yMusic

Hailed by National Public Radio’s Fred Child as “one of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music,” yMusic is a group of six New York City instrumentalists flourishing in the overlap between the pop and classical worlds. Their virtuosic execution and unique configuration (string trio, flute, clarinet and trumpet) have attracted the attention of high profile collaborators—from Dirty Projectors to My Brightest Diamond—and more recently inspired an expanding repertoire of original works by some of today’s foremost composers.

This Fall, yMusic will release Balance Problems, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2011’s Beautiful Mechanical (Time Out New York’s #1 Classical Record of the Year). The record features stunning new compositions from Nico Muhly, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Norman, Mark Dancigers, Jeremy Turner, Marcos Balter and Timo Andres, all realized through the ensemble’s striking performances.

In addition to performing its own repertoire, yMusic serves as a ready-made collaborative unit for bands and songwriters. In the 2013-14 season, yMusic recorded Mutilation Rag for Beck‘s Song Reader compilation and performed three concerts at Lincoln Center, two in the Atrium, collaborating with Blake Mills and premiering works by Gabriel Kahane, Mark Dancigers and Dawn of Midi’s Qasim Naqvi, and one in collaboration with José González as part of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival.

Since their inception in 2008, yMusic has striven to bring a classical chamber music aesthetic to venues outside the traditional concert hall. Its members have individually toured and recorded with artists such as Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Bjork, The National, Meredith Monk, Antony & the Johnsons, David Byrne, The New York Philharmonic and Sufjan Stevens.