Metropolis Ensemble is dedicated to commissioning and performing bold, collaborative projects in contemporary music.

We are a multiple GRAMMY-nominated music collective, founded in 2006 by GRAMMY-nominated Andrew Cyr, dedicated to showcasing the next generation of visionary composers and musicians.
We are expanding opportunities for emerging and independent NYC-based composers and performers while creating immersive musical experiences that resonate with diverse audiences.
Metropolis Ensemble functions as a flexible collective of musicians — assembling ensembles tailored to each project — and has established itself through distinctive programming, collaborative spirit, and commitment to artistic excellence and genre-fluidity. 
With over 450 commissioned works — primarily by early-career composers — Metropolis Ensemble stands as one of NYC's most prolific incubators of new talent and a nationally recognized model for artist-driven innovation in the evolving landscape of classical music.
Recent achievements showcase Metropolis's continued artistic excellence and critical acclaim. The New York Times named Christopher Cerrone's "In a Grove" as "the highlight of this year's Prototype Festival," praising "Metropolis Ensemble's shimmering performance" in their "Best Classical Music of 2025, So Far.”
Recent world premieres span from Brooklyn Botanic Garden's immersive solstice concerts to Houston's DACAMERA, where they showcased new work by legendary jazz pioneer Roscoe Mitchell, demonstrating their commitment to fostering innovative collaborations across genres.
 
 
 
Quotes

“Best Classical Music of 2025 … Metropolis Ensemble’s shimmering performance contributed to the dreamlike unreality.” —The New York Times

“I’ve been to the garden a number of times before today, but this performance on Summer Solstice was very special… no pun intended it was stellar!” —Audience Member

“Downright magical… I was so grateful for the experience and the sense of community with other attendees taking in this work of art.” —Audience Member

“The early morning Solstice concert and event was SPECTACULAR! I delighted in the beautiful music, birds chirping, and a glorious sunrise in such a special garden.” —Audience Member

“Perhaps the best way to celebrate the summer solstice today: two live performances… with Erik Hall and Metropolis Ensemble at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.” —WNYC

“Awash in beauty and tension… sensational was the Metropolis Ensemble, effectively and excitingly led by Raquel Acevedo Klein.” —Night After Night

“You could not have asked for better performers… In A Grove is a triumph and among the finest works at this year’s festival.” —Observer

“An almost cinematic quality to the dramatically pointed timbral effects of the orchestration, and each of them hit its mark.” —Parterre Box

“★★★★ Mesmerising… the variations grow more meaningful and tragic as they pass, and the effect grows hypnotic.” —Financial Times

“The orchestration included some appropriately eerie effects… I was very much captivated by this powerful drama and its excellent performance.” —Sequenza 21

“Gorgeous… the instrumental work of Metropolis Ensemble under conductor Luke Poeppel couldn’t have been better.” —Broadway World

“The highlight of the festival was Christopher Cerrone’s In A Grove… stylized yet sensual.” —The New York Times

“Grief mixes gospel harmonies, simmering post-hip-hop instrumentals and wounded balladry.” —New York Times Best of 2022

“Metamorphosis is quite lyrical and beautiful, gathering steam and lusciousness." —San Francisco Classical Voice

"Telekinesis has proved seriously addictive and impossible to resist... endlessly entertaining." —BandCamp

"In A Grove is an engrossing experience... Metropolis articulates Cerrone's economical writing with vivid nuance." —Gramophone

"In A Grove is rendered in a taut, mesmeric soundworld featuring a strikingly expressive use of electronics." —BBC Music

"Wye Oak’s Shriek is celebrating its 10th anniversary, reimagined by composer William Brittelle." —Stereogum

"Worth the wait... finally, we get a recording of Timo Andres' piano concerto, The Blind Banister.” —NPR

“★★★★ Original, arresting, and eclectic… The Blind Banister is a highly accomplished disc all round.” —The Guardian

“Wye Oak’s Shriek with the gorgeous voice of Jenn Wasner is a massive variation, a new symphonic retelling.” —NPR

