Bloomingdale School of Music Celebrates New Music and the Creativity of Student Composers

The Bloomingdale School of Music (BSM) is pleased to present its annual student composing project, Album for the Young (A4TY) in recital, on March 9th at the Thalia Theater at Symphony Space with two performances one at 2:00 pm and the other at 5:00 pm. Admission for each performance is $12.00 and may be purchased at the Symphony Space Box office, located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, or call (212) 864-5400. Tickets are available at www.symphonyspace.org.

The program will feature 29 new student works performed by students and spread over the two performances. The first concert is for the very young students and the second concert at 5 pm will represent the work of older and more advanced students.

The A4TY Student Composing Project at BSM encourages students (ages 7-17) to compose new music and commissions professional composers to write new works for its students. The evening will feature more than 30 student compositions, divided over two concerts, ranging from solo works for piano, violin or cello, to works for small chamber ensembles of strings or mixed wind, strings, brass and percussion groups. We are pleased to present the premiere of a new work by composer, Taylor Brook, BSM's 2018-19 Exploring the Metropolis Con Edison Composer in Residence. (Bio included below).

Taylor Brook is composing a new work for three percussionists. The premiere of Taylor Brook's new work will feature the MAP (Music Access Program) percussion students; and is entitled "Three Studies for Three Percussionists with Three Instruments", (9 flower pots of differing sizes, producing different pitches.) Each study explores a basic rhythm idea such as canonic structures, and the perception of downbeat. The process began with Brook meeting percussion students and their BSM faculty coach percussionist Eric Phinney, and hearing them play. This was followed by his writing a piece specifically for them. Students are learning the music now and will meet with Brook to share his thoughts on their interpretation making this a collaboration from start to finish, something students rarely get to experience.

The Music Access Project, is a three-year pre-college training program featuring high-quality instruction and personal mentoring. MAP is pre-professional comprehensive program for talented low-income high school students. BSM offers the majority of MAP students a full scholarship. Since the program's inception, over 200 students have graduated the program and 99% have gained entry to a conservatory, college, or university.

Beginning with a school-wide Call for Scores and composition workshops led by teaching artists from the NY Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program, in partnership with BSM teaching artists, A4TY is now in its fourteenth season. Since its inception the program has premiered over 150 scores, commissioned 23 professional composers and presented 200 students performing new music. Founded by former BSM teaching artist Katy Luo, and currently curated by Margalit Cantor, A4TY brings living composers and BSM students into direct contact, opening a window into the other's working methods and creative process. For more information about A4TY Student New Music Project please visit: https://www.bsmny.org/exploring-music/features/icp/a4ty09/index.php

Taylor Brook is a Canadian composer living in New York, writing and producing music for concert, film, theater and dance. Brook studied composition with Brian Cherney, Luc Brewaeys, George Lewis, Fred Lerdahl, and Georg Friedrich Haas. Described as "gripping" and "engrossing" by the New York Times, his compositions have won numerous awards and prizes. His music has been performed around the world by ensembles and soloists such as the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Quatuor Bozzini, JACK Quartet, MIVOS quartet, Talea Ensemble, Ensemble Ascolta, and others. Brook has won several SOCAN Young Composers awards, including two first place prizes and the grand prize in 2016 for his solo cello piece, Song.

In Kolkata, India, he studied Hindustani musical performance with Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya. His music is often concerned with finely tuned microtonal sonorities, combining his interest in exploring the perceptual qualities of sound with an individual sense of beauty and form. Brook holds a master's degree in music composition from McGill University. He lives in New York, where he completed a DMA in music composition at Columbia University in May 2018, with Fred Lerdahl. Brook is on faculty at Columbia University as a Core Lecturer. He also teaches beginner and advanced electronic music composition at the Manhattan School of Music. Brook is the technical director of TAK ensemble.

Now in its 54th year, BSM has served more than 80,000 children and adults through group classes, private instruction, and performance opportunities in classical, jazz, and rock music. Each week, over 650 students of all ages participate in a wide range of music making, including early childhood classes, a comprehensive pre-college program, free community concerts, and internet-based music programs. With accessibility central to its mission, more than 20% of Bloomingdale's student body receives financial aid and scholarship assistance annually. For more information on Bloomingdale School of Music's programs and concerts, visit bsmny.org, call the office at 212-663-6021, or email info@bsmny.org.