Next Edge Arts

Founded in 2013, Next Edge Arts is committed to advancing contemporary concert music through performance and audience engagement; and to nurturing emerging artists with a passion for 21st century music, collaboration, creativity, and leadership.

We provide our Fellows – performers, composers and choreographers ages 20-30 - with an immersion into the performance and advocacy of 21st century music. Our work in entrepreneurship, education, equity, and cultivating the total artist runs in parallel with our emphasis on artistic excellence. Through collaboration with leading figures in contemporary music, world premieres, and community outreach, we educate and empower the next generation of citizen artists to advance 21st century music.

The Next Festival of Emerging Artists is dedicated to making the music of living American composers accessible to a wide range of audiences. The Festival consists of a one-week residency outside New York (now at PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century in Chatham, NY), followed by an additional week of performances and workshops in New York City including a unique composer/choreographer workshop where composer and choreographer Fellows collaborate in real time to create new works, culminating in a public performance of the works-in-process. In 2023, Next Fest offered five public performances at PS21, Chatham Middle School, Merkin Hall, and the New School’s Tishman Auditorium with a total audience of 770. In previous seasons, Next Fest has given numerous free performances of contemporary American music for both adult and student audiences at venues such as (le) poisson rouge (NYC), National Sawdust (NYC), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Roulette Intermedium (NYC), Gibney Dance (NYC) and The Center for the Performing Arts (Albany). These activities enable audiences to experience our Guest Artists and to hear contemporary music at little or no cost. Our performances include a program of all contemporary American composers as well as a side-by-side performance with orchestra students at Chatham Middle School. These outreach activities demonstrate for our Festival Fellows the value of advocating for new music in a wide variety of settings and for diverse audiences.

The Next Festival of Emerging Artists is centered around our Fellows, young professional performers and composers (ages 20–30) interested in cultivating their music and professional skills in a fully immersive environment. Fellows perform in masterclasses and collaborate in ensembles, performing 21st-century music in a variety of public venues throughout the greater New York area. The Next Festival works with Guest Artists each year, giving participants the opportunity to premiere new works and forge working relationships among the next generation of performers, composers, and audiences. With these objectives in mind, Fellows receive specialized attention tailored to their career goals.

Performer Fellows are early career string players from around the country, selected for their superior musicianship and demonstrated interest in the performance and promotion of contemporary music. While in residence, Fellows constitute a string orchestra, led by Artistic Director Peter Askim, dedicated exclusively to music of living composers (mostly American); the 2022 and 2023 programs consisted of all World Premiere performances. To develop their performance and entrepreneurial skills, Fellows receive guided study and coaching in contemporary performance practice, attend workshops, and collaborate with the season’s guest artists. In addition to community engagement and collaborations with guest artists, performer Fellows record new works by the composer Fellows.