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.
ISSUE presents Nate Wooley’s Seven Storey Mountain IV, a 7 part song cycle for ecstatic instruments and tape. Bringing together all sections of the work for the first time, the concert features an all-star cast of Chris Corsano, Ryan Sawyer, C. Spencer Yeh, Matt Moran, Chris Dingman, and TILT Brass sextet.
A series of compositions by Bojan Vuletic, L'Écume des jours’ (The foam of the days) is inspired by and dedicated to French polymath Boris Vian's novel of the same title. With an unusual chamber ensemble including Nate Wooley (trumpet), Dan Peck (tuba), Jacqueline Kerrod (harp), and the Mivos Quartet.
Emerging Artists Commissions 2012
SOLD OUT! A new solo commission by dancer Michelle Boulé, WONDER is an invitation to witness a body in a performance encounter where a shared space of curiosity and possibility is laid bare. In a continuous cycle of costumes and personas, Boulé explores archetypes and definitions of gender, identity, and virtuosity.
Recognized among contemporary music’s most gifted interpreters, new-music pianist Joseph Kubera is hailed for the unrelenting stamina, precision, and grace of his performances. In this intimate piano concert, Kubera performs works by Julius Eastman, Michael Byron, “Blue” Gene Tyranny, and Stuart Saunders Smith.
Launched in March 2013, ErstAEU is a new imprint from Erstwhile documenting young American post-electroacoustic musicians. This special one-time showcase night features all six artists from the first three releases: Anne Guthrie/Richard Kamerman, Graham Stephenson/Aaron Zarzutzki, and Joe Panzner/Greg Stuart.
A performance of electric guitar and voice by David Grubbs to celebrate the release of The Plain Where the Palace Stood, his first collection of songs since 2008. This concert draws material from the new album as well as from the trio Belfi / Grubbs / Pilia. 75 Dollar Bill (Rick Brown / Che Chen) open.
Yarn/Wire plays premieres two new pieces for percussion and piano quartet by two of NYC's most exciting musicians, composer/multi-instrumentalist Tyondai Braxton and trumpeter/composer Peter Evans. Evans gives solo performance of his signature trumpet improvisations, and Tyondai Braxton + LAAND play a duo set.
HPSCHD, John Cage’s legendary Gesamtkunstwerk is a mass media orgy, considered by many the wildest, largest, and loudest musical composition of the 20th century. Its very nature is inextricable from the tumult of the year it premiered, 1969. With Joel Chadabe, keyboardist Neely Bruce and video directed by Braley Eros.