Impulse New Music Festival

This special concert features the premieres of the new works written as part of the 2026 Impulse New Music Festival, performed by our Festival Trios and ensemble-in-residence, Brightwork Ensemble. The concert will also include selections by the late American composer Steven R. Gerber, whose trust provided generous support for the 2025 festival.

Taking our support for young composers from the trail to the stage: Brightwork Ensemble returns to L.A.’s Impulse New Music Festival to premiere works by this year’s cohort of early-career composers.

On Saturday, August 8th at Colburn’s Thayer Hall in downtown L.A., Brightwork’s world-class musicians will perform new works composed for them during the program. The music is the culmination of more than a month of collaboration, workshops, lectures and rehearsals with the band and festival faculty.

Use CODE: BW_newmusic to save $10 on tix!

PERFORMERS:

Festival Debussy Trio:
Erin McKibben, flute,
Diana Wade, viola,
Alison Bjorkedal, harp

Festival Piano Trio:
Ambroise Aubrun, violin,
Jennifer Bewerse, cello,
Mari Kawamura, piano

Brightwork Ensemble:
Sara Andon, flute,
Brian Walsh, clarinet,
Shalini Vijayan, violin,
Mia Barcia-Colombo, cello,
Aron Kallay, piano,
Nick Terry, percussion

WORKS BY:

Chanxuan Huang, Saveliy Sotnikov, Matt Smith, Spencer Kennedy, Yiqi Guo, Evan Hargrave, Elis Jones, Zach Urbine, Amélie Starnes, and Katelyn Simpson.