New Year Updates

Hi folks,

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and start to the new year. I originally was going to make this post a couple weeks ago, but then the horrific wildfires occurred in Los Angeles, where I’m now living. Before anybody panics: I’m completely fine and untouched, although it has been absolutely tragic to witness what this wonderful city, along with many of my new colleagues and friends, have faced.

I’m going to proceed with this newsletter as I had planned, sharing some updates for Nodality, Nick, and myself. However, it would be silly to not at least acknowledge the fact that these fires would not have been nearly as uncontrollable and devastating for so many people, communities, and ecosystems if not for the human forces driving climate change. If you would like to support people affected by these wildfires and larger efforts to bring change in California, please consider donating to one of these great organizations, or any of the many out there:

Life must go on, though, so on a cheerier note, I’d like to share the Nodality Music’s newest videos!

This is the last movement of Ira Mowitz’s Suite for Solo Cello – Tango – which I recorded together with Nick’s Oracle. I couldn’t be more proud to finally share my father’s piece with the world, captured beautifully by Guarneri Hall’s Mike Grittani and Christopher Willis. The entire Suite has now been released, and other videos giving insight into this unique music are still yet to come!

In other news, Nick and I both have exciting updates to share: Nick has officially been appointed Provost of the Curtis Institute of Music and I just joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic this Fall. My news may feel bittersweet since this wonderful professional opportunity takes me to the other side of the country. However, Nick and I already have plans to both continue our work locally and expand our work to LA and beyond. For instance, I’ll be coming back to Curtis to premiere Nick’s newest work — as part of our Climate Commissioning Initiative — in April, 2025. And we have more composers lined up from 2025/26 onward!

Looking back at ‘23/24

Last Fall, I had the opportunity to co-teach Curtis Social Entrepreneurship class, guiding third-year undergraduate students in using their craft to serve communities in Philly while exploring how climate change specifically impacts those communities in disproportionate ways. The class culminated in a presentation led by the undergrads for students at Philadelphia’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts.

Curtis students leading high school student participants in a rendition of Pattie Gonia’s climate anthem, Won’t Give Up, as the finale to their workshop.

Then in March, I had the privilege of participating in a residency at London, Ontario’s Western University exploring how music can help address the climate crisis. I played some amazing music, brought a workshop to a local middle school, and appeared on a panel with Gregory Kopp (Director of Western’s groundbreaking Northern Tornadoes Project) and Dr. Lucy Jones (renowned seismologist, science communicator, and founder of TEMPO). 

During my time at Western, I got to pick Dr. Jones’s brain and learn about her unique approach to this issue (her TEMPO toolkit is well worth a read, by the way). We ended up hitting it off so much that we planned a few Nodality/TEMPO collaborations—including a recital I gave in April at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel!

We’ll be in touch again soon as more content come out and more pieces fall into place for our upcoming projects. In the meantime, I hope to see you on one of my trips back East — or at a concert in LA for that matter!

All the best,

Zach