Photo Call: Celebrating 25 Years of Composer Portraits
An exhibition curated by Akhira Montague
Miller Theatre’s commitment to new work, living artists, and a thriving music community takes center stage in a photo exhibition paying tribute to its iconic, flagship series, Composer Portraits. Featuring portrait commissions of composers included in the series in recent years, the vibrant images were captured by 10 different photographers working in the U.S., England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Norway.
The exhibition will be on display throughout the season in the Miller Theatre lobby, located on Broadway at 116th Street. The lobby is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 10am to 6pm, and beginning two hours before each scheduled performance.
About the Curator
Akhira Montague (b. 1997) was born and raised in New Jersey. After attending boarding school in Putney, Vermont, she moved to Brooklyn, NY to study at Pratt Institute. Montague’s practice revolves around dissecting the moving image as both an object and an idea. She layers printed material, video, ink, paper, and wall space to demonstrate that life extends beyond our current experiences. She uses still and moving images as tools to relive the past and shape the future. Guided and inspired by researching her predecessors such as Deana Lawson, Martin Parr, and Gordon Parks, while examining social trends, Montague seeks to convey and expound on ideas centered around the relationships humans have with each other, themselves, and their environment. Montague is a recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Scholarship Award (2018). Her work has been featured in group shows at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA; La MaMa Gallery, NYC; and Alexander Gray Associates Gallery, NY.
“But, for me, what summed up these varied interests and activities was a revealing photograph of Ms. Shaw used by the Miller Theater at Columbia University to promote its Composer Portraits program of her music”
Photos in the Exhibition
Featured Composers and Photographers
| Marcos Balter by Matt Zugale Oscar Bettison by Kyle Dorosz Courtney Bryan by Rob Davidson Ann Cleare by Mark Duggan Luca Francesconi by Alessandro Grassani Dai Fujikura by Christopher Terry Sarah Hennies by Rob Davidson Vijay Iyer by Kyle Dorosz Felipe Lara by Celeste Sloman Liza Lim by Maria Sturm Annea Lockwood by Kyle Dorosz |
Wang Lu by Matt Zugale Miya Masaoka by Rob Davidson Nicole Mitchell by Caitlin Ochs Jessie Montgomery by Rob Davidson Caroline Shaw by Kyle Dorosz Lisa Streich by Kate Devine Øyvind Torvund by Morten Wanvik Chen Yi by Matt Zugale Du Yun by Matt Zugale Miguel Zenón by Rob Davidson |
Composer Portraits at 25
For 25 years, Miller Theatre’s Composer Portraits have given audiences a full-evening immersion into the work of the world’s best composers, featuring conversational on-stage talks that demystify the creative process. The series has fostered the creation of new work, served as an incubator for emerging artists, and created a community of adventurous listeners. Championing the work of today’s most inspiring composers, Composer Portraits are a mainstay of New York’s contemporary artistic landscape.