EXTENSITY is a concert series in New York founded by pianists Chelsea Randall and Francesca Khalifa, which aims to foster interdisciplinary connections between musical traditions, artistic practices and time periods. A core part of our mission is to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the classical music world and beyond, through spotlighting underrepresented and new voices.  

 

Our inaugural season was a great success, due in no small part to your support. We were honored to bring together a diverse roster of renowned artists to explore interrelationships between canonical Western classical and underperformed music. The opening night concert, which featured baritone Adam Richardson in a program dedicated to living Black composers, perfectly encapsulated our mission, and what we envisioned EXTENSITY to be. 

We cannot wait to kick off our second season with a project we have been dreaming about since EXTENSITY launched: WOMEN NOW, a festival celebrating the work and achievements of living women composers. To coincide with Women’s Month, the festival will take place March 5-26, at The Box Factory: 1519 Decatur St., Ridgewood, NY. Events will comprise four concerts, interviews with artists and composers, a panel discussion and free receptions. 

Seven artists will participate, including pianist Sarah Cahill, soprano Yvette Keong, violinist Ariel Horowitz and cellist Christine Lamprea, and more than twenty renowned and emerging composers will be featured, including: Tania León, Jessie Montgomery, Regina Harris Baiocchi, Vivian Fung and Nathalie Joachim. For the closing night of the festival, we are especially excited to be presenting the world premiere of “Armadura,” the solo cello piece we commissioned composer Andrea Casarrubios to write for WOMEN NOW, to be performed by Christine Lamprea. Full lineup and details on our website! 

First of all, we simply love the music we’re presenting: it’s challenging, moving, thought-provoking, and prompts new discovery in ways that all great art should. We are also very aware that this music isn’t heard or programmed as often as it deserves to be. We have come a long way from the days women composers were flat out barred from having their work performed and appreciated, but inequity in the classical music world and beyond is still rampant, and music by women is still not programmed nearly enough. And, as this festival demonstrates, the problem isn’t a lack of fantastic work by women composers. It is up to presenters, small and large, to do the research, promote, fund and foster the creation and performance of new music by women. With WOMEN NOW, EXTENSITY seeks to help shift this paradigm, by actively programming and commissioning women composers and stimulating critical dialogue on equity in music. 

But as a small, emerging organization, we rely on your support to meet our goal and realize our vision for WOMEN NOW!

Your donation is tax deductible, and it will go directly towards paying the artists and composers involved in the festival a fair and competitive fee, covering the commissioning fee for Andrea Casarrubios and covering the cost of transporting the grand piano YAMAHA sponsored for the festival, to our venue: The Box Factory in Ridgewood, NY.

If you’re compelled, please spread the word about our campaign and upcoming concerts, and check out our website. Thank you for considering a donation--we are so very grateful!