Conceived of in 2012 and inaugurated in 2014, Dynamic Music Festival is an annual new music festival in New York City dedicated to premiering and performing works by composers attending universities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The goal of Dynamic Music Festival is to bring together composers from different schools to showcase their music on the same program. Too often, performances of student composers’ music are limited to the schools they attend, and we want to create an atmosphere of exchange and community among multiple schools and composers.

DMF 2015 Concert Dates: February 28th, 2015 and March 1st, 2015. 


Urban Animals is a student-run organization based in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. Urban Animals aims to facilitate and promote performances and recordings of new pieces by the collective body of composers at NYU and throughout New York City, at traditional and unconventional venues alike. Urban Animals is a nexus of creative thought, enabling composers to produce memorable musical works and meaningful interdisciplinary collaborations by encompassing a wide spectrum of aesthetics and drawing inspiration from all aspects of life.

Nicole Murphy’s music has been described as “exquisite and sensitive” (Sydney Morning Herald), “strong and compelling” (Loudmouth) and “full of exhilarating tension” (Arts Knoxville). She has been commissioned by eminent arts organisations including the Australian Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance (London), the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Experiments in Opera/Symphony Space (New York), Orchestra Victoria, Wild Rumpus (San Francisco), Chamber Sounds (Singapore), and the Definiens Project (Los Angeles). Her music has been performed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, NOWensemble, Ars Nova Dallas, and Halcyon (Sydney), and has been programmed at numerous festivals, including the Norfolk/Yale Chamber Music Festival, the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, the Nief Norf Festival, the Risuonanze Festival (Italy), and the Vox Feminae Festival (Tel Aviv). 

Nicole is the recipient of various awards, including the inaugural Layton Composer Fellowship at the University of NSW (2018), Ensemble Offspring’s Noisy Women Commission (2019), the MAFB International Commissioning Prize (2015), and the Theodore Front International Orchestral Prize (2013). Nicole was a Composer Fellow at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s ‘Intimacy of Creativity’ program (2018) and a Resident Composer at the Mizzou International Composers Festival (2019). Her piano trio, Spinning Top, was included on ABC Classic 2019 release, ‘Women of Note: A Century of Australian Music’. 

Nicole is the Composer-in-Residence at the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries and teaches composition at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. She holds a PhD from the University of Queensland. She is represented by the Australian Music Centre and her music is published by Wirripang.

Joy Sitler used to compose art music. You can find some of their work here.

Cisum Percussion is a New York City based percussion collaborative originally founded in 2012 as a percussion duo. They immediately began performing and recording with a common goal of finding new capabilities within the percussion realm.  A few years later, along with some growth in their vision, Cisum Percussion has expanded into a larger group featuring some of NYC’s top young artists.

As an ensemble, Cisum shares a goal of expanding and developing the styles and capabilities within modern day percussion literature. The vast wealth of backgrounds the ensemble possesses span a plethora of musical styles and creates a unique environment in which nothing is impossible. The group revels in the performance of a crossbreed of styles such as contemporary classical music, rock, minimalism, funk, jazz, combined with the use of visual arts and theater. Constantly seeking out new works and composers, Cisum Percussion continues to explore this genre-melding sound world.

Cisum Percussion’s past projects include performances within the tri-state area, clinics/master classes serving Long Island’s public schools and music education programs, the commission and premiere of “Nocturne” by Casey Cangelosi, the creation and premiere of the internationally known percussion series “Motions,” the creation of a bi-yearly call for scores/composition contest and the premiere of “Shadow Evolutions” (commission by North Shore Symphony Orchestra, written by Nicholas V. Hall) for two percussionists and symphony orchestra.

Recently Cisum Percussion has been funded by a Kickstarter campaign to produce and record their debut album “Motions.” Featuring the "Motions" series by Nicholas Hall, as well as several other commissioned composers. The album is set for release in 2017. Along with their debut album they are currently performing in the NYC/Metropolitan area while making plans for the 2017-2018 concert season which will include several new commissions to be premiered both as a percussion ensemble and collaborating with other musicians.

Composer, Violist, Events Manager at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

Northeast US based composer. I make music and sometimes I sleep. nadinefoleycomp@gmail.com

Cisum Percussion is following