The New York Composers Circle taps the rich creative potential of New York City in a uniquely musical way. It is unique among composers' organizations in providing a regular monthly forum for those who are keen on creating new music to have ongoing interaction with their peers. All who are avid about new music are welcome -- composers, performers, dancers, poets, and listeners. This frequently-available rich creative exchange and the opportunities it brings for networking and collaboration makes participation in the Circle a unique experience. As well, it offers the inspiration and camaraderie born of our common curiosities about music and our commitment to bringing new music into the world.

Inspired by a workshop at the American Music Center, composer Jacob E. Goodman founded the New York Composers Circle in the spring of 2002 as an association of composers meeting monthly to play their music for each other. It soon became apparent that we had the artistry and commitment to present our music before an audience. In May 2003, NYCC produced its first public concert at Saint Peter’s Church, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici, along with eleven of the NYCC's original members. This well-attended concert was favorably reviewed in The New Music Connoisseur. The NYCC continues to evolve by tapping the rich vein of talent and resources among its members.

The NYCC's membership has more than tripled since its inception. And similarly, the number of its public concerts has grown from two concerts each season to its current calendar of four concert presentations, beginning with the 2007-08 season and continuing through to the 2009-2010 season. Now under the leadership of John de Clef Piñeiro, the group continues to expand the diversity of its programs. Occasional informal readings of new pieces allow member composers to "test fly" their works with some of New York's finest professional and student musicians. Such events, along with the monthly music Salons that are open to the public and collaborations with other groups and institutions, support the creation of new music through the various stages of its development.

In the 2004-05 season, award-winning composer and NYCC Honorary Member Ezra Laderman joined members of the NYCC in the final spring concert. In addition to its own two concerts, in March 2006 the NYCC presented its first joint concert effort with the performing ensemble ModernWorks, presenting a piece by NYCC Honorary Member John Eaton. In April of 2008, the NYCC presented a joint collaboration with NYU composers at NYU's famed Frederick Loewe Theater, and in December of 2008, the NYCC celebrated the 100th birthday of its most renowned Honorary Member Elliott Carter in an all-woodwind concert performance of NYCC composers' works at Baruch College's Performing Arts Center, which also showcased the talents of and marked the NYCC's debut collaboration with the Sylvan Winds woodwind quintet. For Valentine's Day of 2009, the NYCC presented a loving tribute to the works of three of its Honorary Members (Elliott Carter, Dinu Ghezzo and Tania León), alongside works by six NYCC Member Composers, at Leonard Nimoy's Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space; and for the spring of the 2009-2010 season, the NYCC will be collaborating with an international woodwind/piano quartet ensemble, the No Borders Quartet, in a showcase presentation of NYCC and non-NYCC composers, again at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre, in a celebration of Honorary Member John Eaton's 75th birthday.

The New York Composers Circle is an artistic and educational organization of composers and performers, dedicated to new music, whose mission is to provide a platform and forum for composers of concert music of all genres, for the development and performance of their works, for the continued growth of the art, and for the development and education of new audiences for new music. As such, the NYCC offers its members various opportunities for testing works in progress, performing completed works in concert, and fostering collaboration and development, both artistic and professional.