“I cannot recommend The Blind Banister highly enough.” —Gramophone Editor’s Choice

"Ricardo Romaneiro’s eclectic style of composing in Liquidverse is a completely new category of its own." —Cosm Studios

"In A Grove is a vividly immersive thriller in this richly produced recording." —The New York Times Best of 2023

"William Brittelle’s mini-album, Alive in the Electric Snow Dream, is a shock to the system." —Limelight

"Telekinesis is a joy, the next big statement... Tyondai Braxton in full command of his art." —The New York Times

"Wye Oak's new collection of five of its songs are reimagined by composer William Brittelle." —Brooklyn Vegan

 
 
 

Metropolis Ensemble has garnered prestigious GRAMMY recognition with two nominations:

  • Best Solo Instrumental Performance (2010) for Avner Dorman: Mandolin Concerto featuring Avi Avital under Andrew Cyr's baton.
  • Best Engineered Album, Classical (2025) for Timo Andres: The Blind Banister—plus a featured role in David Frost's Producer of the Year GRAMMY win (2014) for Timo Andres' Home Stretch.
 
 

Metropolis’ critically acclaimed discography spans prestigious labels Nonesuch, New Amsterdam, Naxos, and Merge, with recent releases garnering exceptional recognition:

  • The Blind Banister (2024) captured spots on Best of the Year lists from The New York Times, NPR Music, and Gramophone.
  • In A Grove (2024) by Christopher Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann was named one of The New York Times' Best Classical Recordings of 2023.
 
 

About our Artistic Director

GRAMMY-nominated conductor Andrew Cyr is a leader in the rapidly growing contemporary music scene. His enthusiasm for connecting the outstanding musicians and composers of the new generation to today's audiences led him to create Metropolis Ensemble in 2006. 
Through passionate performances, innovative programming, the fostering, commissioning, and advocacy of emerging composers and performers, and leading a wide variety of community engagement and education initiatives, Cyr displays the scope and potential of today's freshest voices in composition and performance to attract and inspire new and diverse audiences.

  • Under Cyr's leadership, Metropolis Ensemble has become one of NYC's most prolific incubators of new talent, commissioning over 450 works—primarily by early-career composers—and establishing itself as a nationally recognized model for artist-driven innovation. The ensemble has garnered prestigious GRAMMY recognition with two nominations—Best Solo Instrumental Performance (2010) for Avner Dorman: Mandolin Concerto featuring Avi Avital under Cyr's baton, and Best Engineered Album, Classical (2025) for Timo Andres: The Blind Banister—plus inclusion in David Frost's Producer of the Year GRAMMY win (2014) for Timo Andres' Home Stretch.

    Recent critical acclaim includes The New York Times naming Christopher Cerrone's "In a Grove" (co-presented with Prototype Festival) as "the highlight of this year's Prototype Festival," praising "Metropolis Ensemble's shimmering performance" in their Best Classical Music of 2025, So Far. The ensemble's discography continues earning prestigious recognition—The Blind Banister (2024) appeared on Best of the Year lists from The New York Times, NPR Music, and Gramophone, while In a Grove was named one of The New York Times' Best Classical Recordings of 2023.

    Cyr's work as conductor has been described by Esa-Pekka Salonen (Conductor, London Philharmonia) as "...precise, rhythmically incisive and fluid. He made complex new pieces sound natural and organic. What a pleasure it is to hear new music played with the same kind of panache and bravura we usually experience only in performances of standard repertoire." The Washington Post has praised Cyr as "a prominent influence in the world of newly emerging music," noting that he "led the players with tasteful panache, emphasizing the fluidity of the music" and conducted "with driven, but elegant force."

    Cyr has led Metropolis Ensemble in performances at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House (in collaboration with Questlove and The Roots), Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, The New Victory Theatre (42nd and Broadway), and made his debut with the Wordless Music Series in 2008, sharing the stage with indie-rock sensation Deerhoof and conducting a remix of The Rite of Spring to a live audience of 10,000 people in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, broadcast live on National Public Radio. Under his direction, Metropolis has been featured three times at BAM's Next Wave, including the internationally acclaimed Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia, which toured to Paris, Melbourne, Cambodia, Taiwan, Boston, and Montreal. For the Montreal premiere at Place des Arts, Cyr conducted members of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, with Le Petit Journal praising his "fine listening and artistic humility," noting how "under his sober but assured gestures, these universes linked without clashing" and describing his direction as achieving "true cohabitation" where "musical fusion became spiritual fusion."

