New Morse Code is devoted to bold and engaging performances of music worth sharing. Omnivorous, rigorous and inventive, Hannah Collinsand Michael Compitello activate the unexpected range and unique sonic world of cello and percussion to catalyze and champion the compelling works of young composers.
To Hannah and Michael, collaboration involves drawing upon mutual influences while generating and refining material together over an extended period of time. Through close work with colleagues such as pianist-composer Paul Kerekes, steel pan virtuoso and composer Andy Akiho, Hawaiian composer and visual artist Tonia Ko, and Pulitzer Prize-winning violinist/vocalist/composer Caroline Shaw, New Morse Code generates a singular and personal repertoire which reflects both their friends’ creative voices and their own perspectives. Current projects include collaborations with composers Samuel Carl Adams, Matthew Barnson, Patrick van Deurzen, Stephen Gorbos, and Robert Honstein.
In addition to developing new repertoire for concert programs, New Morse Code also creates music for larger interdisciplinary projects. In 2012, New Morse Code worked with a team of artistic collaborators from the Yale Schools of Music and Drama to create Basement Hades: Songs of the Underworld, a contemporary retelling of the Orpheus myth which blurs the boundaries between concert, play and multimedia event, which was hailed as “stunningly moving” by the New Haven Review. More theater projects are currently in development with playwright Justin Taylor, composer Kevin Clark, and documentarian/composer George Lam.
Through its outreach initiative New Morse Kids, the duo has inspired young listeners with eye-opening performances and engaging presentations at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Yale’s Morse Summer Music Academy, the ARTS Experience Festival at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.
Hannah and Michael are co-directors of the Avaloch Farm New Music Initiative, a summer residency program in Boscawen, New Hampshire designed to provide resources and support for performers and composers collaborating on new works. Please see avalochfarmmusic.org for more information.
Other Artist
Anna Petrova
Praised for her “artistic, clear and enlightened” performances (BBC Magazine) of “technical brilliance and complete emotional engagement" (Fanfare Magazine), Bulgarian pianist Anna Petrova performs extensively as both soloist and chamber musician around the globe.
Clara Lyon is an accomplished performer and curator who forges meaningful connections across sonic languages and societal contexts to foster investigation and imagination.
From 1999 until its final season in 2013, Clive Greensmith was a member of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet, giving over one hundred performances each year in the most prestigious international venues, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, London’s South Bank, Paris Chatelet, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
