ICE X MDW – Composing While Black (Wien Modern 2025)

Composing While Black – Vienna Edition was presented as a two-part program within the collaboration between the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) from New York — one of the world’s leading new-music ensembles, and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, as part of Wien Modern 2025.

The first concert took place on the mdw campus, featuring works by Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson, Anthony Braxton, and other Afro-diasporic composers, focusing on chamber-scale pieces and experimental approaches. The second program followed at the Musikverein, presenting large-scale ensemble works by George Lewis, Chaya Czernowin, and Hannah Kendall.

Together, the two concerts explored contemporary Afro-diasporic compositional practices across different formats and spaces, combining educational exchange, collaborative performance, and curatorial depth within a major international new-music festival.