a physical space and headspace for experimentation and critical thinking, with additional plans to repeat the concert in a series of live concerts in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Brazil, and the U.S. The instrumentation will consist of voice, either solo works or with the addition of piano and electronics, to be chosen through an open call. Her website is http://www.francoisevanhecke.com
Alexander Wu, pianist and chamber ensemble director: Mr. Wu, who is a pianist and the Co-Founder/Artistic Director of the Millennium Chamber Players, will curate a disseminated series of concerts from this summer through spring of 2023 called “Made in America – Music Then and Now,” including the works of five NYWC members that his group has not previously performed. The project essays the evolution of America’s musical roots, tradition, and popular culture of the past three centuries, up to and including current compositions. His group’s website is https://www.millenniumchamberplayers.org/.