Reviving VOX has long been a dream of Beth Morrison’s, but such an undertaking requires a true collective effort. The 2026 reimagining of VOX is made possible through a remarkable and landmark coalition of partners: American Composers Orchestra, Beth Morrison Projects, MasterVoices, the Metropolitan Opera, Mannes Opera at the Mannes School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music Vocal Arts Division, and PAC NYC.

Together, this coalition reaffirms VOX’s original mission: to champion the next generation of American opera and to provide the field with a vital space for discovery, ambition, and artistic risk on a grand scale.

ABOUT THE PARTNERS

AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA
In 1977, a collective of fearless New York City musicians came together to form the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), an ensemble dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers. Over more than 40 years committed to artistry, creativity, community, and equity, ACO has blossomed into a national institution that cultivates and develops the careers of living composers, providing a direct pipeline to meaningful partnerships with orchestras across the country. In addition to its annual season, presented by Carnegie Hall since 1987, the ACO serves as a New York City hub where the most forward-thinking experimental American musicians come together to hone and realize new art by developing talent, established composers, and underrepresented voices, increasing the regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music.

"As a national organization that connects living composers to orchestras across the Americas and internationally, ACO is thrilled to be a partner on VOX. This program provides composers with a singular opportunity to develop operatic works at orchestral scale; something that is rare to access until much later in an artist's career. VOX also provides a national platform and visibility to the field which is an invaluable pathway towards bringing these important works to life in their full iterations."
--Melissa Ngan, President & CEO

BETH MORRISON PROJECTS
Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) is uniquely positioned to produce VOX, given its trailblazing legacy in the creation of new opera-theatre and music-theatre. With a fierce commitment to shaping the future of the art form, BMP has consistently supported the development of new works from both emerging and established artists. For nearly two decades, BMP has been at the forefront of contemporary performance, providing artists with the freedom to experiment with new modes of storytelling—precisely the opportunity VOX aims to offer. VOX will be produced by Beth Morrison, President and Creative Producer of BMP. Through its innovative approach, BMP has commissioned, produced, and toured over 60 groundbreaking projects across the world, ensuring that the next generation of artists have the platform to thrive. BMP also produces the internationally acclaimed PROTOTYPE Festival of new chamber size opera-theatre works in NYC every January.

"VOX has long served as a vital showcase and laboratory for newly created grand opera—an initiative unlike any other in the United States. Originally conceived through the vision of New York City Opera, it occupied a singular and influential place in the operatic landscape. It has been 15 years since I produced the final VOX for NYCO, and I have been searching for a way to bring it back ever since. Initial conversations about the idea began several years ago with the extraordinary American Composers Orchestra and BMP, and blossomed to where we are today, with a landmark collaboration among seven of the most esteemed arts organizations and music conservatories in NYC.  A new vision for VOX is born. With this foundation in place, we now turn to composers for submissions that will spark the next chapter. Together, we will create a truly distinctive event—one rooted in collaboration and driven by a 21st-century approach to making new work.” 
--Beth Morrison, President & Creative Producer

MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Founded as a community music school in 1918, Manhattan School of Music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the School's environment; to preparing our students to find their success; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community. MSM is located in New York City’s Morningside Heights neighborhood and enrolls nearly 1,030 students in undergraduate, graduate, post-masters, and doctoral programs each year. Degree programs include performance (classical/jazz), musical theatre, contemporary performance, and composition. MSM students hail from nearly all 50 states within the United States and approximately 50 countries. This rich tapestry of backgrounds and cultures is foundational to MSM’s commitment to providing a welcoming and student-centered environment. MSM is proud of our community of distinguished, award-winning alumni working throughout and at the highest levels of the musical, cultural, educational, and professional industries.

"Manhattan School of Music is proud to stand alongside these remarkable organizations in advancing American opera through VOX. New York City is our students' backyard, and this collaboration transforms the whole city into their classroom." 
--Madeline Lucas Tolliver, Dean of Performance and Production Operations

MANNES OPERA AT THE MANNES SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Under the leadership of Managing Artistic Director Emma Griffin, Mannes Opera has become a leader in the training and study of opera for the next generation of artists and makers. In both workshops and full productions, Griffin, her team, and their students have collaborated with and produced work by composers such as Mark Adamo, Ricky Ian Gordon, David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Rachel Peters, Huang Ruo, Kamala Sankram, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Kate Soper, and Greg Spears. Establishing the school as a new work incubator, Mannes Opera has partnered with industry leaders in the support of contemporary opera, bringing companies such as Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, Opera Saratoga and others into collaborative projects with students and guest artists.