    Cyr's pioneering cross-genre collaborations include the 2025 World Premiere of iconic jazz innovator Roscoe Mitchell's Metropolis Trilogy at Houston's DACAMERA, featuring Emi Ferguson, Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, and Ruckus. His commitment to long-term artist development is exemplified by the decade-long incubation of Christopher Cerrone's acclaimed In a Grove, shepherding the work through workshops, recordings, and residencies at 1 Rivington, Mass MoCA, ALT, and Morgan Library to its celebrated premiere.

    Guest appearances have included his debut conducting the Colorado Symphony in January of 2013 and in 2011, Cyr made his Kimmel Center Verizon Hall debut as part of Philadelphia's International Festival of the Arts, appearing with Questlove from The Roots. In the spring of 2013, Cyr made his professional opera debut conducting David Bruce's new score, The Firework Maker's Daughter, at New Victory Theatre. In 2017, Cyr made his Australian debut at Melbourne's Hamer Hall, and in 2018, his European debut at Cité de la Musique, Paris, France. In 2019, he conducted at Cork, Ireland's Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival. Other notable appearances include Radio City Music Hall and Montreal's Place des Arts.

    In response to the pandemic, Cyr launched Biophony (in partnership with NYC DOT), transforming crisis response into permanent infrastructure for musical equity. This community-centered initiative has grown into an annual citywide festival that has commissioned 55 new works, employed over 650 NYC musicians, and reached 30,000+ audience members through 125+ free performances in plazas and public spaces—bringing professional-quality concerts to historically underserved neighborhoods while reimagining civic space as cultural space.

    Cyr's first album with Metropolis Ensemble earned him a GRAMMY nomination in 2010 (53rd Annual Grammy Awards), along with mandolinist Avi Avital (soloist) for Avner Dorman's Mandolin Concerto, released on the NAXOS label in collaboration with GRAMMY-winner "Classical Producer of the Year" David Frost. His album Dreamscapes, featuring the music of Canadian-born composer Vivian Fung, garnered Canada's prestigious JUNO Award in spring of 2013 for Best Classical Composition (Violin Concerto, Kristin Lee, soloist). Their critically acclaimed discography now spans prestigious labels Nonesuch, New Amsterdam, Naxos, and Merge.

    Cyr has been an early champion and advocate for many now-rising stars and recent award winners in the composition world including Timothy Andres, David Bruce, Vivian Fung, Anna Clyne, Du Yun, Avner Dorman, Erin Gee, Kati Agocs, Enrico Chapela, Caroline Shaw, Jakub Ciupinski, Elliot Cole, Ryan Francis, Gity Razaz, Ricardo Romaneiro, Cristina Spinei, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Matthew Evan Taylor, Tyondai Braxton, and many others.

    Cyr has collaborated with a number of major international performing artists who defy classification, including Oscar and GRAMMY-winning composer, artist, and conductor Tan Dun, Questlove and The Roots, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rithy Pahn, indie-rock sensations Emily Wells, David Babin (BabX), San Fermin, Deerhoof, Caroline Rose, and Wye Oak, 6-time GRAMMY-winner Silas Brown, 3-time GRAMMY-winning Producer of the Year David Frost, jazz artists Immanuel Wilkins and Matthew Evan Taylor, Berlin-based mandolinist Avi Avital, sopranos Hila Plitmann, Kiera Duffy, Kate Lindsay, and Mikaela Bennett, creative musicians Erik Hall and Roscoe Mitchell, and Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson.

