Experience the future of music with an exhilarating performance featuring music by Nicky Sohn and the brightest composition students! Dive into an evening of innovative sounds and boundary-pushing compositions that promise to challenge and inspire. Nicky Sohn's unique artistry merges with the fresh, bold voices of emerging talent from students at the American Festival for the Arts, creating a concert brimming with originality and passion. Join us for captivating performances by Nicholas Bissen and Andreea Muţ through cutting edge contemporary music—where every piece ignites the imagination.

ARTIST BIOS

Nicky Sohn

Selected as one of the "Cool 100" by Houston CityBook Magazine, alongside icons like Simone Biles and Megan Thee Stallion, composer Nicky Sohn stands as a versatile and sought-after talent across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Characterized by her jazz-inspired, rhythmically driven themes, Sohn's work has received international praise for being "undoubtedly the crowd pleaser of the evening, deserving a permanent place in the orchestral repertoire" (YourObserver), being “dynamic and full of vitality” (The Korea Defense Daily), having “colorful orchestration” (NewsBrite), and for its “elegant wonder” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), among many others. As a result, Sohn has enjoyed commissions and performances from the world’s preeminent performing arts institutions, including Stuttgart Ballet, New York Choreographic Institute, National Orchestra of Korea, St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and Aspen Philharmonic.

https://www.NickySohn.com

Nicholas Bissen

Nicholas Bissen is a strong advocate for student opportunity and success. He is the owner and operator of the Rose Street Saxophone Room, where his students perform in competitive recitals, place in All-State ensembles, and win concerto competitions, providing a variety of need for high achieving students. In the summers, Nicholas hosts the Rose Street Saxo-Fest, a summer program focused on chamber music for saxophonists in 6 - 12th grades. Nicholas has held faculty positions at Lone Star North Harris, the New England Music Camp, and Stephen F. Austin State University as adjunct professor. Nicholas has been featured as a chamber musician, recitalist, and concerto soloist. Upcoming projects include a commission by the Houston Arts Alliance of new music by Houston composers to be premiered in November 2024. Nicholas currently teaches masterclasses and lessons at the Kinder High School for Performing and Visual Arts, and chamber music and masterclasses at the American Festival of the Arts. His private studio is based at the Rose Street Saxophone Room in Houston Texas, and at the Sienna cluster in Fort Bend ISD. 

https://www.RoseStreetSaxophoneRoom.com

Andreea Muţ

Romanian pianist Dr. Andreea Muţ attended the Gheorghe Dima Academy of Music in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, before completing her Master of Music degree at Sam Houston State University, and her Doctorate in Collaborative Arts at University of Houston. Dr. Muţ has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout Romania, France, Colombia, Mexico and the United States. She has won numerous prizes in national and international competitions, including First Prize in the Martian Negrea National Competition, Ploiesti, Romania (2008), Second Prize in the Pro Piano International Competition Bucharest, Romania (2004), and Third  Prize in the “Carl Filtsch” International Competiton, Sibiu, Romania (2001).

https://www.AndreeaMut.com

American Festival for the Arts

AFA’s Composition Studies program is intended to provide school-age composers and young people interested in creating their own music with resources and access to instruction with highly qualified professionals in order to help them learn more about the process of creating, developing, refining and ultimately, performance of original musical works. Unique learning and performance opportunities for Composition Studies students are provided through a variety of workshops and sessions as well as through AFA’s collaborations with professional arts organizations.

Students in grades 6 – 12 at all levels of experience may enroll in one-on-one composition lessons with AFA Teaching Artists in order to hone their individual skills as well as join their fellow students +on outings and activities involving AFA’s artistic collaborators for a well-rounded experience. This combination of individual instruction and group interaction allows for customization as well as a way for student composers to learn about the artistic community around them. 

https://www.afatexas.org/

Musiqa

MusiqaLab is one of several educational offerings at Musiqa, and brings together young composers with our experienced teaching artists, professional composers and musicians. Over the course of a semester, students learn a variety of composition techniques, try out ideas with trained musicians, and prepare for a public performance of their work presented by Musiqa’s professional team of musicians. MusiqaLab’s structure is informed by the work of the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composer program, an award-winning project that has served thousands of individual students and been adopted by teaching artists and musicians around the world.

Musiqa aims to expand and cultivate students’ interest in the arts. Our education programming strives to meet students’ needs by enhancing their experience and accessibility to the music-arts. We offer high-quality musical experiences designed to align with TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) for Fine Arts criteria relative to music literacy, creative expression, historical and cultural relevance, and critical evaluation. Over the past 17 years, our education programs have reached more than 60,000 public school students in grades 2 through 12, from over 250 greater Houston area schools, all at no cost to the participants. Our programming provides musical exposure to students and others who may not otherwise have access to the arts through high-quality musical experiences.

https://musiqa.org/

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 at 7:00 PM

RUNTIME:
90 minutes with 1 intermission

TICKETS:
FREE ADMISSION with registration

GENERAL INFORMATION

*Online sales will end 30 minutes prior to the scheduled curtain time. At this time tickets may be purchased in-person at the box office.

The box office opens 2 hours prior to the performance time for WILL CALL and walkup sales.

If you find that you are unable to attend please contact the box office to release your tickets.

Location & Parking: For information on area parking CLICK HERE.

Area Restaurants & Bars: CLICK HERE for a list of area restaurants and bars.

MATCH Concessions will be open 1 hour prior to event start time. Enjoy a cocktail or a quick snack before the event.