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.

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.

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.