    Cyr is a native of Fort Kent, Maine, and has attended Bates College (Ethnomusicology/French), the French National Conservatory in Nantes, France (Etudes Supérieures, trumpet), and Westminster Choir College (Choral Conducting and Organ Performance). A pipe organist by training, Cyr has held positions at Saint Thomas More, NY, NY (associate organist) and Our Lady of Grace Church, Hoboken, NJ (organist). His primary musical mentors include Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, Kenneth Kiesler, Pierre Grandmaison, Stefan Engels, Marion Anderson, Harvey Burgett, and Kynan Johns.

 
 

The ensemble's recordings extend beyond traditional classical boundaries, featuring prominently:

  • Questlove and The Roots' acclaimed albums Undun (2011) and ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (2014)
  • Emily Wells' NPR-praised The World is Too ___ For You (2019)
  • Wye Oak's 10th anniversary Shriek: Variations (2024)
 

The ensemble's commissioned work, Vivian Fung's Violin Concerto, won Canada's JUNO Award for Classical Composition of the Year.

The collaborations with cutting-edge composers like Molly Joyce, Tyondai Braxton (earning multiple Opus Klassik nominations for Telekinesis), William Brittelle, and Sarah Kirkland Snider reflect their commitment to amplifying innovative voices in contemporary classical music.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Over the past two decades, Metropolis has become a cornerstone of NYC's new music scene through signature programming that demonstrates their visionary approach. Their cross-cultural collaboration Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia exemplifies their commitment to addressing social issues through artistic partnership. 
Working with Cambodian Living Arts, composer Him Sophy, and filmmaker Rithy Panh, they developed this theatrical work fusing film, music, and traditional dance to address the Khmer Rouge genocide. Following its BAM Next Wave premiere (2017), the project toured to Paris, Melbourne, Cambodia, Taiwan, Boston, and Montreal, creating culturally significant work that brings communities together.
 
Metropolis Ensemble has partnered with the Met Museum on four major projects, including Visitors to Versailles with new commissions by Timo Andres, Caroline Shaw, and Matthew Evan Taylor. At BAM's Next Wave, Metropolis has been featured three times, including Shuffle Culture and Electronium: The Future Was Then with Questlove and The Roots, alongside the internationally acclaimed Bangsokol.
Metropolis Ensemble has captivated diverse audiences across New York City's cultural landscape—from outdoor festivals at Celebrate Brooklyn (collaborating with Emily Wells and Deerhoof) to prestigious stages like Lincoln Center's American Songbook (with San Fermin) and contemporary venues such as Brooklyn Steel (with Caroline Rose). 
Their versatility extends to performing Tan Dun's cinematic Martial Arts Trilogy at Damrosch Park and even appearing on The Tonight Show, bringing contemporary classical music to mainstream audiences.
 
 

The ensemble creates transformative musical experiences:

At immersive summer solstice concerts at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Metropolis performed before thousands of New Yorkers at both sunrise and sunset on the longest day of the year.
These special celebrations feature guided musical meditations by composer/saxophonist Matthew Evan Taylor exploring the connection between breath, sound and Black identity, alongside Erik Hall's visionary reimagining of Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians with electric guitars, basses, synths and voices.
In 2023, their Solstice concert featured Erik Hall, David Leon, and Ledah Finck’s arrangement of Simeon ten Holt's Canto Ostinato performed by 50 musicians from Metropolis and Sandbox Percussion, drawing over 3,000 attendees.
 
 

Metropolis has also pioneered innovative site-specific performances:

  • Brownstone, a groundbreaking project by composer Jakub Ciupinski  transformed The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC into a multi-floor sonic experience, with musicians and electronic elements placed throughout galleries and former domestic spaces. 
  • In partnership with Creative Time, they reimagined Central Park's Harlem Meer through Ragnar Kjartansson's floating installation SS Hangover, performed over six weekends.
 

Their commitment to nurturing new work:

They introduced opera to young audiences through David Bruce's The Firework Maker's Daughter at New Victory Theater to the decade-long development of Christopher Cerrone's acclaimed In a Grove, which they co-presented with Prototype Festival.
The New York Times named In a Grove both "the highlight of the festival" and included it in their "Best Classical Music of 2025, So Far," praising the "Metropolis Ensemble's shimmering performance" that "contributed to the dreamlike unreality" of this groundbreaking work, shepherding it from initial workshop to celebrated premiere.
 
