TAK LAB 2026
We’re so grateful to everyone who made the first iteration of TAK LAB possible! Thank you to the 25 fantastically creative, collaborative, kind, and inspiring participants; thank you to our faculty, guest lecturers, affiliate artists and program coordinator; thank you to our partner venues; and thank you to our generous funders.
We wish TAK LAB was all year round, but we’ll hold our hearts in our hands until next summer, when we meet again for TAK LAB 2027.
We hope you enjoy these reflection on TAK LAB 2026, which you helped bring into existence. Thank you.
“TAK LAB was simply one of the best experiences of my life. Not just because it was an amazing music festival, but because it was a profound lesson on what it means to be a musician and make music today. Given the current state of the world, I sometimes struggle to find reasons to keep doing what I do. I felt that TAKLAB was a safe space for me to exist with those questions. Being surrounded by wonderful artists during those seven days, I found a possible answer for myself: creating and sharing COLLECTIVELY. TAK does more than just talk about the importance of the collective: they DO IT, they SHARE IT, they PROMOTE it, they FOSTER it. It was more than just a concept understood in theory; these values are embedded in the very structure of the festival and that renewed my hopes of still creating, making music and fostering similar projects. For that, I’m forever grateful.” — Lorraine Oliveira, 2026 TAK LAB participant
“It was the best lab program I’ve ever experienced. I felt safe trying new things, and the space was inspiring and full of passion. The mentors were incredibly supportive—not just as teachers, but more like colleagues. I was surrounded by so much inspiration, and I felt that something really special happened across all the tracks. There were so many great chemical reactions between people, ideas, and different perspectives.” — Yu Chinen, 2026 TAK LAB participant
“A radiant pearl in a dark and turbulent ocean. A cherished space, brimming with love, filled with beautiful souls from every corner of the world... each with their own quest, their own beautiful oddities. A realm of glimmers, where hierarchies ripple and, for a fleeting moment, we become part of a sonorous community” — Ada Gomiz, 2026 TAK LAB participant
A LOOK INTO PROGRAMMING
THREE TRACKS: PERFORMANCE, COMPOSITION, EXPANDED PRACTICE & CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
The three tracks of TAK LAB brought together multifaceted modes of experimental musical expression and worked as cohorts to delve into nuances of their fields with their peers. Participants showcased their work in the final Marathon Concert. Collaboration was foregrounded between tracks through TAK LAB BANDS, which brought participants across tracks together to create a new work while at TAK LAB.
PERFORMANCE
The Performance Track included nine participants who put together chamber works nine contemporary chamber works featuring composers Hannah Kendall, Luis Fernando Amaya, Claude Vivier, Eric Wubbels, Jessie Cox, Katherine Balch, Christian Wolff, Hans Abrahamsen, and John Luther Adams.
Performers received coachings with TAK LAB faculty and performed in masterclasses for the members of TAK.
2026 TAK LAB PERFORMERS:
Ilaria Hawley, flute
Ethan Burke, clarinet
Daniel Hirshbein, oboe
Ethan Cavanac, violin
Leo Martinez, double bass
Mihail Babus, percussion
Lorraine Oliveira, piano
Francisco Morais Fernandes, piano
Yu Chinen, voice
COMPOSTION
Each of the seven composers in the Composition Track composed new works for TAK to be premiered during TAK LAB.
In addition to rehearsing their new works with TAK, composers participated in studio classes and took private lessons with composition faculty.
Composers also cross-pollinated with EPCT programming for joint studio classes and seminars.
2026 TAK LAB COMPOSERS:
Ada Gomiz
Alexander Wu
Emma Tucker
Joanna Mattrey
Kevin Ramsay
lili m. namazi
T. Gregory Bloomfield
EPCT
The nine Expanded Practice and Creative Technologies (EPCT) participants brought their own practices in to develop, present on, build upon. Spanning across many modes of creating work, EPCT participants were comprised of musicians from various spectrums of sound art, all with an underpinning of creative uses of technology.
They participated in workshops and seminars with faculty and crafted new works with TAK LAB colleagues over the course of the week and created new installations.
2026 EPCT Participants:
Audréanne Filion
Beile Hu
Enzo Sun
Indira Edwards
Ivy Fu
Jaehoon Choi
James May
Neda Nadim
Yo Vinyl Richie
BANDS
TAK LAB BANDS were put together to foster collaboration between participants across the three tracks of study. Each 4-5 person BAND met over Zoom leading up to TAK LAB and, while onsite, collaboratively created a new work. BANDS are a space to find a common language between each participants different practices, to engage a sense of creative agency, & ultimately to take risks and have fun.
“ᵕ̈TAK LAB has been one of my favorite summer intensive programs I’ve ever participated in. The structure was fantastic, and the sessions were both inspiring and instrumental to my work. Last but not least, the best part was the personal interaction between the cohort and mentors. I would strongly recommend it to everyone!”
— Jaehoon Choi, 2026 TAK LAB participant
“TAK LAB crafted a deeply intentional space for experimental sound practices, one of the best I’ve ever experienced. The Expanded Practice and Creative Technologies track let me dive into my interests in installation and improvisation alongside an incredible cohort of peers, all developing their own work—I learned so much from them, with amazing support from our mentors Seth, Levi, and Anna. It’s a perfect space for any artist who feels like “composer” or “performer” doesn’t quite describe what they do.”
— James May, 2026 TAK LAB participant
FACULTY, GUESTS & AFFILIATE ARTISTS
We couldn’t be more grateful to our amazing faculty: Eric Wubbels, Seth Cluett, and Qiujiang Levi Lu. We’re deeply thankful to Anna Meadors, our Affiliate Artist, and to guest lecturer Amirtha Kidambi.
Eric Wubbles offered 1:1 composition lessons to participants on the composition track, as well as drop-in lessons for all students. He also held studio classes, gave a lecture on his work and practice, and coached one of his chamber works
Qiujiang Levi Lu coached BANDS, offered studio classes, gave a lecture on their work, and performed an incredible concert of their solo works
Seth Cluett ran the EPCT track, offering numerous workshops, lectures, and studio classes. He also curated an instrumental technologies petting zoo for all TAK LAB participants, coached chamber works and BANDS, gave a lecture on his work, and was foundational in the construction and idealizing processes of TAK LAB.
Anna Meadors supported the EPCT track and offered demos and workshops for the track. As a composer, performer, and technologist her multi-faceted support made many of the moving parts of TAK LAB possible. She also took many of these incredible photos!
Amirtha Kidambi offered a workshop-talk on Sonic Liberation, engaging TAK LAB participants in necessary and sometimes challenging conversations on music as a political practice."
& A massive thank you to our incredible program coordinator, Insia Malik, who tied everything together with the warmest and most joyful energy.
TAK LAB 2027 info will be released in later October, 2026
want to stay looped in? Sign up for our mailing list here.
Thank you for a beautiful inaugural TAK LAB. We can’t wait to see you in summer of 2027, or before during our 2026-2027 season!
LOVE,
Laura, Madison, Marina, Charlotte, & Ellery