Operated by New Music USA, the Amplifying Voices program, launched in 2020 to foster collaboration and collective action between U.S. orchestras and composers through a network of co-commissions, continues this season with 13 premieres taking place across the country. The program has expanded rapidly to include over forty-five orchestras across the U.S. and beyond.
Amplifying Voices aims to make major strides in diversifying orchestral repertoire. According to the Institute for Composer Diversity’s 2022 Orchestra Repertoire Report, programmed works by women composers and composers of color increased overall from 4.5% in 2015 to 22.5% in 2022.
Amplifying Voices is a long-term program which contributes to this momentum, increasing the support and promotion of composers who have been historically marginalized, creating space for their contributions to artistic planning at major national orchestras, and making major strides toward transforming the classical canon for future generations. In addition to facilitating co-commissions, Amplifying Voices also asks orchestras for a commitment to sharing existing repertoire by BIPOC and women composers.
During the 2022-23 concert season, Amplifying Voices will have fostered thirteen orchestral premieres taking place in London and across the U.S., including new works by Juan Pablo Contreras, Vijay Iyer, Tania León, Brian Raphael Nabors, Nina Shekhar, Tyshawn Sorey, and Shelley Washington. Works by Clarice Assad, Katherine Balch, Valerie Coleman, and Jessie Montgomery will be premiered during the 2023-24 concert season. Each of the composer’s pieces will be performed by a minimum of four orchestras over the course of three years.
To read more about each composer, their pieces, and see a complete list of orchestras participating, visit: www.newmusicusa.org/program/amplifying-voices
