The International Contemporary Ensemble, led by George Lewis, introduces four composers and performers from The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) onstage for Composing While Black. With partners Adegoke Steve Colson and Iqua Colson, Thurman Barker, and Reggie Nicholson, the production will certainly be rich with influence from many facets of the music industry, specifically jazz and improvisational practices.

Office Hours: Coming Soon

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Recommended readings to get you in gear for the show.

Burke Stanton, Musicking in the Borders toward Decolonizing Methodologies, 2018

UCLA, George E. Lewis on the Decolonizing of Classical Music, 2022

Yaz Lancaster, George Lewis Has Spent His Career Creating Space for Black Musicians — His New Opera is No Exception, 2024

Read All About It

International Contemporary Ensemble | 2024

Composing While Black

“ICE meets The Colsons, Thurman Barker, Reggie Nicholson”

Javier C. Hernández for The New York Times | April 8, 2022

Outspoken Composer to Lead International Contemporary Ensemble

“Lewis is an influential voice in the effort to “decolonize” classical music, at a time when the field is reckoning with questions about racial injustice and a legacy of exclusion.”

Extra Credit

International Contemporary Ensemble’s Artistic Director, George Lewis’ recent works, with texts “by some of the most audacious literary figures of our time – Fred Moten, Lyn Hejinian, and Sylvia Wynter – are part of the composer’s ongoing exploration of what decolonization might sound like.”