Rock Guitarist Yvette Young to Premiere First Orchestra Score In NY This June

One of the most respected names in modern guitar culture, Yvette Young, is The Next Festival of Emerging Artists' Featured Guest Composer as part of their 10th Anniversary Season.

Hot off the heels of a national tour with her math-rock band Covet, Young will work directly with 20 hand selected string musicians from all over the country in the creation of new work for string orchestra.

After a weeklong residency at PS21 / Performance Spaces of the 21st Century's state-of-the art venue on 100 acres of unspoiled woodlands, The Next Festival will present world premiere performances in New York's Hudson Valley on June 2nd and NYC on June 3rd. Young will also perform her new work with the Orchestra.

"I'm not really in a box in terms of chord shapes. And I don't use [traditional] shapes at all, which freaks a lot of people out!" - Yvette Young, Interview with Music Radar

Teaching herself guitar by ear, building one million+ followers online, and establishing endorsements from Yamaha, Yvette Young has a truly invaluable story to share with aspiring creatives.

PERFORMANCES

Friday, June 2, 7:30pm
PS21 / Performance Spaces for the 21st Century
Pay As You Wish Tickets: bit.ly/ps21-concert-jun2
All proceeds benefit Crellin Parks & Recreation

Saturday, June 3, 7:30pm
Tishman Auditorium, Mannes School of Music
Tickets $20 Suggested Donation: bit.ly/anniversary-program-jun3
As part of American Composers Orchestra's SONiC Festival

Next Festival Performance Fellows will present a 10th Anniversary program of world premieres for string orchestra by Featured Guest Artist and guitarist Yvette Young, 2022 Pulitzer-Finalist Leilehua Lanzilotti, violinist and 2022 festival alum Che Buford, saxophonist Matthew Evan Taylor, and The Next Festival's Artistic Director Peter Askim.

The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, founded in 2013, provides young performers and composers (ages 20-30) with an immersion into 21st century music. Designed to cultivate the next generation of 360° artists, the Festival focuses on contemporary music, entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and developing artist citizens.

A champion for living composers, Next Festival commissions new compositions by both established and early career composers every year, presenting over 75 Guest Artists in the last 10 years, including Pulitzer, Grammy, and MacArthur award winners. Prioritizing artist futures, not the present bottom line, the Festival supports Fellows through a radical "pay-what-you-can" model, ensuring that deserving talent is able to participate regardless of financial circumstances.

The Festival's programs are made possible in part by the generous support of the Heineman Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Amphion Foundation, the Williamson Foundation, the BMI Foundaton, and the Alice M. Ditson Fund. Learn more at next-fest.org/about.

FESTIVAL LEADERSHIP

Founder and Artistic Director of The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, Peter Askim is a composer, conductor, and bassist, Director of Orchestral Studies at NC State Department of Music and conductor of Raleigh Civic Symphony Association.

As a conductor, he has led the American Composers Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Askim was featured on HBO and NPR Music conducting folk-rock legend Richard Thompson's soundtrack for "The Cold Blue."

As a composer, he has been called a "Modern Master" by The Strad and worked with groups like Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Honolulu, and American Viola Society.

Through the Next Festival of Emerging Artists, Askim is known for innovative programming and championing the work of living composers and underrepresented voices. Learn more at peteraskim.com.

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