Press Release

February 18, 2026

For Immediate Release

Cutting Edge Concerts kicks off 2026 spring season on March 23

Two-part recital at Symphony Space features pianist José López (Part I) and cellist Sarah Kim with guest cellist Alan Rafferty (Part II)

Season also features world premiere opera by Laura Schwendinger (April 28) and soprano-clarinet duo Whistling Hens (May 12)

Cutting Edge Concerts founder Victoria Bond

Part I celebrates the centennial of Cuban American composer Aurelio de la Vega with three works from different stylistic periods: Prelude No. 1 showcases the early chromaticism influenced by European masters such as Karol Symanowski; Epigrama the continued development from the 1950’s prior to the Cuban Revolution; and the avant-garde spatial scores from the 1970’s as heard in Olep ed Arudamot, composed in the U.S. Also on the program are works by past recipients of the CINTAS Fellowship in Music Composition for composers of Cuban descent (de la Vega won a lifetime achievement award from CINTAS in 2008): Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León, Antonio Hernández Lizaso, Orlando J. García, and Ivette Herryman.

On Part II, Kim performs the world premiere of Victoria Bond's "Women of Note," a solo cello suite celebrating the lives of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, conservationist and author of Silent Spring Rachel Carson, composer Clara Schumann, Korean artist Shin Saimdang, and Anne Frank. The program also features a premiere by Kristin Kuster, recipient of the Charles Ives Prize and a professor of composition at University of Michigan, plus works by Kati Agócs and Ellen Harrison. Guest cellist Alan Rafferty joins Kim on the Agócs and Kuster.

Inspired by Pierre Boulez's series, "Perspective Encounters", the composer and conductor Victoria Bond founded Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival in 1998. Over its 28 year history, Cutting Edge Concerts has presented over 300 new works. Each program highlights the music of living composers, most of whom attend the concert. Along with performances by world-class ensembles and soloists, each program features on-stage discussions between host Victoria Bond and the composers. 

The Cutting Edge Concerts season continues on April 28 with the world premiere of Laura Schwendinger's opera "Margaret in Love and War," and the soprano-clarinet duo Whistling Hens on May 13. All concerts are at Symphony Space at 7:30 pm.

Monday, March 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm

Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival presents

Miami Comes to New York

Two-part recital with:

José López, piano (Part I)

Sarah Kim and Alan Rafferty, cellos (Part II)

Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater at Symphony Space
2537 Broadway at 95th St., New York, NY

Up next at Cutting Edge Concerts

(all concerts at 7:30 pm at Symphony Space)

April 28: World premiere of the opera "Margaret in Love and War" by Laura Schwendinger

Laura Schwendinger's opera about Margaret Fuller, a 19th century American journalist and women’s rights advocate receives its world premiere in a semi-staged production. "Margaret in Love and War" features Marnie Breckenridge in the titular role directed by Chris Alden and a chamber ensemble led by conductor Eiki Isomura. 

In 1847, Fuller arrives in Italy at the heart of a revolution. As popular discontent was roiling in Europe, Fuller's columns for the New York Tribune provide a thrilling account from the front lines. She falls in love with a young revolutionary nobleman and has a child with him before their lives were tragically cut short in a shipwreck.

May 13: Whistling Hens

Whistling Hens - soprano Jennifer Piazza-Pick and clarinetist Natalie Groom - perform works written for them by Victoria Bond, Judith Shatin, and others.

Whistling Hens performs and commissions music by women composers. The duo’s name was plucked from a quote by a music critic, “women composers are at best whistling hens.”

A major force in 21st century music, composer Victoria Bond is known for her melodic gift and dramatic flair. Her works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and opera have been lauded by The New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding." Her compositions have been performed by the New York City Opera, Shanghai, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, members of the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater and the Cassatt and Audubon Quartets.  Ms. Bond is also an acclaimed conductor, and is the principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago, and has held conducting positions with Pittsburgh Symphony, New York City Opera, Roanoke Symphony, and Bel Canto and Harrisburg Operas.