Composer's Voice presents Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame Featuring Classical Guitarist Christopher Schoelen

Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAGCD0_2xHg

Composer’s Voice, the forward-thinking concert series and TV show that champions living composers and boundary-pushing performances, proudly presents a new edition of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame featuring acclaimed classical guitarist Christopher Schoelen.

Dr. Schoelen is an award-winning performer and passionate educator whose musical vision spans centuries and continents. Currently based in Ohio, he teaches guitar at Heidelberg University and maintains a thriving online studio in both music and languages. With degrees from Humboldt State and the University of South Carolina—and formative studies in Seville, Spain—his artistry blends American innovation with European finesse.

This Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame episode highlights 15 one-minute works composed specifically for Schoelen’s expressive playing style and virtuosic technique. The program offers a kaleidoscope of contemporary voices from around the world:

Featured Composers:

Whether interpreting Renaissance pieces or premiering bold new works, Schoelen brings a unique poetic sensibility to the guitar. His performances have taken him across the U.S. and Europe, and his recordings—including Neo: Modernism & the Guitar and the holiday release Winter’s Light with his duo Deux Saisons—have garnered critical praise.

This special edition of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame, produced by Robert Voisey and Vox Novus, is a celebration of modern guitar music and the power of microcomposition to spark deep connection in just sixty seconds.

Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame, created by Robert Voisey and produced by Vox Novus, is a global initiative that has premiered thousands of one-minute pieces by composers worldwide. The Composer’s Voice TV series brings these works to a broader audience through compelling performances, interviews, and cultural context.

Composer’s Voice, created by Robert Voisey and produced by Vox Novus, continues its mission to present dynamic, living voices in new music through short-format, high-impact episodes that bring performers and composers directly into the spotlight. Each episode is a curated mix of performance, dialogue, and discovery.

Episodes of Composer's Voice air its half-hour show every 2 weeks on Saturday at 2:00 PM EDT (UTC-4) on NYC cable access TV with Manhattan Neighborhood's Network channel 2. 
 


View on the following TV cable channels in Manhattan:

Channel 83 on RCN

Channel 67 on Spectrum

Channel 34 on Verizon FIOS
 


Watch and listen online at the following:

https://www.mnn.org/watch/channels/lifestyle-channel

Composer’s Voice is simulcasted on YouTube on the Vox Novus channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@Vox_Novus
or directly here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAGCD0_2xHg
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VOX NOVUS ANNOUNCES FIFTEEN-MINUTES-OF-FAME FEATURING DR. CHRISTOPHER SCHOELEN – SECOND SET

Vox Novus is thrilled to present the next installment of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame with the return of acclaimed guitarist Dr. Christopher Schoelen. This marks his second set of one-minute works for the project, bringing together a fresh collection of bold, inventive pieces written especially for his artistry.

Dr. Schoelen is an award-winning guitarist whose career has taken him from Carnegie Hall to international stages in Spain, Italy, and beyond. A passionate advocate for both classical and contemporary repertoire, he has inspired composers and audiences alike with his expressive playing, technical mastery, and deep musical insight.

The premiere of this new set will take place Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 4:00 PM EDT during the Timucua Arts Foundation’s Guitar Festival. This concert will be a celebration of creativity—fifteen short works, each a complete musical world in just sixty seconds, showcasing the incredible range of the guitar and the boundless imagination of today’s composers.

The selected composers for this set are:

• Fabio Beckert – A Playful Piece for Guitar
• David Bohn – Steps
• Ross James Carey – Missing Maurizio
• Gerard Cousins – Minimal Étude No.2
• Douglas DaSilva – Partido Alto
• Evan Gallagher – dȄȄp Zlあ nti wolfbrӕne [deep Zlanti wolfbrane]
• David Heinick – Just a Minute
• Shigeru Kan-no – Other Than
• Naoki Kondo – mono #6-24
• Pablo A. Rago – Study in C
• Juan Luis de Pablo Enríquez Rohen – La enigmática espiral
• Yoav Shati – Prelude in E Major
• Pierluigi Tanzi – Graffi
• Jean-Pierre Vial – Estudio Ibérico
• Blair Whittington – Glance

This special event is part of Vox Novus’ ongoing mission to connect composers, performers, and audiences through unique and engaging formats. Now in its fifteenth year, Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame has become a global platform for new music, providing composers with the opportunity to collaborate with exceptional musicians and giving audiences a window into the creativity shaping contemporary performance.

We extend our warmest thanks to every composer who submitted works for this project. The response was inspiring, and we encourage all composers to continue participating in future calls for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame. Each set is a new adventure, and your voices are an essential part of this vibrant and ever-growing community.

