Copland House Names CULTIVATE 2026 Fellows

Copland House announced the 2026 Fellows selected for its widely-acclaimed CULTIVATE emerging composers institute. These six gifted young creatives are: Arjan Singh Dogra, 26 (Brooklyn, NY); Keir GoGwilt, 34 (New York, NY); Alexa Rinn, 35 (Chicago, IL); Isaac Santos, 25 (Princeton, NJ); Akshaya Avril Tucker, 33 (Los Angeles, CA), and Benjamin Webster, 28 (Plymouth, MA).

These outstanding composers were chosen from over 220 applicants from 36 states and 3 countries by this year's jury, comprised of CULTIVATE Director Derek Bermel and former Residents or CULTIVATE Fellows Christopher Cerrone, Henry Dorn, Shih-Hui Chen, Jeremy Gill, Juri Seo, and Stephen Andrew Taylor. Bermel noted that, “as usual, the jurors and I were bowled over by the imagination and craft of this year's CULTIVATE applicants. I'm looking forward to a week of stimulating conversations as we explore the creative process of composing, rehearsing, refining, and performing the brand new works of these outstanding young composers.”

Since 2012, CULTIVATE has been an important destination for next-generation composers of all backgrounds and identities on the threshold of their professional careers. An intensive, weeklong, all-scholarship creative workshop and mentoring program, CULTIVATE 2026 will take place from June 1 through 9 at Aaron Copland's National Historic Landmark home near New York City. Each year, Copland House commissions six Fellows to each create a new small-ensemble composition that serves as the focus of an eventful week of collective and individual daily rehearsals and workshops with Bermel and artists from the celebrated Copland House Ensemble, “one of the leading champions of contemporary music” (Louisville Weekly). Evening discussion sessions enhance the experience, as forward-looking arts leaders provide the Fellows with real-life perspectives on practical career matters and the artist's all-important role within the wider community.

CULTIVATE 2026 will conclude with two concerts by the Copland House Ensemble on its two mainstage series – on Sunday evening, June 7 at 3:00pm at its vast satellite venue at Copland House at Bluestone Farm in Brewster, NY, and on Tuesday evening, June 9 at 6:30pm at Elebash Recital Hall at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. The program features the World Premieres of the six new works created for CULTIVATE, performed by clarinetist Moran Katz, violinist Pala Garcia, cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach, and pianist Margaret Kampmeier. The performances of all the new compositions will also be filmed at dedicated video sessions, and streamed on Copland House's YouTube Channel in its six-part virtual CULTIVATED SPACES series. In addition, all composers selected for CULTIVATE become eligible for future performance, recording, commissioning, and other career advancement opportunities.

Juror Henry Dorn, a 2023 Fellow, recalled CULTIVATE as “the best place in the world you can be,” while 2025 Fellow Geli Li has spoken of “a meaningful, beautiful journey ... more than just the opportunity to write a new piece and bring it to life with the incredible Copland House Ensemble, I was deeply inspired by these 10 days, which were so special.”