Photos by Ella Hovsepian
By William Ruiz Morales
On Thursday, November 6, 2025, New Music Inc – Los Angeles participants gathered for their first cohort meeting at Oracle Egg in Downtown Los Angeles. The afternoon marked the official launch of a 17-month program supporting ten artist-led new music organizations through funding, mentorship, and cohort learning.
The gathering was hosted by New Music USA (NMU), with participation from Vanessa Rose, President and CEO; Anne-Marie Spataru, Board Co-Chair; Marc Giosi, Director of Development; and Lisa Altman, Program Consultant. Facilitated by Monisha Chowdhary (NMU) and William Ruiz Morales of Los Angeles Performance Practice (LAPP), the session brought together artistic leaders, administrators, and producers working across contemporary music, performance, and interdisciplinary practice.
The inaugural NMI–LA cohort includes Angel City Arts / Angel City Jazz Fest (Claremont), Bridge to Everywhere (Los Angeles), Brightwork newmusic (Pasadena), DC6 Singers Collective (Los Angeles), Laós Chamber Music (San Gabriel), Monday Evening Concerts (Los Angeles), Oracle Egg (Los Angeles), Piano Spheres (Los Angeles), Resonance Collective (Los Angeles), and South Side Symphony (Inglewood).
The aim of the gathering was simple and foundational: to establish shared purpose, community agreements, and practical next steps for the year ahead. The structure balanced informal connection with conversation, beginning with a welcome lunch and flowing into a facilitated learning session grounded in dialogue and exchange.
Grounding the Work
The meeting opened with welcomes from NMU and an overview of the New Music Inc program, outlining expectations, upcoming milestones, and the role of the cohort as a learning community. LAPP shared context for the Los Angeles iteration, emphasizing organizational sustainability, interdependence, and the importance of strengthening the infrastructure that supports new music in the region.
Challenges, Opportunities, and What’s Already in the Room
The heart of the afternoon was a facilitated Challenges and Opportunities exchange, where participants broke into small groups to connect more deeply around the realities of their work. They shared themes around organizational sustainability, collaboration, and capacity. The discussions revealed clear patterns across organizations while also surfacing unexpected points of connection and alignment.
When the full group reconvened, participants shared impressions and highlights from their conversations. These collective reflections offered an early snapshot of the cohort’s needs and strengths and will help inform the direction of future learning sessions, mentorship, and support.
Setting the Tone for the Year Ahead
The session closed with next steps and upcoming dates, but more importantly, with a sense of collective momentum. Community agreements introduced at the beginning of the meeting set the tone for how the cohort will work together moving forward: making space for multiple voices, welcoming draft thinking, practicing care, and treating difference as a creative resource.
New Music Inc – Los Angeles is designed to support organizations not only in what they produce, but in how they sustain their work over time. This first cohort meeting made clear that the strength of the program lies in the relationships being built and the shared commitment to learning together.
The cohort will continue to convene through a mix of in-person and virtual learning sessions, individualized advising, mentorship, and national exchange opportunities through 2026.
New Music Inc – Los Angeles is made possible thanks to the generosity of The Music Man Foundation and Perenchio Foundation.
