About

Artistic Statement

A new music ensemble for the 21st Century, the [Switch~ Ensemble] is a dynamic group of internationally active musicians and composers dedicated to the creation and exploration of cutting-edge works integrating chamber ensemble and technology. Working at the intersection of artistic innovation and collaborative experimentation, we combine acoustic instruments, electronics, multimedia, and emerging technologies, to expand the possibilities of chamber music and create immersive experiences.

Founded in 2012 in Rochester, New York, [Switch~] looks toward the future of contemporary music, commissioning and premiering new work for more than a decade, developing long-term artistic partnerships with dozens of emerging and established composers including Sarah Hennies, Ti McCormack, Karola Obermüller, Andrew Watts, Anna-Louise Walton, Sam Pluta, Kitty Xiao, Julie Herndon, Igor Santos, Katharina Rosenberger, Victoria Cheah, Katherine Young, Santiago Diez-Fischer, Sivan Eldar, Julio Zúñiga, Esaias Järnegard, and many others, while continuing to perform landmark works by influential composers such as George Lewis, Philippe Leroux, Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri, Julius Eastman, Stefan Prins, Cathy van Eck, Rand Steiger, Lisa Streich, Alexander Schubert, and Stefano Gervasoni. We foster artistic dialogues that extend beyond a work’s premiere, embracing the fluidity of a creative process where the score is a point of departure rather than a finish line–allowing for new and thrilling musical possibilities.

[Switch~] has appeared at leading festivals, universities, and arts institutions throughout the United States and abroad, including EMPAC, the University of Chicago, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, Harvard University, the University of Louisville, the University at Buffalo, Eastman School of Music, Bard College, Cornell University, Ithaca College, June in Buffalo, the Overdrive Festival NYC, the MATA Interval Series, NYCEMF, the Queens New Music Festival, University of Miami, the Image/Sound Festival, San Francisco Center for New Music, the University of Missouri, SPLICE Institute, the VIPA Festival in Spain, the SinusTon Festival in Germany, and more. Commercial recordings include releases of work by Christopher Chandler, Juraj Kojs, Stephen Yip, Dorothy Hindman, Heather Stebbins, and more.

[Switch~] contributes to the future of our field by strongly advocating for and commissioning the music of a new generation of emerging composers. Education and mentorship are central to our mission. Through residencies, workshops, masterclasses, reading sessions, open rehearsals, and recording projects, we provide emerging artists with direct access to professional performers while helping to build a diverse canon of 21st century repertoire that leaves space for all voices—especially those that have historically been excluded from our field.

Our 2026-27 season highlights include world premieres of commissioned works by Tonia Ko, Lauren Siess, Alex Stephenson, Inga Chinilina, Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, Jason Thorpe Buchanan, Tobias Fandel, Itzá García, and more, with support from Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, the Fromm Music Foundation, the Amphion Foundation, and New Music USA, including performances at Illinois State University’s RED NOTE Festival, Carnegie Mellon University’s Meshwork Festival, Brown University, the Overdrive Festival, and the Performing Media Festival.