Ensemble Connect Begins Final Fellowship Year with Concerts and Residencies

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The fellowship program will feature concerts with commissioned works by Hannah Ishizaki and Caroline Shaw at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

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Ensemble Connect kicks off its season this month, welcoming back 11 young professional musicians from around the globe to offer concerts at Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School as well as residencies and performances at Skidmore College and The Pocantico Center.

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Over the next year, the fellows will lead residencies and perform in schools and community venues across New York City. Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and passionate advocates of music throughout the community, the forward-looking musicians of Ensemble Connect are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.

Highlights of Ensemble Connect's 2026–2027 season include three concerts in Carnegie Hall 's Weill Recital Hall, featuring a new commissioned work by Hannah Ishizaki ( Feb. 23 ) and Caroline Shaw 's Draft of a High-Rise as part of her Carnegie Hall 's Debs Composer's Chair appointment ( Apr. 12 ). Ensemble Connect is also featured as part of Carnegie Hall 's Well-Being Concert series ( Feb. 26 ), performing a new commissioned work by Lili M. Namazi, a Luna Lab composer and 2023 NYO-USA Apprentice Composer. Alongside these concerts at Carnegie Hall , the group offers two performances at The Juilliard School's Paul Hall ( Nov. 12 and Jan. 28 ).

Ensemble Connect Up Close—an innovative concert series presented in the Weill Music Room that experiments with concert format, audience engagement, and multimedia—returns for its eighth season, featuring a collaboration with the multi-instrumentalists and vocalists of Biribá Union ( May 5 ). The performance includes a range of genre-defying music including original works written by current Ensemble Connect fellows. This performance will culminate Ensemble Connect and Biribá Union's season-long musical collaboration, as they develop a concept together this month in a residency at The Pocantico Center.

Over the course of the season, the ensemble will perform numerous works by living composers, including Andy Akiho, Lauren Bernofsky, David Biedenbender, Billy Childs, Valerie Coleman, Reena Esmail, Jennifer Higdon, Hannah Ishizaki, Lili M. Namazi, and Caroline Shaw .

Elena Ariza, Cello (Cupertino, California) Education: Columbia University / The Juilliard School Partnered with PS 58 The Carroll School, Brooklyn

Cameron Cullen, Flute (Carlisle, England) Education: Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama / Yale School of Music / The University of Miami's Frost School of Music Partnered with PS21Q Edward Hart, Queens

Laurel Gagnon, Violin (Hooksett, New Hampshire) Education: Park University / Indiana University / Yale School of Music Partnered with Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn

Nicole Martin, Clarinet (Westbrook, Maine) Education: Cleveland Institute of Music / Case Western Reserve University / Yale School of Music Partnered with Lower Manhattan Arts Academy, Manhattan

Grace O'Connell, Trumpet (Madison, Wisconsin) Education: Middle Tennessee State University / Yale School of Music Partnered with PS 130 The Parkside School, Brooklyn

Anoush Pogossian, Clarinet (Glendale, California) Education: Columbia University / The Juilliard School Partnered with IS78 Roy H. Mann, Brooklyn

Will Sands, Horn (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Education: Eastman School of Music / University of Rochester / Yale School of Music Partnered with Robert F. Wagner Middle School 167, Manhattan

David Seder, Trombone (Lexington, Kentucky) Education: University of Kentucky / Yale School of Music Partnered with Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, Bronx

JJ Silvey, Oboe (Walkerton, Indiana) Education: Indiana University / Mannes School of Music / The Juilliard School Partnered with Midwood High School, Brooklyn

Abby Smith, Viola (Salt Lake City, Utah) Education: Colburn School / Yale School of Music Partnered with MS 180 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, Bronx

Joseph Vaz, Piano (Blue Ash, Ohio) Education: Indiana University / University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music / CUNY Graduate Center Partnered with Edward R. Murrow High School, Brooklyn

During the 2026–2027 season, Ensemble Connect presents 11 concerts at several venues, including Carnegie Hall 's Weill Recital Hall and Weill Music Room; Juilliard's Paul Hall ; Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall; and The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Wednesday, October 7 at The Pocantico Center – Ensemble Connect kicks off its season at The Pocantico Center with a works-in-process showing with Biribá Union. This performance offers a rare glimpse into the rehearsal room as they experiment ahead of their May Up Close concert.

Friday, October 23 at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center – Ensemble Connect returns to Skidmore College for its biannual residency, presenting a concert that features several underperformed works including Ligeti's Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano; Loeffler's Two Rhapsodies for Oboe, Viola, and Piano; and Kodály's Serenade alongside a favorite: Bartók's Contrasts.

Monday, October 26 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect reprises their program from the week before at Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center for audiences in New York City.

