The Next Festival 2026 with Andrea Casarrubios at Pavilion Theater

Praised for performances that “traverse the palette of emotions” with “gorgeous tone and an edge-of-seat intensity” (The New York Times), Grammy-nominated cellist and composer Andrea Casarrubios joins The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, returning to PS21 for the fourth consecutive year.

For America’s 250th anniversary, Next Fest presents a program of vital work by women immigrant composers. Artistic Director Peter Askim leads the string orchestra in world premieres by Iranian-American Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Festival alumna Adeliia Faizullina (Uzbekistan), and Wang Lu (China), alongside timely works by acclaimed composers Clarice Assad (Brazil) and Aleksandra Vrebalov (Serbia). The centerpiece is a newly commissioned concerto for cello and strings by the Spanish-born Casarrubios, which she will perform as soloist alongside the festival fellows.