 

Beyond New York City, Metropolis Ensemble has brought emerging composers and performers to some of the world's most prestigious stages—offering career-defining visibility and artistic validation. 

  • At the iconic Hollywood Bowl in 2018, Metropolis musicians performed William Brittelle's Spiritual America before 15,000 attendees as Bon Iver's opening act, elevating contemporary classical music to mainstream audiences. 
  • The ensemble's appearances at Justin Vernon's curated music festival Eaux Claires Hiver and Ireland's Sound from a Safe Harbour in 2018-2019 positioned NYC's emerging artists within cutting-edge international festival circuits, fostering creative cross-pollination across genres and borders.
 
 

Our projects exemplify how Metropolis creates transformative platforms where emerging voices connect with established innovators on significant national stages.

Metropolis has continued breaking boundaries by premiering Ricardo Romaneiro's immersive LIQUIDVERSE in COSM's stunning 87-foot dome spaces in Los Angeles and Dallas (2024).

Showcasing a newly commissioned work by legendary jazz pioneer Roscoe Mitchell at Houston's DACAMERA (2025) alongside acclaimed collaborators Ruckus, Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, and Emi Ferguson.

In response to the pandemic, Metropolis launched Biophony (in partnership with NYC DOT), transforming their crisis response into permanent infrastructure for musical equity. This community-centered public service initiative has grown into an annual citywide festival that exemplifies their commitment to accessibility and social impact.

By ensuring economic barriers never prevent access while providing essential income opportunities for freelance musicians, Biophony demonstrates how new music can serve as both artistic innovation and community support.

Since 2021, Biophony has commissioned 55 new works, employed over 650 NYC musicians, and reached 30,000+ audience members through 125+ free performances in plazas and public spaces—bringing professional-quality concerts to historically underserved neighborhoods while reimagining civic space as cultural space.

 
 
Through all of this, Metropolis remains committed to amplifying new voices and redefining how music is created and experienced—reflecting the spirit of a city that thrives on innovation, diversity, and artistic risk. 
Drawing from NYC's most exceptional musical talent, Metropolis features artists educated at Yale, Juilliard, Curtis, NEC, MSM, and Eastman, including Avery Fischer Career Grant winners, Young Concert Artists, major competition prize winners, and principal players from major orchestras.
 
 

Metropolis artists and alumni are amazing, and go onto something more.

Their roster of emerging composers includes recipients of prestigious fellowships from Guggenheim, Rome Prize, and Pulitzer foundations, selected through rigorous audition processes and collaborative artistic development that ensures both technical mastery and creative innovation in every project.
Metropolis Ensemble alumni have gone on to win leadership positions in many international orchestras, including concertmaster positions at New York Philharmonic (Frank Huang), Minnesota Orchestra (Erin Keefe), Montreal Symphony (Andrew Wan), and Czech Philharmonic (Josef Spacek), among many others.
 
 

    • Andrew Cyr, Founder/Artistic Director

    • Jenna Mulberry-Eng, Business and Events Manager

    • Armistead Booker, Digital Media and Community Engagement Director

    • Henry Wang, Artist Engagement Director

    • Horacio Fernández, Production Assistant

    • Phong Tran, Production Assistant

    • Alex Koi, Production Assistant

  • (last updated January 1, 2025)

    • June Wu (Chair)

    • Eric Brewster (Vice Chair)

    • Jennifer Salomon (Secretary)

    • Mikhail Iliev (Treasurer)

    • Stephanie Amarnick

    • Jeff Guida

    • Paul Kovach

    • Candice Madey

    • Edward Sien

    • Matthew Strassler

    • Susan Weiler

    • Edward Jones (President Emeritus)

    Past Board Members

    • Mali Gaw

    • Eduardo Loja

    • Vladimir Nicenko

    • Arienne Orozco

    • Glenn Schoenfeld

    • Brandon Ziegler

  • Biography PDF

    Press Quotes PDF

    Press Photos