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New Morse Code is dedicated to enriching contemporary culture by advocating for new expressions in music and art. We strive to present bold, engaging performances of new works while catalyzing collaboration with instrumentalists, actors, dancers, and visual artists.
"Collins and Compitello are much more than accomplished instrumentalists. They are, it seems, not just playing for the future of music, but vibrantly living in and shaping it."
- New Haven Independent
About
About
New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello; Michael Compitello, percussion) is the confluence of two magnetic personalities who have taken up the admirable task of creating a hub for the performance, commissioning, and promotion of new music. NMC is theoretically the alluring and uncommon combination of cello and percussion, but in practice is best described as two musicians of extraordinary depth and skill untethered by their instrumental constraints. This unrestricted approach has allowed them to create a body of work in which Hannah can be found crushing plastic bottles and Michael plucking the strings of the cello––all with the intention of expanding and facilitating the imaginations of their composer-collaborators––while ultimately creating a meaningful and lasting repertoire. As tireless advocates for new music, they seek out diverse venues and strive to connect with disparate audiences by way of their accessible intellect and dynamic musicality.
Over the past decade, the “remarkably inventive and resourceful duo” (Gramophone) has developed projects responding to our society’s most pressing issues, including The Emigrants, a documentary chamber work by George Lam, and dwb (driving while black), a chamber opera by Roberta Gumbel and Susan Kander, called “The Most Relevant, Hauntingly Evocative New Chamber Opera in Years” (Lucid Culture - New York New Music Daily). Their long-term collaboration with Christopher Stark on The Language of Landscapes (commissioned in 2014 by Chamber Music America) incorporates found discarded objects, field-collected environmental recordings, and live electronic processing as a way of making commentary on the urgency of the climate crisis. As the recently named inaugural grand prize winners of the Ariel Avant Impact Performance Prize, they will develop and tour a program featuring Stark’s work alongside new pieces which address sustainability and scientific innovation.
New Morse Code's 2017 debut album Simplicity Itself on New Focus Recordings was described by icareifyoulisten.com as “an ebullient passage through pieces that each showcase the duo’s clarity of artistic vision and their near-perfect synchronicity,” while Q2 Music called the album “a flag of genuineness raised.” In 2019 they collaborated with Eliza Bagg, Lee Dionne, and andPlay on and all the days were purple, Alex Weiser’s Pulitzer Prize-finalist work on Cantaloupe music. They have also recorded for innova, Albany, and Navona Records.
New Morse Code is:
Hannah Collins: Cello
Michael Compitello: Percussion
Press Materials:
Press Kit (pdf)
High Quality Press Photos (click to download):
Outdoor photos by Tatiana Daubek
Indoor photos by Michiko Tierney
Media
Media
Video
Thomas Kotcheff: then and then and then this. Audio by Oktaven Audio. Video by Point of Order Productions
Osvaldo Golijov: Mariel. Audio and video by Four/Ten Media.
David Lang: Stuttered Chant. Audio and video by Four/Ten Media
Caroline Shaw: Limestone & Felt. Audio and video by Four/Ten Media
Robert Honstein: Down Down Baby. Video by Four/Ten Media. Audio by Oktaven Audio.
Tonia Ko: Hush. Video by Four/Ten Media.
Caroline Shaw: Boris Kerner. Video by Four/Ten Media.
Robert Honstein: Patter. Featuring Katie Hyun. Video by Four/Ten Media.
Martin Bresnick: Songs of the Mouse People. Recorded live at National Sawdust, November 2016.
Nick Didkovsky: Caught by the Sky with Wire. Recorded live at Washington College. April 2015.
Andy Akiho: 21. Recorded live at Washington College. April 2015.
Paul Kerekes: Turning. Recorded live with Paul Kerekes, piano, at the 2012 Norfolk Chamber Music Festival
Calendar
Calendar
UPCOMING
Check back soon for more details about upcoming album releases with Robert Honstein and Christopher Stark!
March 13, 2023
Rocky River Chamber Music Society
7:30pm, West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church
Rocky River, OH
MORE INFO
April 24-29, 2023
New Morse Code and George Lam
TICA Festival
Details TBA
Recent Events
October 8, 2022
The Sebastians + New Morse Code
Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church
New York, NY
MORE INFO
September 17, 2022
Avaloch Farm 10th Anniversary Event
with Ashley Bathgate, Merz Trio and Sandbox Percussion
Boscawen, NH
April 8, 2022
New Morse Code
Ariel Avant Impact Performance Tour
Hamilton Family Recital Hall
Newman Center at University of Denver
Denver, CO
MORE INFO
April 6, 2022
Ariel Avant Impact Performance Tour
ArtsLIVE Performance Series
3pm, Sears Recital Hall
University of Dayton
Dayton, OH
MORE INFO
April 3, 2022
Ariel Avant Impact Performance Tour
2pm, Lied Center of Kansas
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
MORE INFO
March 31, 2022
Ariel Avant Impact Performance Tour
7:30pm, Kenan Auditorium
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC
MORE INFO
March 30, 2022
Ariel Avant Impact Performance Tour
Virginia Arts Festival
7:30pm, Chandler Recital Hall
F. Ludwig Diehn Center for the Performing Arts
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA
MORE INFO
March 20, 2022
New Morse Code: The Language of Landscapes
7:30pm, The Loft Cinema
Tucson, AZ
A rich evening of music, film, and conversation
November 4, 2021
Guest Recital
5pm, Auer Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
Part of Ariel Avant Residency at IU
More info HERE
March 7, 2021
George Lam’s The Emigrants (new video version)
Hot Air Music Festival
10am-9pmPT (9 sessions)
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Online Streaming Event (full lineup HERE)
October 23-29, 2020 EXTENDED to NOV 1
DWB (Driving While Black)
Libretto by Roberta Gumbel, Music by Susan Kander
Film by Four/Ten Media, Sound by Post Haus & Oktaven Audio
New York and Virtual Premiere
Baruch Center for the Performing Arts
Online Streaming Event (pay what you wish)
MORE INFO
October 30, 2020
Made at Avaloch: New Morse Code
8pm ET, Avaloch Farm Music Institute YouTube Channel
Free online event, video will remain available.
We will discuss the many projects that we have developed at
Avaloch Farm, including works by Honstein and Crowell
WATCH HERE
August 23, 2020
Five Boroughs Music Festival presents Home Brew
George Lam's The Emigrants: New Morse Code & Rafael Leal
Hosted by Michael Unterman
Celebrating the album release of The Emigrants
10am ET, Online event/discussion
Video Available: WATCH HERE
August 8, 2020
Electric Earth Concerts presents
4pm ET, Online Event, video posted
American Mavericks: New Morse Code & Thomas Kotcheff
Music by Glass, Ko, Rzewski, Lang, and Kotcheff
Video Available: WATCH HERE
Past Event Archive