New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble Names New Artistic Director

69-year-old George E. Lewis first collaborated with the International Contemporary Ensemble in 2011, presenting a Composer Portrait concert for which he composed his work, The Will to Adorn. Having served on the ensemble's board since 2018, he will now join as Artistic Director during its 20th anniversary year.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to work with one of the world's finest and most innovative ensembles to advance the field of new music," said Lewis. "I see unlimited possibilities for what we can accomplish together."

Previous Artistic Director Ross Karre will transition to a new role as Executive Producer until August 2022, before he starts his new position at Oberlin Conservatory of Music as Associate Professor of Percussion.

"George and I began collaborating with the International Contemporary Ensemble at the same time, around 2011," commented Karre. "More than any other artist-collaborator in my lifetime, George Lewis has a unique ability to break down assumptions and expand our imagination."

Lewis is the Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music at Columbia University, where he serves as Area Chair in Composition and Faculty in Historical Musicology. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, Lewis’s other honors include a MacArthur Genius Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the United States Artists Walker Fellowship. Recently,  Lewis received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University in addition to becoming a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

As a composer and member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1971, Lewis's output encompasses electronic and computer music, computer-based multimedia installations, and notated and improvisatory forms. With over 150 recordings, his works have been performed a range of international ensembles by the likes of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonia Orchestra, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Mivos Quartet, and Spektral Quartet, to name a few.

"George Lewis and the AACM were a big part of what inspired the founding of our Ensemble in the first place," added International Contemporary Ensemble Board President Claude Arpels. "With his vast experience, insatiable curiosity, and drive to elevate a generation of new artists, George Lewis is the perfect Artistic Director for our Ensemble."

Founded in 2001, New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble has premiered over 1,000 works and served as the previous artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Ojai Music Festival, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It has received the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.