wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Before age 30, Martin Bresnick won the Rome Prize, which granted him a year of music study in Italy. He discusses his trials and tribulations as a young composer in the mid-1970s. Three young, New York-based composers will also share their professional struggles and triumphs: classical composers Marc Mellits and Steven Burke, and jazz/punk/advertising-jingle writer Franz Nicolay. Klezmer Madness! is one of the leading ensembles playing East Coast-flavored klezmer tunes for old and new fans alike. The group visits for a live performance.
Among Martin Bresnick’s film scores are PBS programs Mulhollands' Dream, An American Nile, The Mercy of Nature, and The Last Oasis, as well as Sundance documentary prizewinner The Day After Trinity.
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Though he studied trumpet from age 7, Steven Burke studied chemistry and did neurosurgery research in addition to music before he suffered nerve damage and gave up the trumpet for music composition.
More about Steven Burke

Artistic director of his eponymous music consort, Marc Mellits has completed commissions for the Kronos String Quartet, Bang On A Can All-Stars, and the Orchestra Dancing In Your Head, among others.
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Franz Nicolay is the president of Anti-Social Music, Inc., a collective of composers and performers that present new-music concerts twice yearly of new works written and performed by ASM members and associates.
More about Franz Nicolay