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MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. Five talented young composers from around the U.S. have been chosen to create five new works and showcase them Sunday at Copland House at Merestead in Mount Kisco.
The Merestead concert is the conclusion of the inaugural session of CULTIVATE, an intensive, all-scholarship creative workshop held from July 31 to Aug. 5 at legendary American composer Aaron Coplands historic home in Cortlandt Manor.
The program was created to develop the talents of American composers in the initial stages of their careers.
We hope that CULTIVATE will help these gifted young composers to be better prepared as creators, artists, and leaders in a profoundly changing musical landscape, Copland House Artistic and Executive Director Michael Boriskin said in a release.
The five composer fellows of varied musical backgrounds chosen for the workshop are Nathan Heidelberger, 25 (Westchester Community Foundation Valentine and Clark Fellow); Roger Zare, 27 (ASCAP Foundation Fellow); Michael Djupstrom, 31; Reena Esmail, 29; and Michael Ippolito, 27.
Derek Bermel, Copland Houses artist in residence and founding clarinetist of the Music from Copland House ensemble, will serve as the new programs director.
I am excited about steering Copland Houses CULTIVATE program, said Bermel, who has worked with Boriskin since the house opened in 1998.
The new program will offer daily sessions with Bermel and the Music from Copland House ensemble, as well as nightly informal conversations with prominent industry leaders such as Alan Pierson, music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Alarm Will Sound, and critic and lecturer Greg Sandow. The composer fellows also will receive pre- and post-CULTIVATE creative and professional guidance.
Support for CULTIVATE comes from the ASCAP Foundation, Westchester Community Foundation Valentine and Clark Scholarship Fund, John G. Strugar, MD, and the Friends of Copland House.
Tickets for the Aug. 5 CULTIVATE concert at the Merestead estate, located at 455 Byram Lake Road, are $15 for the general public and free to the Friends of Copland House and students. For ticket or reservation information, call 914-788-4659 or visit the Copland House website.
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