OUR MISSION AT NEW MUSIC ON THE BAYOU IS TO PRODUCE PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCES OF WORKS BY CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS IN ORDER TO GIVE MODERN MUSIC A VOICE WHILE INSPIRING LOCAL COMMUNITIES WITH FRESH IDEAS ABOUT THE PERFORMING ARTS.
We accomplish this mission at our summer festival where composers and performers intersect during an intense multi-day, multi-city, multi-venue series of rehearsals, presentations, and concerts. Our goals are to enliven the region with new ideas about music and to inspire composers with the unique landscapes and cultural offerings scattered among the cities of Monroe and Ruston, Louisiana.
The schedule is designed to facilitate engagement among participants with one another and with our appreciative audiences. An open rehearsal format is utilized to provide deeper insight into the process behind the preparation of each composition. By moving around an assortment of traditional and non-traditional performance spaces, we take New Music to the people in our communities and spur interest and attendance at the concerts and events. Our venues include a mix of art galleries and museums, a black box theatre, a local brewery, a botanical garden, a wildlife refuge, and two university campuses.
Programs of New Music on the Bayou ("NMB") are supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council. Funding is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtWorks. All concerts are free to the public thanks to the generous support of several institutional and corporate granting bodies and several individuals from across the region and beyond. You can show your support by joining our list of donors.
NMB is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization incorporated in the state of Louisiana and headquartered in Monroe, LA. Coordinated by Mel Mobley and Gregory Lyons, the organization was formed to bring its namesake festival to the community for the first time in 2016. Our current Board of Directors include Dayne Armstrong, Lea Baumert-Patterson (treasurer), Ayesha Casie Chetty, Trevor Davis, Jeremi Edwards, Mara Gibson, Joseph Ham, Scot Humes, Carly Irwin, Kathryn Irwin, Gregory Lyons (vice-president), Mel Mobley (president), Joe W. Moore III, Sarah Talmage, Claire Vangelisti, and Eric Siereveld. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact us.