VIEW THIS EMAIL IN YOUR BROWSER FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACTS March 16, 2021 Aleba Gartner, 212/206-1450 Information: 212/854-7799 [email protected] millertheatre.com Lauren Bailey Cognetti, [email protected] "Refreshingly creative and smart" — Slate Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts launches Mission: Commission A six-episode podcast demystifying the process of how classical music gets made Follow the creative journeys of three composers who have been given six weeks to create a newly commissioned piece of music: In New York, MARCOS BALTER writes for harpist Parker Ramsay In New Orleans, COURTNEY BRYAN writes for trombonist Andrae Murchison and herself on piano In Chicago, AUGUSTA READ THOMAS writes for percussionist John Corkill Hosted by MELISSA SMEY, Executive Director of Miller Theatre Produced by GOLDA ARTHUR (Vox, Marketplace, BBC World Service) Launch: Tuesdays, April 13 - May 18 Completed works revealed at the end of the series. Available for free at missioncommissionpodcast.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts Listen to Trailer Media: To receive an advance of the complete first episode, email [email protected] From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey: “Commissioning new work is at the heart of Miller Theatre’s mission, and I am determined to create opportunities for composers and musicians even though in- person concerts are on pause. Making a Miller audio podcast has been on my wish list for a while, and this format really gives us a chance to explore deep and personal insights into how classical music gets made. I am thrilled that Marcos Balter, Courtney Bryan, and Augusta Read Thomas all agreed to be part of this project. They are truly wonderful collaborators and their personalities, creative practices, and spirits come alive for listeners in these episodes. I hope that listeners enjoy this podcast as much as we enjoyed making it.” Miller Theatre at Columbia University's mission to create new works takes center stage as Miller ventures into the world of podcasts for the first time. MISSION: COMMISSION, launching on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, is a six- episode, free weekly podcast that demystifies the process of how classical music gets made, lifting the curtain to reveal the inner lives of three composers as they create vibrant new works of music: Marcos Balter in NYC, Courtney Bryan in New Orleans, and Augusta Read Thomas in Chicago. The hook: In fall 2020, Miller Theatre invited Balter, Bryan, and Thomas—three fascinatingly different composers stylistically—to each write a new piece of music in six weeks, checking in with podcast host Melissa Smey (Miller’s Executive Director) weekly to discuss their unique processes along the way. Like an audio diary, listeners will get a rare inside look as an artist creates—from the blank page, to inspiration, risk-taking and hard work, to the finished product. The result is a dialogue about music creation that ventures into joy, frustration, and humor—and just being a human during a global pandemic. Recordings of the final pieces will be shared at the conclusion of the podcast, on Tuesday, May 18. Mission: Commission is produced by seasoned podcast showrunner, audio producer, and journalist Golda Arthur, who crafted the narrative arc of the 6-week journey. For twenty years, Miller Theatre’s flagship concert series, Composer Portraits, has fostered the creation of new work, served as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known, and created a community of adventurous listeners. While in- person concerts are on pause, Mission: Commission continues to put Miller’s focus on new work front and center. Visit the website to listen to the trailer from the first episode of the podcast. "It’s like the messiest kitchen ever, with a thousand frying pans going on at the same time and things popping in the toaster and microwaves beeping everywhere, and somehow, a dish comes out of it.” — Marcos Balter in Episode Three of Mission: Commission The Composers L to R: Courtney Bryan, Augusta Read Thomas, Marcos Balter COURTNEY BRYAN, a native of New Orleans, is a pianist, composer, and educator whose work bridges the sacred and the secular, exploring human emotions through sound, and confronting the challenge of notating the feeling of improvisation. Bryan has academic degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (BM), Rutgers University (MM), and Columbia University (DMA) with advisor George Lewis, and completed an appointment as Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. Bryan is currently an Assistant Professor of Music in the Newcomb Department of Music at Tulane University, and the Mary Carr Patton Composer-in- Residence with the Jacksonville Symphony. She was the 2018 music recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, a 2019 Bard College Freehand Fellow, and a 2019-20 recipient of the Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition and a 2020 United States Artists Fellow. AUGUSTA READ THOMAS is one of the most active composers in the world, with a long-standing history of commitment to her community. Her music has been described as nuanced, majestic, elegant, capricious, and lyrical. Thomas is a University Professor of Composition in Music and the College at The University of Chicago. She was the longest- serving Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for conductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez (1997-2006). During her residency, Thomas not only premiered nine commissioned orchestral works, but was also central in establishing the thriving MusicNOW series, through which she commissioned and programmed the work of many living composers. Thomas won the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, among many other coveted awards. