New Music USA
A United States nonprofit organization that supports the creation, performance, dissemination, and appreciation of new music.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
New Music USA is a United States nonprofit organization focused on strengthening the field of new music and supporting the people who create, perform, present, document, and study it. The organization was established on November 8, 2011, through the merger of the American Music Center and Meet The Composer. That combination brought together two substantial traditions of support for contemporary and experimental music: the American Music Center's grantmaking, information, media, and professional-development work, and Meet The Composer's programs for commissioning, residencies, education, and direct interaction between composers and audiences. The organization operates primarily as a support infrastructure rather than as a commercial music label, concert presenter, or consumer-facing entertainment brand. Its work has included grants and other assistance for composers, performers, ensembles, and projects; professional-development resources; and editorial and broadcast platforms that help audiences discover music by living and historically underrepresented American composers. New Music USA retained important initiatives associated with its predecessor organizations, including NewMusicBox and Counterstream Radio. NewMusicBox functions as an online magazine and resource focused on contemporary music, while Counterstream Radio was created as an online station presenting music by composers from the United States. New Music USA's institutional history reaches back to 1939, when the American Music Center was founded as a membership organization by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter. The American Music Center originally emphasized the collection and circulation of scores by American composers. Its library eventually grew to more than 60,000 scores before the collection was transferred to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in 2001. The center also developed commissioning, performance, recording, copying-assistance, composer-assistance, and other grant programs over subsequent decades. Meet The Composer began in 1974 as a New York State Council on the Arts initiative. Initially known as Composer in Performance, it was later administered by the American Music Center before becoming an independent organization led by program director John Duffy. Its mission centered on improving composers' ability to earn a living by supporting commissions, residencies, education, audience engagement, and the broader presentation of new work. The 2011 merger allowed both organizations to combine their grantmaking and field-support capabilities under one institution. New Music USA's positioning is therefore that of a national arts-service and grantmaking organization for new music. Its audiences include composers, performers, ensembles, presenters, educators, researchers, and listeners. The organization is especially relevant to music that falls outside mainstream commercial repertoire, including contemporary classical, experimental, electronic, interdisciplinary, and other forms of newly created music. Available reference material identifies New York as its headquarters and the United States as its principal operating market. Detailed current financial information, ownership information, and a complete current executive roster are not established in the supplied sources.
History
New Music USA was formed on November 8, 2011, when the American Music Center and Meet The Composer merged. The merger created a single organization combining grantmaking, commissioning, professional-development, media, and audience-building programs serving composers and the wider new-music ecosystem. The American Music Center had been founded in 1939 as a membership organization by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter. Its early and long-running activity included collecting scores by American composers and making those materials available through its library. The collection eventually exceeded 60,000 scores, including published works and unpublished manuscripts. In 2001, the collection was transferred to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The center also developed major programs to support the creation and presentation of new work. In the 1950s, a Ford Foundation-funded initiative commissioned, performed, and recorded new American orchestral music. The program produced 18 commissions, 72 performances, and 12 recordings, and was associated with a Pulitzer Prize for John La Montaine's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Other works connected with the program included Gunther Schuller's Seven Studies on Themes by Paul Klee. During the early 1960s, the organization introduced a Copying Assistance Program, later renamed the Composer Assistance Program, which provided grants to help composers prepare materials for performance. Later programs supported music presented with dance, recorded music, composers, and ensembles. The American Music Center also administered the Aaron Copland Fund for many years. The center expanded into digital media with the launch of NewMusicBox in 1999 and Counterstream Radio in 2007. NewMusicBox provided online writing and information about contemporary music, while Counterstream Radio operated as a round-the-clock internet station featuring music by composers from the United States. These initiatives gave the organization a role not only in funding and professional support but also in documentation, criticism, discovery, and public access. Meet The Composer originated in 1974 as a New York State Council on the Arts program called Composer in Performance. NYSCA subsequently asked the American Music Center to take over the project, and composer John Duffy became its program director. Duffy renamed it Meet The Composer, which later became an independent organization. Its mission was to expand opportunities for composers by supporting the creation, performance, dissemination, and appreciation of their music. Its activities included commissioning, residency, education, and audience-interaction programs designed to help composers build sustainable careers and relationships with communities. The 2011 merger brought these complementary capabilities together. New Music USA retained the predecessor organizations' granting programs and the two media initiatives created by the American Music Center. In this form, it continued as a national nonprofit serving new music professionals and audiences. Reference material identifies Vanessa Reed as having been appointed president and chief executive officer in 2019. Beyond that appointment, the supplied sources do not establish a complete current leadership list, detailed finances, or subsequent organizational milestones.
- 2019
Vanessa Reed appointed president and CEO
[1]Vanessa Reed was appointed president and chief executive officer of New Music USA.
- 2011
New Music USA formed
[1]The American Music Center and Meet The Composer merged on November 8 to establish New Music USA.
- 2007
Counterstream Radio launched
[1]The American Music Center launched Counterstream Radio, an online station presenting music by composers from the United States.
- 2001
American Music Center score collection transferred
[1]The American Music Center transferred its score collection, which had grown to more than 60,000 items, to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
- 1999
NewMusicBox launched
[1]The American Music Center launched NewMusicBox as an online magazine and information platform focused on new music.
- 1974
Meet The Composer begins
[1]Meet The Composer originated as the New York State Council on the Arts initiative Composer in Performance before becoming an independent organization led by John Duffy.
- 1960
Composer assistance introduced
[1]The American Music Center established its Copying Assistance Program, later known as the Composer Assistance Program, to help composers prepare performance materials.
- 1950
Ford Foundation orchestral commissioning program
[1]The American Music Center developed a Ford Foundation-funded program that commissioned, performed, and recorded new American orchestral works. The program produced 18 commissions, 72 performances, and 12 recordings.
- 1939
American Music Center founded
[1]Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter founded the American Music Center as a membership organization promoting the creation, performance, and enjoyment of new American music.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit arts-service and grantmaking organization that supports new music creators, performers, presenters, and audiences in the United States.
Arts funding · 2011
Grant programs
New Music USA carries forward grantmaking traditions associated with the American Music Center and Meet The Composer. These programs have supported composers, ensembles, performances, recordings, dance-related presentations, and the preparation of music for performance. They represent the organization's core role as a field-support institution rather than a commercial music company.
Digital media · 1999
NewMusicBox
NewMusicBox is an online magazine and information platform created by the American Music Center in 1999 and retained by New Music USA after the 2011 merger. It provides editorial and informational material connected with contemporary music and helps document the work, ideas, and professional concerns of the new-music field.
Online radio · 2007
Counterstream Radio
Counterstream Radio was established by the American Music Center in 2007 as a 24-hour online station broadcasting music by composers from the United States. New Music USA retained it as part of the media portfolio inherited through the merger.
Artist services · 2011
Professional development resources
The organization provides or has provided professional-development information and support for composers, performers, ensembles, and other new-music professionals. These services complement financial assistance by helping practitioners develop careers, projects, partnerships, and audiences.
Brand decisions
2011
Merger of the American Music Center and Meet The ComposerM&ABackground
The two organizations both supported composers and the wider new-music ecosystem, but brought different institutional histories and program strengths. The American Music Center contributed grantmaking, media, information, and professional-development initiatives, while Meet The Composer contributed commissioning, residency, education, and audience-engagement work.
Action taken
They merged on November 8, 2011, forming New Music USA and combining their grant programs and media initiatives.
Aftermath
The resulting nonprofit retained the former organizations' granting programs, NewMusicBox, and Counterstream Radio under one national new-music support organization.
Sources2 sources
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