Nu Deco Ensemble Launches Educational Live Stream This Week, Celebrating African American Composers w/ Anthony Hamilton

Announces CreARTE Grant From The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation

Pioneering hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble recently announced its upcoming 2021-2022 concert season at The Bandshell and Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, FL - including spectacular guests Anthony Hamilton, Masego, Robert Glasper, JP Saxe & Madison Cunningham. Kicking off on November 5 at The Bandshell, a special interactive live stream will take place before the first show for K-12 students worldwide, featuring performance highlights and a Q&A session. The first in a series, Nu Deco Imagination: A Crown Forgotten will celebrate African American composers, featuring Anthony Hamilton plus the music of Carlos Simon and symphonic reimaginings of the music by Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, and the Isley Brothers - details & registration here.

The ensemble also announced today that it has received a generous donation from The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation, as a part of this year’s CreARTE grants program. The grants, which total more than $3.2 million, will be distributed over the next two years and will support a total of 25 South Florida nonprofits in their efforts to cultivate a vibrant, connected, and culturally stimulating community. First established in 2019, CreARTE aims to bridge gaps in key areas impacting the creative community most, including access to affordable workspaces, cultural equity, and education.

“The last 18 months have been incredibly trying for our local arts community, which is why, as a family, we wanted to honor the individuals and organizations who persevered in their mission,” said Jorge M. Pérez, family patriarch and prolific philanthropist. “We are fortunate to be able to double down on the program and continue to support the creatives who add such color and cultural richness to our city and region. We cannot wait to see what each grantee accomplishes in the coming months and years.”

“We are incredibly grateful to the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation and the Miami Foundation for their support and belief in Nu Deco and the entire arts community here in Miami,” said Sam Hyken, Nu Deco CEO. “Their support of our Imagination program allows us to continue to expand our live and virtual educational offerings for students in Miami, as well as students across the globe through live streaming. These students represent the future performers, administrators, and audience members for the arts, and we are proud to continue to inspire and enrich their musical lives through our educational programs.”

Through their youth initiatives, Nu Deco Ensemble helps foster the artistry and development of Miami’s young musicians. With Nu Deco Imagination, they inspire and engage over 10,000 children annually through this interactive series, which includes live-streamed education concerts, field trips to performances, in-school performances and workshops at schools across Miami-Dade County, and their youth ensemble, Nu Deco NXT.

Nu Deco NXT is comprised of intermediate to advanced level musicians in 7th through 12th grade, focusing on 21st Century Performance, Musical Creation, Wellness, and Leadership. NXT students not only sharpen their individual musicianship, but learn how to help build community and develop into the next leaders of their world. For more information and how to apply, visit: https://nu-deco.org/NXT.

On the heels of Nu Deco’s collaborative album with roots-rock duo Larkin Poe, Paint the Roses: Live in Concert (#2 Classical Crossover, #5 Blues & #21 Classical on the Billboard Charts), the ensemble will also release a new Beach Boys suite, Still Cruisin’ - An Orchestral Tribute to The Beach Boys on November 10.

About Nu Deco Ensemble:

Nu Deco Ensemble is a Miami-based, contemporary hybrid orchestra (called “a chamber orchestra for the 21^st century by The New York Times) whose work has included collaborations with Wyclef Jean, Tune-Yards, PJ Morton, Macy Gray, Jacob Collier, Ben Folds, Larkin Poe and others. The Ensemble has reimagined versions of tracks by artists including Daft Punk, Outkast and classic rock artists as well as new music from some of today’s most exciting living composers. Nu Deco was founded by conductor Jacomo Bairos (who has led orchestras including the Boston Pops, San Francisco and St. Louis Symphonies) and composer/arranger/producer Sam Hyken (a composer commissioned by orchestras and artists including Angelique Kidjo, Bad Bunny, Tank and the Bangas, and many others) — two of classical music’s most in-demand and adventurous figures.

Since its inception in 2015, Nu Deco Ensemble has exploded onto Miami’s eclectic musical scene, captivating audiences in both traditional concert venues and alternative local venues, and fusing innovative, genre-bending orchestral performances and collaborations with the highest levels of musical artistry — leading Billboard to call their music “sonically spellbinding.” The Ensemble released a self-titled debut album in 2019, and Humans vs Robots – An Orchestral Tribute to Daft Punk in 2020. Nu Deco is reimagining what an orchestra can achieve today. It is a flexible and innovative hybrid orchestra that celebrates living composers, reimagines all genres of music, provides education programs for Miami’s young people, and collaborates with a wide range of diverse musical guests, composers, choreographers, dancers, and mixed media artists.

About The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation: 

The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation fulfills the philanthropic vision of Jorge M. Pérez, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, and his family to develop South Florida as an exemplary world-class urban center. The family foundation promotes sustainable, inclusive, and just communities by supporting programs and organizations focused on arts and culture, health and well-being, education, environment, and economic development – with a particular preference for programs and organizations that could serve as models for other urban centers. For more information, please visit www.jmperezfamilyfoundation.org.