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Thomas was named the 2016 Chicagoan of the Year. MARCOS BALTER’s music is at once emotionally visceral and intellectually complex, primarily rooted in experimental manipulations of timbre and hyper-dramatization of live performance. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Balter is a Professor of Composition at the University of California, San Diego, and has held fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Highlights of 2019-20 included a new work for countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo and the Shanghai Quartet commissioned by the Phillips Collection and Chamber Music America and a new work for cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Conor Hanick commissioned by 92Y. Other recent performances of his music include a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait in 2018, and appearances at Carnegie Hall, Köln Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Hall, Park Avenue Armory, and Banff Music Festival. Melissa Smey Host, Co-Creator, and Producer Melissa Smey (photo by Adrienne Stortz) Melissa Smey is Associate Dean and Executive Director at Columbia University School of the Arts, where she leads the Arts Initiative, Miller Theatre, and oversees the new Lenfest Center for the Arts. Passionately dedicated to creating new work and fostering audience development, Smey has commissioned and premiered 29 new works from leading international composers including Chaya Czernowin, Missy Mazzoli, Enno Poppe, Augusta Read Thomas, and John Zorn, and, over the last five years, has produced free programs serving over 16,000 audience members. A two-time recipient of the ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming for her work at Miller Theatre, Smey has served as speaker and panelist for organizations including the American Academy in Berlin, Canadian New Music Network, Chamber Music America, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York University, Philadelphia New Music Project, and Works and Process at the Guggenheim. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, Smey held positions at the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Opera. The Musicians L to R: John Corkill (percussion in Augusta Read Thomas's piece), Andrae Murchison (trombone in Courtney Bryan's piece), Parker Ramsay (harp in Marcos Balter's piece) JOHN CORKILL currently serves as the percussionist for the University of Chicago’s Grossman Ensemble, an ensemble-in-residence at the University’s Center for Contemporary Composition comprised of 13 of the nation’s leading new music specialists. He has collaborated with Third Coast Percussion, eighth blackbird, and Ensemble Dal Niente. He has also appeared on the Chamber Music Northwest, Norfolk, and Yellow Barn Festivals and garnered awards at the Yale Chamber Music Competition as well as the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition. He has also worked with many of today’s leading musicians including conductors Marin Alsop, Peter Oundjian, Matthias Pintscher, and Reinbert de Leeuw. He currently serves on faculty at the University of Chicago, Loyola University, and Merit School of Music. Corkill received his Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and Master of Music Degree from the Yale University School of Music. Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, trombonist ANDRAE MURCHISON grew up surrounded by traditional gospel music at home and in church. Murchison received a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Oberlin Conservatory and a master’s degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music. He has toured the world with ensembles and musicians including The Skatalites, Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya, and The Duke Ellington Orchestra, The Count Basie Orchestra, and The Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He also worked, studied, and shared the bandstand with jazz masters Jimmy Heath, Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz, Monty Alexander, Benny Golson, Marcus Belgrave, Fred Wesley, and Slide Hampton. In addition, he has performed with music celebrities including Aretha Franklin, Jay-Z, Mary J. Bridge, Lauryn Hill, Harry Connick, Demi Lovato, Jay Rock, Brian McKnight, Common, and more.