For Immediate Release,
Contact: Elizabeth Dworkin, or Tammy Moore
COPLAND HOUSE NAMES CULTIVATE FELLOWS FOR 2018
6 Composers from 6 States Selected for Coveted Emerging Composers’ Institute;
June 10 Concert to Feature World Premieres of New Works;
Ugay Chosen as Nashville Symphony ComposerLab Fellow
Cortlandt Manor, NY – Copland House announces six Fellows selected to participate in CULTIVATE 2018, its acclaimed, annual emerging composers institute. The composers chosen are Carlos Bandera, 25 (Baltimore, MD); Ethan Braun, 30 (Tarzana, CA); Theo Chandler, 25 (Hillsborough, NC); Annika Socolofsky, 27 (Princeton, NJ); Phil Taylor, 28 (Boulder, CO); Liliya Ugay, 27 (New Haven, CT). Ugay was named CULTIVATE’s Nashville Symphony ComposerLab Fellow, in connection with Copland House’s collaboration with the orchestra’s young composer initiative. Bret Bohman, 35 (Columbia, MO) was selected as an Alternate.
The Fellows were chosen out of 60 applicants from 22 states and one Canadian province by an eminent jury of acclaimed Copland House Resident composers – CULTIVATE Director Derek Bermel, Huang Ruo, and Russell Platt. “It boggles the mind to hear the extraordinary creativity in the next generation of composers,” Bermel said. “I’m thrilled that CULTIVATE, now in its seventh season, continues to draw this enormous talent year after year.”
An all-scholarship, intensive creative workshop and mentoring program, CULTIVATE will take place this year between June 4 and 10 in northern Westchester County, NY, at Aaron Copland’s National Historic Landmark home in Cortlandt Manor and at the Merestead estate in nearby Mount Kisco. Launched in 2012, it has quickly become a coveted destination for highly-gifted composers on the threshold of their professional careers. “In its combination of composer residency and masterclass format, CULTIVATE is an outstanding addition to Copland House’s program of activities,” said Platt. “We were fortunate to be able to choose a group of younger composers notable for their vibrant talent as well as their diverse backgrounds and aesthetic viewpoints.”
The six Fellows will each create a new composition that will serve as the focus of an intensive week of collective and individual daily rehearsals and workshops with Bermel and Principal and Guest Artists from the Music from Copland House ensemble, recently hailed by Louisville Weekly as “one of the leading champions of contemporary music.” Evening discussion sessions focus on practical and professional career matters, and feature prominent, forward-looking arts leaders. CULTIVATE will conclude with a public concert by the ensemble on Sunday afternoon, June 10 on Copland House’s mainstage performance series at Merestead, featuring the World Premieres of all the new works. All costs of composer participation, working sessions and rehearsals, travel, accommodations, and meals are covered by Copland House. As 2017 Fellow Matthew Browne raved, “Never have I attended a program that was, across the board, as fruitful, well-organized, eye-opening, and fun. CULTIVATE was fantastic!”
Support for CULTIVATE comes from the ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund, Jandon Foundation, and John G. Strugar. Additional program support comes from ArtsWestchester, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Friends of Copland House, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts. Tickets for the June 10 CULTIVATE concert are $25 for the general public, $20 for Friends of Copland House, and $10 for students (with ID). Ticket or reservation information is available at (914) 788-4659, office@coplandhouse.org, or www.coplandhouse.org.
PHOTO CAPTION – Copland House’s 2018 CULTIVATE Fellows (clockwise from top left): Carlos Bandera, Ethan Braun, Theo Chandler, Annika Socolofsky, Phil Taylor, and Liliya Ugay. [Photo: courtesy Copland House]