Allentown Residency
Clarice Assad is currently serving as Composer-in-Residence with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra for a multiyear residency from 2023 to 2027, focusing on community engagement, concert curation, and new music creation.
Composer-in-Residence
As part of her role, she leads the Composer Collaborative, a group that nurtures composers across genres and ages, curates new chamber music series, and personally participates through her own compositions and performances—singing or playing piano at concerts. Her residency emphasizes creative collaboration, local outreach, and education, resulting in regular premieres of new music, workshops, and active involvement with young musicians in the Allentown area.
Residency Highlights
Assad is the second composer appointed to this position at Allentown Symphony, taking over after Chris Rogerson. She curates and leads the Composer Collaborative, which fosters creativity and collaboration, regularly premiering new and reinterpreted works through the New Chamber Music Series. Her outreach includes workshops, teaching, and mentoring young composers, particularly focusing on blending genres and contemporary approaches to classical music.
Major Works
Assad’s own works are featured at every chamber music concert, and she is often personally involved in performance. The orchestra premiered her new collaborative orchestral work, "FRANKENSTEIN," with the Allentown Symphony in April 2025. Upcoming performances include her percussion concerto "Play!" with Third Coast Percussion, slated for November 2025. The residency also features innovative concerts incorporating new technology and experimental formats, including electronic soundscapes and visual projections.
Community and Education
Assad actively meets with local students and educators, inspiring young musicians to experiment and innovate.
Her community involvement aims to propel contemporary classical music forward and encourage the fusion of styles among emerging artists.
Upcoming Events
New Chamber Music Concerts and premieres, including “America 250!” in Spring 2026.
Clarice Assad Jazz Trio performance scheduled for May 2026.
Assad’s residency at Allentown Symphony is marked by a commitment to collaborative creativity, nurturing new talent, and bridging traditional and adventurous forms of contemporary music.
