Bassist and composer James Ilgenfritz (2011 AIR) returns to ISSUE, joined by Joe McPhee and AC Diamond for their first performance as a trio. This event marks a new shared context for three artists deeply invested in improvisation as a mode of inquiry.
ISSUE presents the premiere of three audiovisual compositions by Matt Mottel (2010 AIR). These works bring Mottel’s distinct artistic sensibility into dialogue with formative figures in his life and in New York’s avant-garde, tracing a lineage that is both deeply personal and central to ISSUE’s history.
Monarch Butterfly by rocío sánchez (2026 AIR) features Melissa Almaguer (tap dance and percussion) and Kenneth Jiménez (double bass). Together, the trio explores the elusive monarch’s migratory journey through sound and movement, with each instrument articulating distinct states of motion.
Isabella Thorpe-Woods presents "Envelop/e," her second program as ISSUE’s 2026 Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow. Bringing together choreographers Jade Manns and Ella Dawn W-S for site-specific duets, they navigate presence and absence, repetition and rupture, and the tension between inherited geometries and shifting landscapes.
"Spiriting Off" is a new solo work by luthier Webb Crawford (2026 AIR) for electric guitar, tenor banjo, and five-string banjo.
ISSUE closes the summer season with the return of Matana Roberts (2009 AIR). Opening the evening, Ben Vida (2013 AIR) will perform music from his 2026 release, "Oblivion Seekers" with vocalist Sara Magenheimer.
The Anagram Ensemble presents a program of original works and collaborations with composers Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and Viola Yip. This program highlights the diverse abilities of all five participants, who all contribute to this concert as both composers and performers.
ISSUE presents electronic music pioneer Laurie Spiegel’s piece A Harmonic Algorithm 2011 in collaboration with Seth Cluett. First created through a computer algorithm coded by Spiegel, the piece is spatialized by Cluett. The evening also features Italian composer Caterina Barbieri for the first time at ISSUE.
ISSUE is pleased to present an evening of recent electroacoustic works from visionary composer, trombonist, and scholar George Lewis. At ISSUE, Lewis presents a “portrait concert” of four recent works performed by musicians Laura Cocks, Seth Parker Woods, Dana Jessen, Conrad Harris & Pauline Kim.
Sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard performs work from his Opus Mors series, displaying near-field sound recordings of a full autopsy. The evening also features musician Lyra Pramuk, performing the North American debut of material from her album Fountain. Entrance is free for ISSUE Members.
Writer & performer Justin Allen opens his ISSUE residency with Guitar, a new performance stemming from ongoing research into how to emulate, experiment with, and better understand the performance practices of punk singers. The first performance of the series features vocals by poet Sean D. Henry-Smith.
Composer & multi-instrumentalist John Krausbauer performs in collaboration with Tokyo-born composer Kaori Suzuki. Lary 7 performs a live version of his “droney tone” film piece, an unrepeatable sound & light “rewind” piece which borrows from the arcane technological worlds of film, light & sound mechanisms.
ISSUE presents the NY premiere of Always Already a new commissioned work by Ben Vida performed by renowned quartet Yarn/Wire, vocalist Nina Dante, and Vida himself. The evening also features the ISSUE debut of composer Aaron David Ross (ADR), presenting new compositions from his unreleased Filter Failure.
Curatorial Fellow Leyya Tawil presents her first program in the NOMADIC SIGNALS series, featuring the NYC debuts of music & performance outlet Porest & feminist noise reggaeton duo Las Sucias. NOMADIC SIGNALS is a vessel for sonic performance operating in what Tawil refers to as the “diasporic imaginary."