Formed in NYC in 1993, the improvising collective No-Neck Blues Band (NNCK) favors anonymity, autonomy, and obfuscation. Alongside founding member Keith Connolly (2016 AIR), they return to open ISSUE’s Fall season at First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn.
ISSUE presents the first commission from Eden Girma (2026 AIR). Part dreamscape and part summoning circle, an intimate diasporic familial archive is pieced together through the eyes of a five-year-old child.
In partnership with Franklin Furnace as part of their 50th anniversary commemoration and November release of "Back to the Present: 50 Years of Free Expression with Franklin Furnace" ISSUE presents an evening of performance and conversation.
Incorporating elements of noise, trance and minimalism, Sergei Tcherepnin (2012 AIR) presents new work for Serge Modular synthesizer.
PAN_ACT
ON VIEW THROUGH JULY 19TH: Rag Infinity/Rag Cosmosis is a new, four-channel work by Catherine Christer Hennix. An expanded realization of the "Illuminatory Sound Environment", a concept developed in 1978 by Henry Flynt, this work is on view daily as a sound installation from 12-10pm.
ISSUE presents a duo performance by celebrated singer-songwriter Josephine Foster with her husband and collaborator, guitarist Victor Herrero. Esteemed for her timeless and arresting voice, Foster’s rock and folk veiled work has reimagined a disparate spectrum of references in a distinctive body of songwriting.
ISSUE hosts the NY premiere of Friend of Essex—a film homage to the prolific Black gay author Essex Hemphill. Written and Directed by Amir Dixon, the film mixes one-on-one interviews, group interviews, narrative pieces and poetry inspired by Hemphill’s writing and the 1989 film Tongues Untied.
ISSUE and Unseen Worlds present a rare North American performance by Ethiopia's most famous living pianist and composer, Girma Yifrashewa. A highly accomplished performer, Yifrashewa performs works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Mozart, as well as a set of his own compositions informed by Ethiopian harmonies.
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.