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.
Swedish Energies 2014: EMS at 50
Originally commissioned as a 5-minute piece, over 20 years, "12 Stations" evolved into a challenging 6 1/2 hour epic; a deep, spiritual journey that is considered a central work of Rózmann’s oeuvre. Thematically the work draws on the Tibetan Wheel of Life, and reflects Rózmann's deep interest in Tibetan Buddhism.
All tickets are SOLD OUT! ISSUE is pleased to welcome back rock icon Kim Gordon performing in a special first-time duo with the legendary Brooklyn-based guitarist Loren Connors. Electro-rocker Gary War, recently residing in New Zealand, opens the night.
Composer Madalyn Merkey creates a new site-specific work for ISSUE's theater, combining live synthetic sound and acoustic violin to create inner-ear occurrences. Battle Trance perform their album-length work Palace of Wind, a stunning composition for four tenor saxophonists. ISSUE Member party precedes the show at 7pm.
One of the most finely tuned ears in music, Berlin's Rashad Becker uses real-time synthesis and sampling techniques, setting intricate sonic worlds into motion. Percussionist/composer and fellow PAN artist Eli Keszler debuts a new trio work featuring Tom Chiu, violin, and Leila Bordreuil, cello.
PRE-SALE SOLD OUT, limited door tickets! Artist-in-Residence Raúl De Nieves & Colin Self premiere their new chamber opera, "The Fool." A four-act work for chorus and string-ensemble, "The Fool" is a mystical and allegorical journey performed by a group of friends on a quest to unite themselves one with the other.
Piano/percussion quartet Yarn/Wire premiere a new piece by German experimentalist Marcus Schmickler, a microtonal score for keyboards and mallets, juxtaposing fixed pitch with pitch continua. Schmickler also presents a new eight-channel electronics work, tracing parallels between linguistics and sound.
Our two-night spotlight on the Kye record label closes with a solo performance by improvising violinist Malcolm Goldstein, and Kye label-head Graham Lambkin duo with James Rushford. Lambkin also presents a tape piece by Henning Christiansen, a Danish composer and an active member of the Fluxus-movement.
An opera scene by Paul Pinto features renowned vocalist Joan La Barbara as the posthumous spirit of Thomas Paine. Gelsey Bell’s "Weight", written for Ne(x)tworks and ISSUE's theater, receives its world premiere. Miguel Frasconi’s "Sun Studies", interprets The Cantilever Rainbow, a poetic and visual text from 1965.