Learn more about Dr. Christopher Schoelen and his work at: https://christopherschoelen.com/repertoire/

Find More Here on Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame

Andrew White - Collaboration and Accompaniment

Composers Concordance
Andrew White - Baritone
A Preseason Event
Co-Presented with Vox Novus

Composers:
David Bohn, Michael Coleman, Eugene W. McBride, Gene Pritsker, Jean-Christophe Rosaz, and David Wolfson.

Plus the selections of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame featuring Andrew White:
David Bohn, Erik Branch, Ross James Carey, Sarah Clevely, Pernille Faye, Kirsten Johnson, Tom Lane, Darth Presley, Gene Pritsker, Volker Ignaz Schmidt, Soheil Shirangi, Brent Straughan, Kyle Vanderburg, Blair Whittington, David Wolfson

Performers
Andrew White - baritone
David Wolfson - piano

Monday, Aug. 18th, 2025 at 7pm
The Ellington Room
at Manhattan Plaza
400 W 43rd St, NYC

FREE EVENT

On Monday, August 18th at 7pm, Composers Concordance, in association with Vox Novus, kicks off its preseason with a unique concert: Andrew White – Baritone. This dynamic program showcases new works for solo baritone voice—ranging from a cappella to pieces with piano and electronics.

Directors Gene Pritsker and Dan Cooper will get things started with a lively rundown of what's in store for the 2025–26 season, Then acclaimed baritone Andrew White will take the stage, performing compositions by: David Bohn, Michael Coleman, Eugene W. McBride, Gene Pritsker, Jean-Christophe Rosaz, and David Wolfson, along with a special presentation of Vox Novus' Fifteen Minutes of Fame.

This set features 15 one-minute works written for Andrew White by: David Bohn, Erik Branch, Ross James Carey, Sarah Clevely, Pernille Faye, Kirsten Johnson, Tom Lane, Darth Presley, Gene Pritsker, Volker Ignaz Schmidt, Soheil Shirangi, Brent Straughan, Kyle Vanderburg, Blair Whittington, David Wolfson,

A champion of Art Song and contemporary music, Andrew White has distinguished himself in recitals of French mélodie, Lieder, and contemporary American art song, including numerous premiere performances. He was selected to participate in the Cleveland Art Song Festival six times, appearing as a featured artist on the 1996 festival. He won the VARN competition in 1997 and was First Prize winner of the 1995 Richardson Awards Vocal Competition. While a student, White was granted a full scholarship to study in Switzerland with Gerard Souzay and Dalton Baldwin. In 1995, he made his New York recital debut in Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in a program devoted to the songs of Cleveland composer Frederick Koch. One review hailed him as "... a formidable interpreter ... Every song composer should be so lucky with collaborators."

David Wolfson has been composing for and performing with Andrew White since the 1980s. He is enjoying an eclectic career, having composed opera, musical theatre, touring children's musicals, and incidental music for plays; choral music, band music, orchestral music, chamber music, art songs, and music for solo piano; comedy songs, cabaret songs and pop songs, including his recent singer/songwriter EP Gravity Well. He has performed in pit orchestras on and off-Broadway and on cabaret and concert stages across the country.

The concert will also be live-streamed on Composers Concordance's Facebook Page.

Staying in rotation for 42 years in NYC is a rare feat. In the case of a new music presenting organization, it requires not only diligence and cognizance of achievements of the past but also an ethic of keeping one's ear to the ground for emerging stylistic and technological developments, as well as talented new composers on the scene. Composers Concordance, founded in 1984 by Joseph Pehrson and Patrick Hardish, advised by Otto Luening, strives to present contemporary music in innovative ways, with an emphasis on thematic programming. Directors Gene Pritsker and Dan Cooper co-curate the programs and lead the CompCord Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Big Band. Associate Directors are Milica Paranosic, Peter Jarvis, Debra Kaye, Seth Boustead, and Audrey Morse. Composers Concordance has also created a Naxos-distributed record label: Composers Concordance Records. Composers Concordance's overriding vision is to promote contemporary music, composers, and new works as a rightful and respected part of society. Good music performed and recorded well, pushing the boundaries of sound and composition.

"Composers Concordance..a veritable New York new music institution of concerts, album production and multiple ensembles under a sweeping, tenacious brand, thriving on the emulsion of contemporary classical, free improv, jazz and rock, overt humor and fearless political statements, all very much in evidence..The ensemble..was masterful throughout."-John Pietaro, The New York City Jazz Record

"An unwavering force in giving composers exposure through concert bookings and its own record label, the intrepid new-music organization Composers Concordance" - The Brooklyn Rail

"The Composers Concordance folks are unpredictable and at times refreshingly irreverent in a reverent sort of way....ingenious fun" - Classical-Modern Music Review

"Enterprising new music organization" - The New York Times