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.
Regenerative Feedback: On Listening and Its Emancipatory Potential
Friday, May 25th, ISSUE is pleased to open Regenerative Feedback: On Listening And Its Emancipatory Potential, a three day symposium of talks, presentations, discourse, and performances centered around biological, social, political and cognitive negotiations in music.
Brandon Lopez continues his 2018 residency with the ISSUE debut of his piano trio, dubbed "Mess," with pianist Sam Yulsman and drummer Chris Corsano. Here, Lopez attempts to dismember the notion of the piano trio to create a counterpart where each instrument functions outside of their supposed traditional roles.
Vanessa Rossetto and C. Lavender each present new compositions, respectively exploring how trauma and memory collude with audition as a co-composional material. Rossetto presents a localization of transgenerational trauma, Lavender uses "frequency following" as a form of rehabilitation.
Syncretics Series continues with solo performances by renowned Irish pianist Isabelle O’Connell and drum-set master Pheeroan akLaff. O’Connell is a stalwart of the contemporary concert music scene; akLaff imbues his work with ancient belief systems that address creativity as received rather than generated.
Artists-In-Residence 2018
James K opens her residency with the premiere of ELEKTRA (Scream Through the Eyes of a Statue), a multimedia performance conceptualizing the female voice as an “X-ray to the bones of sound," with Eve Essex (winds and electronics), Via App (electronics), Leila Bordreuil (cello) & Eli V Manuscript (textual alchemy).
Pioneering electronics composer David Behrman collaborates with fiddler, improviser, and composer Cleek Schrey. Together, the two perform newly-developing situations: re-worked pieces from the past, embedded Appalachian fiddle tunes, and new compositions.
Artists-In-Residence 2018
Julia Santoli opens her 2018 ISSUE residency with the premiere of two new works within her “Siren Sore” cycle: a mutant project of myriad form manifesting as visual project, recording album, and live performance through genre-crossing collaborations. Each new work features Tamio Shiraishi and Geng, respectively.
ISSUE is pleased to present the debut NYC showcase of Pacific City Sound Visions, an experimental label helmed by Spencer Clark. The evening features debut American performances from Francesco Cavaliere and Leila Hassan, as well as new work from Lieven Martens Moana and Clark’s own Typhonian Highlife project.