"Either/Or, a new and first-rate new-music ensemble"
Bernard Holland, The New York Times

"Ensemble that plays by its own rules"
Allan Kozinn , The New York Times

"Either/Or offers a listening experience unlike any other
in New York City"
"Best Concert of 2008 in New York"
for the Either/Or Lachenmann Festival
Bruce Hodges , MusicWeb


Either/Or is a compelling new contemporary music ensemble and presenting organization based in New York City. Either/Or has recently performed to critical acclaim at Merkin Concert Hall, The Kitchen, MATA Festival, the Austrian Cultural Forum, Goethe Institut, Roulette, and with the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society.

Either/Or concerts have included numerous World and New York premieres; ranging from major works of emerging American experimental music to classics from the European avant-garde. Either/Or's Composer's Atelier series has brought distinguished guest artists such as Helmut Lachenmann, Paolo Aralla, and Chaya Czernowin to New York for up-close and in-depth exposure of their ideas and music. 

Founded in 2004 by pianist/composer Richard Carrick and percussionist David Shively, Either/Or focuses on new works for unconventional chamber ensembles and soloists rarely heard elsewhere. Rather than working from a fixed instrumentation, Either/Or is completely mobile and draws upon its pool of regular soloists who are all active as new music specialists in New York while simultaneously performing as improvisers, sound artists, and in other inter-disciplinary settings.  

Either/Or and its directors have been Artists in Residence at Eugene Lang College of the New School for Social Research (2010) and New York University Faculty of Arts & Sciences (2008-9). Educational activities include lectures, workshops, open rehearsals, and premieres of student works.

photos by Joseph Levy