Pocantico Center
Our Creative Residencies provide composers with protected time and studio space in a quiet and spacious setting. The residencies are awarded through a nomination process by organizations participating in the annual festival and rotating panels of artists from our Board of Directors, Board of Advisors, and Distinguished Mentors Council.
The Pocantico Residency launched in November 2014 in partnership with The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which provides residency accommodations at their historic estate in New York's Hudson Valley. In 2015 the Composers Now-Pocantico partnership expanded to include artists sponsored by the Asian Cultural Council in collaboration with Composers Now.
"The program is so special in the way it gathers artists from a wide range of disciplines together to create and present their collaborations to the public, offering a unique glimpse into the creative process."
- Elly Kelly, manager, public programs, Pocantico
The Pocantico Center is the location for two creatives to gather in the beautiful tranquility of its gardens, sculptures, and landscapes while finding a combined inspiration leading to a new work. The collaborative, shared process is the key to an outcome that embraces the sensibilities of each artist and builds something expansive and new.
Announcing the Fall 2023 Collaborative Creative Residency
The creatives are composer/conductor/educator Whitney George (through Composers Now) and pianist/composer/curator Shih-Yang Lee (through the Asian Cultural Council).
There will be an informal showing and discussion on Thursday evening, November 2nd from 7 to 8 pm in the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center.
For further information and tickets click here.
Whitney George's music traverses the affective terrain between tragedy and ecstasy, fragility and strength, bringing together romantically delicate intimacy and the spectacular darkness of the macabre. George's operas, staged multimedia works, and chamber music coloristically explore the mysteries of irrationality, nightmare, and memory, sonically seeking lost objects and hidden subjects. Her work has been recognized and commissioned by a number of institutions: in '17; the Elebash Award for her orchestration of Gideon's opera Fortunato; in '19 the commission of Princess Maleine by dell'Arte Opera; in '20 the video opera Julie by New Camerata Opera; in most recently in '23, Fizz & Ginger, an immersive jazz experience commissioned by Fresh Squeezed Opera and NYSCA. George is the artistic director and conductor of The Curiosity Cabinet, a chamber orchestra formed in '09 focused on interdisciplinary performance by underrepresented voices in the contemporary repertory. She holds degrees from CalArts ('08), Brooklyn College ('10), CUNY Graduate Center ('21) and has been a teaching mentor with Luna Lab since 2020.
Facebook: @WhitneyEGeorge | Instagram: @whitney.e.george |X: @WhitTheCurious
Get to Know the Composer!
The Curiosity Cabinet (2021)
NakedEye Ensemble (2022)
The Curiosity Cabinet (2021)
Reunion Ibis from The Extinction Series
Nicholas Philps (2019)
Accomplished Taiwanese pianist, composer, and curator Shih-Yang Lee works primarily in improvised music. As a performer, he has toured widely in Europe and Asia. He has collaborated with dance productions and founded music improvisation ensemble Ka Dao Yin to win prestigious awards, such as the Taishin Art Award, Golden Melody Award, and the Golden Indie Music Award. As a curator, he is known as a leading organizer for the burgeoning improvisation scene in Taiwan.
2022 Residents:
inti figgis-vizueta, composer
Wu Chien-Wei, choreographer, dancer
Selma Savolainen composer
Cheuk Wing Nam, interdisciplinary artist
2021 Residents:
Seong Ae Kim, composer
Andre Veloux, visual artist, lego gender equality, feminist
2018 Residents:
Pascal Le Boeuf, composer, pianist and producer
Chen Yu-An, singer-songwriter and actor.
2017 Residents:
Erica Lindsay, composer, performer, teacher and arranger
Wangjia Zhaxi, dancer, choreographer and educator
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, composer
Ami Yamasaki, vocalist and cross-media artist
2016 Residents:
Sasha Zamler-Carhart, composer, singer and early music scholar
Thanh Phuong Ngo, choreographer
Tonia Ko, composer
Yasuno Miyauchi, composer
2015 Residents:
Jin Hi Kim, composer and komungo player
Ji Chao, librettist
Peter Van Zandt Lane, composer
Kate Ladenheim, choreographer
2014 Residents:
Mari Kimura, composer, violinist and researcher
Ms. Kimura created the interactive audio/video work Breuer Vivant during her residency.
Aruán Ortiz, composer, pianist and violist
The Asian Cultural Council advances international dialogue, understanding, and respect through cultural exchange activities in Asia and the United States to create a more harmonious and peaceful world. This mission is accomplished through fellowships and other programs that support traditional and innovative approaches to international engagement and creative collaboration, to foster lasting cultural impact, and develop global networks among individual artists, scholars, and arts professionals. To date, ACC has supported over 6,000 exchanges across 26 countries and regions, and 16 artistic disciplines.
Once home to the Rockefeller family, The Pocantico Center's verdant campus in the scenic hills of the Hudson Valley has been host to some of the most influential leaders, thinkers, and creative minds of the last century. A thoughtfully designed and curated retreat just 20 miles north of Manhattan, Pocantico offers guests an immersive experience of unrivaled beauty, with breathtaking gardens and grounds, historic architecture, and a renowned art collection in which to find inspiration and respite. Today, The Pocantico Center is the community-facing extension of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's philanthropic mission to advance social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Through a robust slate of programming—including conferences for nonprofit and policy leaders, artist residencies, tours, performances and exhibitions, and educational programs for the community—Pocantico continues to bring together people from near and far to learn, share, and imagine a better future. Thought-provoking cultural events offer opportunities for everyone to engage with new ideas and perspectives in The Pocantico Center's unparalleled natural, historic setting. Public events at Pocantico include talks and panels on arts and design, local history, and social issues; visual art exhibitions; intimate work-in-process performances with our Culpeper artists-in-residence; special tours of the estate's gardens, art collections, and architecture; and much more. Our annual Culpeper Performance Series, featuring grantees of the RBF Culpeper Arts & Culture program, takes place from June to September each year. The addition of the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center will accommodate expanded year-round programming and community engagement.
