The Music at the Anthology (MATA) Festival returns to New York City for its 27th season from June 11–14, presenting four nights of experimental and boundary-pushing performances under the theme Intergalactic Infinity: Music Between Spaces.
Hosted in partnership with ISSUE Project Room in Downtown Brooklyn, this year’s festival explores the intersection of ancestry, imagination, science fiction, mysticism, liberation, and technoculture through contemporary composition and multimedia performance, according to a press release.
Founded in 1996 by composers Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky and Lisa Bielawa, the MATA Festival has become a global platform for early-career composers.
This year’s edition, curated by MATA Executive Director and acclaimed violinist Pauline Kim Harris, features 18 emerging composers selected from over 300 global submissions. Their works will be showcased alongside major pieces by six celebrated figures in experimental music: Jessie Cox, Oliver Lake, George Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith and Reza Vali.
“This year’s festival brings focus to a past and future of musical exploration by living legends, manifesting a legacy which continues to influence, inspire and impact generations of composers — grounded by the complexities and intersections of identity, race, history and cultural ethos,” said Harris.
Opening night will feature the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra performing Jessie Cox’s Enter the Impossible alongside FLUX Quartet. Additional performers throughout the festival include Ensemble LPR under the baton of Tito Muñoz, TROPOS, RE:duo, and the MATA Mavens, a roster of standout soloists and chamber musicians.
Click here for a full schedule.
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