Balancing the focus on contemporary work is a robust program of classical works in innovative productions — operas by composers such as Mozart, Puccini, Gluck, and Handel. By engaging with the rich tradition of classical repertoire and by drawing on the best opera and theater makers that NYC has to offer, Mannes Opera trains students to be professional artists with a curiosity for the new, an understanding of the past, and a devotion to the multi-dimensional craft of opera.

"Mannes Opera is proud to join this landmark collaboration to revive VOX, a singular initiative to champion the next generation of American opera. By placing our students in rooms with industry leaders and visionary composers, we are immersing them in a distinctive laboratory that is actively shaping the future of our artform."
--Emma Griffin, Managing Artistic Director

MASTERVOICES
Founded in 1941 as The Collegiate Chorale by legendary conductor Robert Shaw, MasterVoices seeks to create a new and engaged culture around choral concert music. In its early days the group sang at the opening of the United Nations and broke barriers as one of the country’s first interracial and interfaith choral ensembles. Under the leadership of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling since 2013, productions feature our diverse choral community of 125+singers from all walks of life, ranging in age from high school students to octogenarians, performing alongside world-class artists from theater, opera, dance, fashion, and the visual arts. Recent acclaimed productions include the New York premiere of the jazz opera Blind Injustice, based on the work of the Ohio Innocence Project; Lady in The Dark with Victoria Clark, Sheldon Harnick’s adaptation of Carmen, and the digital production of Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns, now with over 10,000 views on the PBS All Arts platform.

“MasterVoices is proud to be part of this vital initiative to reinvigorate American opera. Our multigenerational community chorus of over 100 voices, representing everyday New Yorkers from all walks of life, has been praised by The New York Times for its "smashing" productions of operas-in-concert and for bringing a huge dose of heart and soul into every project. As MasterVoices' Artistic Director I have conceived and conducted dozens of innovative projects for the group, including acclaimed commissions and collaborations with artists from across the musical spectrum. We can't wait to contribute our unique resources to this project, and to bring VOX back to life in collaboration with such an esteemed cohort of colleagues.”
– Ted Sperling, Artistic Director

THE METROPOLITAN OPERA
The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, founded in 1980, was created to identify and develop extraordinarily talented young artists in the realm of opera. Over four decades, the program has trained generations of celebrated American and international opera singers, as well as coaches and pianists, who perform at the highest standards in productions at the Metropolitan Opera House and around the world. While many opera companies across the country conduct young artist training programs, the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program is unparalleled in the quality and scope of resources available to its participants. Throughout their instruction, young artists draw upon the vast pool of world-renowned talent available at the Met, including current and former Met artists, internationally recognized coaches, and master teachers. Program participants have access to daily rehearsals and practice sessions, where they can observe opera’s great singers preparing their roles for the current Met repertory. They are also presented with the opportunity to participate in Met productions, as many singers perform supporting roles and pianists serve as assistant conductors.

“VOX offers a unique opportunity for emerging singers to collaborate with the finest musical institutions in New York City and amplify American opera. The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program is honored to contribute to the future of contemporary opera and give voice to the stories and characters that will move the art form forward.”
                --Melissa Wagner, Executive Director, Lindemann Young Artist Development Program & Laffont Competition

PERELMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (PAC NYC)
Opened in September 2023, PAC NYC (Khady Kamara Nunez, Executive Director, Bill Rauch, Artistic Director) is the final piece of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center after 9/11. Chaired by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, PAC NYC represents the resilience of the city standing as a beacon of hope and affirmation of life through music, theater, dance, opera, media, and more. Flexible in design, the center is fully responsive to artists’ creative visions. Intimate in scale, PAC NYC fosters an immediate connection between artists and audience members. The center’s projects involve significant community participation and always strive to have audiences reflect the work onstage. PAC NYC’s mission is to create connections by cultivating bonds between extraordinary artists and communities, with exemplary performances in active dialogue across the arts, and in our flexible, intimate spaces, inviting conversation and new relationships. Our art and our audiences reflect the dynamic energy of all five boroughs of New York City. Our work asks all of us to consider and embrace the complexities of society. Together, we welcome the entire world. The center is where the world trades ideas.

"We opened PAC NYC with the commission of the multidisciplinary opera Watch Night, followed soon by An American Soldier. Since that time, our commitment to—and passion for—opera has only deepened. It is our great privilege to host VOX this season, convening our esteemed opera colleagues from across the city and, most especially, the music students and schools whose talent and commitment to the art form make this gathering so meaningful."
--Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, PAC NYC