Launched in 2010, HomeBaked is ETHEL’s deep commitment to the future of contemporary music. Commissioning and championing New York City’s most exciting, genre-defying emerging composers, HomeBaked has become a vital launching pad for musical innovators.
However, HomeBaked is far more than a one-time commission; it is a true support system. ETHEL actively nurtures long-term relationships with its alumni, continually reintegrating their work into major touring programs, high-profile premieres, and programmatic curations.
Here is a look back at the incredible artists who have shaped the HomeBaked legacy:
2010: The Inaugural Cohort
The first chapter of HomeBaked featured four composers who have since become major figures in the 21st-century new music landscape:
Andy Akiho
A virtuoso of the steel pan, his rhythmically complex compositions have made him a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a multi-GRAMMY-nominated composer.
Anna Clyne
A GRAMMY-nominated composer and former composer-in-residence for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She is currently one of the most in-demand living composers in the world.
Judd Greenstein
A massive force in the indie-classical movement, co-founder of New Amsterdam Records, and curator of the Ecstatic Music Festival.
Matt Marks (1980–2018)
The late, deeply missed composer and founding member of Alarm Will Sound, beloved for his wildly inventive post-modern works.
2013: HomeBaked II
The 2013 cohort brought together a wildly diverse array of musical backgrounds:
Hannis Brown
A Peabody Award-winning audio producer and composer, best known for shaping the sound of the acclaimed classical podcast Meet the Composer.
Lainie Fefferman
A Princeton PhD and pioneer in public sound art whose avant-garde compositions have been performed by legendary contemporary ensembles.
Dan Friel
A Brooklyn DIY and noise-punk legend famous for creating explosive, massive soundscapes using heavy distortion and customized toy keyboards.
Ulysses Owens Jr.
A three-time GRAMMY Award-winning jazz drummer, Juilliard educator, and Broadway musician.
2017: HomeBaked III
The third chapter continued to blur the lines between classical, indie, and avant-garde jazz:
Olga Bell
A prodigy who pivoted from a classical concerto debut at age 12 to touring with major indie bands like Dirty Projectors and Chairlift.
Avi Granite
An avant-garde jazz guitarist praised by JazzTimes as a cornerstone of the modern jazz scene.
Sarah Lipstate
Known as Noveller, she creates cinematic symphonies entirely by herself using a single electric guitar and has toured with punk legend Iggy Pop.
Kyle Tieman-Strauss
A celebrated Brooklyn-based composer deeply involved in championing boundary-pushing chamber music across NYC.
2019: HomeBaked IV
Debuting at National Sawdust on December 18, 2019, this chapter gave the composers the unique opportunity to curate their own concert program, giving them vital, hands-on artistic leadership experience in addition to ETHEL performing their original compositions:
Simon Brown
Premiered Get Around. He is known for creating intricate, immersive chamber works.
Sarah Goldfeather
Premiered Static Wisdom. She is a multidisciplinary violinist and composer who leads her own indie-folk band.
Nailah Nombeko
Premiered Multifarious Aggressions. A powerhouse native New Yorker whose works are highly sought after by symphony spaces and international opera stars.
Sugar Vendil
Premiered Unsacred Geometry. An award-winning interdisciplinary artist blending contemporary classical music with high fashion and movement.
2022: HomeBaked V
Premiering at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Dweck Auditorium on October 16, 2022, this cohort brought together a globally recognized roster of talent:
Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti
A Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) composer and Finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Migiwa Miyajima
A Grammy-nominated producer and the first Japanese female big band leader to headline the legendary Birdland Jazz Club since 2003.
Xavier Muzik
Winner of the prestigious Michael Morgan Prize from the Emerging Black Composers Project.
Sam Wu
A Harvard and Juilliard graduate whose symphonic works have been performed across five continents.
Most notably, the HomeBaked V initiative evolved to offer unprecedented, industry-leading support. Moving far beyond the traditional model of workshops and a single premiere performance, the fifth chapter expanded into a professionally released album and a dedicated national touring program.
Created in collaboration with acclaimed flutist and composer Allison Loggins-Hull—who acted as a performer and selector for the project—the Persist tour and album ensure that these groundbreaking HomeBaked pieces secure a permanent, celebrated place in the contemporary repertoire.
Beyond the Premiere: Expanding the Ecosystem
ETHEL continually calls upon its HomeBaked alumni to collaborate on major, critically acclaimed projects:
National Touring
ETHEL featured the work of 2010 alum Anna Clyne in their expansive national touring program, Blue Dress, and has shared the stage alongside fellow 2010 alum Andy Akiho.
The Met Balcony Bar
ETHEL champions the music of its alumni, performing the works of composers like Dan Friel on a monthly basis during their ongoing residency at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar.
Documerica (Ulysses Owens Jr.)
ETHEL asked 2013 alum Ulysses Owens Jr. to compose for its massive, touring multimedia show, Documerica. The project was widely celebrated, with The New York Times proclaiming it as “new music bonding with old images in rich, provocative and moving ways.”
Seasons Now (Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti)
For a recent major premiere at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ETHEL commissioned 2022 alum Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti to help reimagine Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, reinforcing ETHEL’s reputation in The New York Times as an “indefatigable and eclectic” ensemble that provides “unfailingly vital” support to contemporary voices.
