About
Mission
Ars Nova Workshop (ANW) acts as a facilitator between artists and their audiences, while working to inform, inspire and challenge listeners in order to elevate the role of jazz, improvisation and experimental music in contemporary culture.
History
Ars Nova Workshop (ANW) is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit jazz and experimental music presenting organization. ANW acts as a facilitator between artists and their audiences, while working to inform, inspire, and challenge listeners in order to elevate the role of jazz, improvisation and experimental music in contemporary culture. ANW fervently upholds the jazz/Free Jazz continuums and recognizes the groundbreaking contributions of 20th and 21st century composers, improvisers and emerging artists. ANW seeks to be a vital cultural resource for Philadelphia, where events provide a forum for discourse, emergent trends in contemporary music, and unique forms of cultural exchange.
Founded in 2000, ANW has programmed over 400 unique events in diverse settings, many located in the underserved area of West Philadelphia. Performances have included some of the most significant contributors to jazz and experimental music over the past 50 years such as Cecil Taylor, Pauline Oliveros, Tony Conrad and Anthony Braxton, in addition to exceptional Philadelphia-based ensembles and emerging artists from around the world. ANW hosted the US debuts of Tomasz Stanko Quartet, Dave Burrell‘s Full-Blown Trio, the Anthony Braxton Sextet, and Norway’s Frode Haltli Quartet. ANW also presented the Philadelphia premiers of such variously unique ensembles such as Dave Douglas’ Witness, Billy Martin / G. Calvin Weston Duo (our live performance in now on CD; Amulet Records), Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, and Drew Gress’s Spin and Drift, as well as some of the leading names in European improvised music such as Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Paal Nilssen-Love, and Miroslav Vitous. ANW continues to be a driving force in bridging the gap between the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s - presenting musical icons such as Henry Grimes, Sunny Murray, the Sun Ra Arkestra, Dr. Art Davis, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill and John Tchicai - and some of the most innovative musicians and ensembles in creative music today including Zeena Parkins, Tim Berne’s Bloodcount, Jenny Scheinman, John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet, and MacArthur fellows Ken Vandermak, George Lewis and John Zorn.
Because of ANW’s unique programming and tireless efforts to cultivate a viable community for innovative music in Greater Philadelphia, the organization has been the subject of several articles in the local and national press, including The New York Times, Spin Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. In 2006, ANW received ASCAP’s Adventurous Programming Award as well as the organization’s fourth Philadelphia City Paper Choice Award.
Ars Nova Workshop (ANW) is a Philadelphia nonprofit jazz and experimental music presenting organization. ANW acts as a facilitator between artists and their audiences, while working to inform, inspire and challenge listeners in order to elevate the role of jazz, improvisation and experimental music.