About Now!-Ensemble

NOW Ensemble is a dynamic young group of performers and composers dedicated to making new chamber music for the 21st century. With our unique instrumentation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, NOW Ensemble brings a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, infused with a blend of musical influences that reflects the diverse backgrounds and listening experiences of our members. We play in concert halls and art museums, rock clubs and jazz venues, for large audiences and for intimate gatherings, acoustic and plugged in. Above all, we strive for performances that are as lively and engaging as they are rigorous and technically sophisticated. NOW Ensemble was formed in 2002 at the Yale School of Music, as an effort to form lasting bridges between performers and composers. Over the course of the first years of our existence, NOW Ensemble morphed into a specific set of five instrumentalists, plus two non-performing composers, with a mix of students from Yale and Juilliard. By 2004, NOW existed in its "modern" form, with Alex Sopp on the flute, Sara Phillips on the clarinet, Mark Dancigers on the electric guitar, Michael Mizrahi on the piano, and Peter Rosenfeld on the double bass, and with Patrick Burke and Judd Greenstein, along with Mark, as the composers. This idiosyncratic instrumentation is the "NOW Ensemble sound", and brings an old approach to music-making - the chamber music tradition - to a new combination of instruments. Today, NOW Ensemble is well-known as one of the brightest stars on the new music scene in New York City. Critics and audiences have taken notice, selling out our shows and filling our halls with enthusiastic fans, many of whom are being introduced to new music, or even classical music, for the first time. NOW Ensemble offers a unique combination of elements. We're a chamber ensemble, with no conductor, and with a deep commitment to internalizing the music that we perform. Having three composers in the ensemble makes all the composers with whom we work feel less like "outsiders" to the group, and more like what they are: an integral part of our success. The five performers in NOW Ensemble are each virtuoso players with distinguished solo careers and a wide variety of experience in other ensembles and genres of music. This breadth of experience, rather than distracting from their roles in NOW Ensemble, brings an essential diversity of sound and perspective to the group, something that is required in our interpretations of the widely varied scores and approaches that we encounter when working with today's best young composers. Because of our unique instrumentation, NOW Ensemble relies on composers for new works to increase our repertoire. Over the four years since we established our permanent instrumentation, we have premiered over 35 new pieces that were written for the ensemble, nearly all of which were newly created by our friends and peers. While many young ensembles solicit works from established composers to augment their own reputation, NOW Ensemble has cast its lot with the exciting voices in our own generation of composers. This decision has made NOW a critical element in any discussion of the up-and-coming composers who are quickly rising to prominence in New York and around the country.