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Composers Now proudly announces its 2025–2026 season, a dynamic slate of programming that continues the organization’s mission to empower living composers and amplify diverse voices across the musical landscape. Under the visionary leadership of Founding Artistic Director Tania León, the season reflects a deep commitment to innovation, artist-centered dialogue, and community engagement.
Highlights of the 25-26 season include:
Cheswatyr Commissions, November 17, 2025 at The Forum at Columbia University
Composers Now is thrilled to unveil a new commission through our Cheswatyr Commissions program, an ongoing collaboration with the Cheswatyr Foundation to foster new works that honor both legacy and innovation. Brittany J. Green, the commissioned composer for the 2025–2026 season, will premiere a new ensemble work with electronics. Also on the program will be Persist, by Allison Loggins-Hull, selections from Akua Dixon’s string quartet We The People, and a work by Jennifer Curtis, this year’s composer mentor for the program.
In partnership with The Harlem Chamber Players, Composers Now presents this year’s commission concert at The Forum at Columbia University, located at 601 West 125th Street, on November 17, 2025, at 6:00 PM.
Tickets are free, reservations are recommended. Please use this link to reserve your spots.
Pocantico Center Residency, November 14, 2025 at Pocantico Center
In partnership with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Composers Now will host a multi-week residency at the Pocantico Center, offering selected composers time and space to develop new work in a serene, historic setting.
This year, Younje Cho has been selected as the composer for the 2025 residency at the Pocantico Center. Chosen through a juried review process, nominations were solicited from Composers Now’s advisory boards, presenter partners, and affiliated artists, with final selection made by an independent jury. We extend our sincere thanks to our distinguished jurors—Nina C. Young, Leilehua Lanzilotti, and Carman Moore—as well as to all nominators and applicants. The jury also recognized Chen-Hui Jen and Oswald Huynh as alternates.
This residency represents a collaboration between Composers Now, the Asian Cultural Council, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which generously sponsors this program. Over a two-week period in November, Younje will collaborate with an artist selected by the Asian Cultural Council—in this case, filmmaker Renu Savan—to develop a new, interdisciplinary project.
This creative process will culminate in a work-in-progress showing at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico, on Friday, November 14 at 6:30 PM. It is free to attend the event but reservation is required via the link here.
Dialogues
The 2025–2026 Dialogues series kicks off at the Mark Morris Dance Center on December 20, 2025, featuring short performances and composer-led conversations with choreographers that invite audiences into the creative process. Dialogues, launched in 2015, is an innovative initiative hosted by Founder and Artistic Director Tania León, designed to deepen the connection between artists and audiences.
Dialogues has been one of our most popular programs, taking place in venues throughout New York City and even traveling to Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago. We have presented a tremendous range of work, with composers such as Du Yun, Esperanza Spalding, Felipe Lara, Huang Ruo, Jason Eckardt, Kamala Sankaram, Lisa DeSpain, Susie Ibarra, Marcos Balter, and many others.
Annual Composers Now Festival, Kickoff Event January 28, 2026 at National Sawdust
Returning in February 2026, the Composers Now Festival will once again celebrate the breadth and vitality of contemporary composition. With performances, panels, and premieres across New York City, the festival brings together emerging and established voices in a vibrant showcase of musical possibility. Included on our Festival Kickoff will be music by Kavita Shah, Ileana Perez Velazquez, Pauchi Sasaki, and more. We will also present our 2026 Visionary Awards and the premiere of our newest First Commission awardee.
IMPACT Series – IMPACT is a digital initiative by Composers Now that provides a digital platform for composers to share their creative journeys via Composers Now’s YouTube channel. Each month, two composers are selected through Composers Now’s mission-driven curatorial process to share personal commentaries interwoven with performance videos and archival materials. Since its inception, the IMPACT series has spotlighted over 56 composers and generated more than 25,000 views online and cultivating a growing community of engaged listeners, educators, and fellow artists.