Thursday, November 12 at Juilliard's Paul Hall – In their return to Paul Hall , Ensemble Connect performs Britten's Phantasy for Oboe Quartet, Op. 2; Billy Childs's A Day in the Forest of Dreams; Lauren Bernofsky's Trio for Brass; and Martinů's Les rondes, H. 200.

Thursday, January 28 at Juilliard's Paul Hall – For their second Paul Hall performance, Ensemble Connect features Valerie Coleman's Umoja, Andy Akiho's Lost on Chiaroscuro Street, Jean Françaix 's Dixtuor, and David Biedenbender's Sacred Geometry.

Friday, February 19 at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center – In Ensemble Connect's second residency this season at Skidmore College, they perform the world premiere of a new work by Hannah Ishizaki (commissioned by Carnegie Hall ) alongside Copland's Sextet, Brahms's Clarinet Quintet, and Reena Esmail's Khirkhiyaan, which transforms three of the composer's pieces into an imaginative work for brass quintet.

Sunday, February 21 at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center – To close out their time at Skidmore College, Ensemble Connect presents a Well-Being Concert, an immersive experience fusing mindfulness and world-class performance.

Tuesday, February 23 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect reprises their February 19th program in Weill Recital Hall, offering the New York premiere of Ishizaki's new work.

Friday, February 26 in Weill Music Room – Ensemble Connect is featured in an adventurous program as part of Carnegie Hall 's Well-Being Concert series, including a newly commissioned work by Luna Lab composer and 2023 NYO-USA Apprentice Composer Lili M. Namazi. This intimate experience is an ideal way to experience Ensemble Connect, known for their approach to connecting with audiences.

Monday, April 12 at Weill Recital Hall – Concluding their 2026–2027 performances in Weill Recital Hall, Ensemble Connect pairs timeless works with some of today's most exciting voices. They perform Dvořák's Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 90, 'Dumky'; Coleridge-Taylor's Nonet; Jennifer Higdon's Book of Brass, comprising four riveting, self-contained pieces for brass quintet; and Caroline Shaw 's Draft of a High-Rise, featured as part of her Debs Composer's Chair appointment.

Wednesday, May 5 in Weill Music Room – Ensemble Connect Up Close, an audience-favorite series that experiments with the concert experience, returns for a performance curated with Biribá Union, featuring cellist Mike Block, beatboxer Christylez Bacon, and electric bassist Patricia Ligia. This concert features a range of music including original works written by current fellows.

In early October, Ensemble Connect participates in a residency at The Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, New York. As part of their residency, they will present a works-in-process showing with Biribá Union ( Oct. 7 ), exploring a new musical style and developing a concept for their Up Close performance at Carnegie Hall in May 2027. The residency was made possible through a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's Culpeper Arts and Culture Program.

From October 20–24, Ensemble Connect continues its biannual residency at Skidmore College by connecting with the students and Saratoga Springs community. During the residency, fellows engage with Skidmore College students as well as students in local elementary, middle, and high schools offering master classes, lessons, class demonstrations, and interactive performances. The residency culminates with a performance in Skidmore's Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. Ensemble Connect returns to Skidmore College for a second residency this season from February 16–20, 2027.

In addition to their performances this season, Ensemble Connect continues partnerships with 12 New York City public schools, with each current fellow (and one alum) working alongside a New York City instrumental music teacher. The musicians bring their expert musicianship—as well as their professional performer's perspective and creative approaches—to band, keyboard, and string programs across four New York City boroughs. A culminating partner school music festival is presented at The Juilliard School in June 2027, celebrating two years of collaboration.

Ensemble Connect presents approximately 60 interactive performances in schools and community venues this season. Fellows develop these programs to explore a musical piece or concept and incorporate listening activities and audience participation. In addition to schools, Ensemble Connect brings interactive performances to incarcerated populations, senior community centers, homeless shelters, and organizations supporting people with disabilities.

Over the course of their fellowship, Ensemble Connect musicians participate in professional development sessions aimed at ensuring they have the skills they need to succeed in all areas of the program and to shape purposeful, personally rewarding career paths that redefine the role of the 21st century musician. The cohort meets weekly to learn from artists, composers, and industry professionals in the fields of performance, teaching artistry and music education, arts management, entrepreneurship, and others. These sessions help the musicians gain new skills and experiment with new approaches to music performance and education while building a strong community within the ensemble. Ensemble Connect alums also play an important role in leading professional development workshops.

Ensemble Connect is an inspirational collective of young professional musicians created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall , The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program prepares exceptionally talented musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, leadership, and entrepreneurship. It offers them top-quality performance opportunities, partnerships with New York City public schools, and rigorous professional development. Ensemble Connect's 158 alums have gon

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/ENSEMBLE-CONNECT-to-Kick-Off-Final-Fellowship-Year-20261006)._