Ecstatic Music Festival

Photographer Martien Mulder documents the star-studded rehearsals for musical polymath Jherek Bischoff’s epic performance of his new album, Composed, at New York’s Ecstatic Music Festival. The concert at Manhattan’s prestigious Merkin Hall kick-started a weekend of events dedicated to contemporary “post-classical” music featuring the likes of composer Nico Muhly and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire. Biscoff was joined live by the stellar cast who contributed vocals to Composed, including ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, San Francisco’s Mirah, and Zac Pennington of experimental pop band The Parenthetical Girls, alongside the esteemed Wordless Music Orchestra. “Every single one of the singers is one of my musical heroes,” says Bischoff. “The fact I got a chance to write specifically for all these different voices is still exciting.” Having started his musical life playing jazz and recording alternative bands, Bischoff found himself adding more violins and cellos to his works, a move that inspired him to compose pieces for orchestras across the U.S. Says the musician: “It’s all about bringing the indie rock world and the classical world to a natural fit.”