Collaborative Arts Ensemble

Collaborative Arts Ensemble Collaborative Arts Ensemble is an organization dedicated to the work of original, cross-disciplinary, theatrical concert programming for social change.

Collaborative Arts Ensemble was founded by Thomas West in the spring of 2017 as a way to promote social understanding in the world. The organization consists of a roster of artists dedicated to the work of original, cross-disciplinary, theatrical concert programing and strives to create art that functions as a piece of discovery for its audiences. CAE's inaugural program entitled, Letters of the A

merican South, explores and celebrates the rich history and culture of the Southern United States, drawing attention to the diversity that exists in this particular region of America. Featuring music and text written about or from the American South, this program contains everything from fiddle to modern music, as well as text and family letters, from James Baldwin to Harper Lee. CAE strives to ask questions throughout the performance through the exploration of individual human stories, told in the form of specific musical vignettes. It is in this specific way of storytelling that CAE hopes to spark conversation and imagination in both the minds of the artists and its audiences.

17/07/2019

Electrifying - the only word to describe CAE’s most recent performance in Kigali, Rwanda .

14/07/2019

Ubumuntu - “I am because you are, you are because I am, together we are human.” Our newest production of humanity premieres tonight at the Ubumuntu Arts Festival in Kigali, Rwanda .

CAE Rwanda Team in Akagera National Park .
07/07/2019

CAE Rwanda Team in Akagera National Park .

Day 1 in Kigali: Making new friends and gearing up for the collaboration of a lifetime @ Kigali, Rw...
05/07/2019

Day 1 in Kigali: Making new friends and gearing up for the collaboration of a lifetime
@ Kigali, Rwanda

All smiles as we begin our preparation for CAE’s first international collaboration in Kigali, Rwanda. This team is on 🔥🔥...
08/06/2019

All smiles as we begin our preparation for CAE’s first international collaboration in Kigali, Rwanda. This team is on 🔥🔥

BIG NEWS: Collaborative Arts Ensemble is thrilled to be the recipient of a $15,000 grant from the McNulty Foundation for...
24/05/2019

BIG NEWS: Collaborative Arts Ensemble is thrilled to be the recipient of a $15,000 grant from the McNulty Foundation for its joint collaboration with The Peace Studio (founded by Maya Soetoro-Ng) and the Ubumuntu Arts Festival in Kigali, Rwanda (founded by Hope Azeda). This gift will empower four incredible CAE artists to travel to Rwanda this July to collaborate with Hope Azeda and the Mashirika Theater Company on the creation of a brand new, hour-long, interdisciplinary concert work in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. We hope this work will build bridges across cultures and contribute to our understanding of how art can be a critical tool for peacebuilding. We cannot wait to share what is made with you all very soon!

Getting ready for our Bach Project premiere showcase tomorrow at Juilliard! Thank you and all the team for having us i...
16/05/2019

Getting ready for our Bach Project premiere showcase tomorrow at Juilliard! Thank you and all the team for having us in your beautiful space all this week for our 2nd Bach Project Residency!!

Today we’re excited to begin highlighting some of the incredible artists in our upcoming Bach Project, which begins its ...
08/05/2019

Today we’re excited to begin highlighting some of the incredible artists in our upcoming Bach Project, which begins its 2nd NYC Residency on May 12.

Mezzo-soprano Olivia Cosio, originally from San Francisco, CA, is a Master of Music student in Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School. She will tour to Europe with Juilliard this coming June, performing Second Witch in Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” with performances at London’s Holland Park and Versaille’s Opéra Royal. She will be a mezzo-soprano fellow at Tanglewood this summer where, last year, she performed Bach cantatas conducted by John Harbison, the world premiere of Michael Gandolfi’s “In America”, and the role of Susie in Bernstein’s “A Quiet Place”. Olivia received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, where she performed Cherubino in Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro”, Dorothée in Massenet’s “Cendrillon”, and Bradamante in Handel’s “Alcina”. Olivia has worked with world-renowned artists such as Dawn Upshaw, Marilyn Horne, Isabel Leonard, and Stephanie Blythe. In addition to her vocal studies, Olivia is also an experienced educator, having held teaching fellowships with both the Breakthrough Collaborative and Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program.

Today we are so grateful for everyone who supported our first ever online fundraiser! Over the past few weeks, we were a...
29/04/2019

Today we are so grateful for everyone who supported our first ever online fundraiser! Over the past few weeks, we were able to raise $12,000 in support of our amazing artists. Thanks to you - we are now racing into our summer season of bringing THREE amazing new projects to completion. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! We look forward to reaching out to every one of you personally over the next week to further express our gratitude.
-Thomas and Philip

“By bringing together artists of different talents and backgrounds, CAE embraces seeing the differences of each other's ...
23/04/2019

“By bringing together artists of different talents and backgrounds, CAE embraces seeing the differences of each other's art and experiences to allow for more empathetic, sincere storytelling.”-Corey A. Worley, violist and CAE Artist. Only a few hours left to give on our Indiegogo campaign!! Link in bio.

Shoutout from artist on the final day of our fundraising campaign! Check out the link in our bio • “CAE not only ...
22/04/2019

Shoutout from artist on the final day of our fundraising campaign! Check out the link in our bio • “CAE not only gave me the opportunity to share pivotal pieces of my heritage with those of different cultures, it allowed me the opportunity to deepen my relationship to the legacy and future of that heritage. Visiting the Civil Rights Museum and Memorial for Justice and Peace was an experience I will never, ever, ever forget.”

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In today’s world, there are simply too many world-class emerging artists leaving school and falling through the cracks. What if there was a way to change that and impact society at the same time?

Meet Collaborative Arts Ensemble (CAE), a classical arts production company dedicated to amplifying the voices of world-class artists around important social issues in the world through cross-disciplinary concert programming.

The concerts that CAE artists build defy genre and discipline. Each program is completely different both in the size of the ensemble and the topic(s) the artists choose to explore within the performance. Programs are built from scratch in two or three week long paid rehearsal residencies and then toured across the United States the following year. Generally, a CAE concert will combine both original and found text, music, and physical movement that speak to a time of history, a social issue, or a specific question. CAE artists are also encouraged to share from outside of their own discipline (i.e. an opera singer that dances or a composer that sings) as CAE believes deeply in allowing the process of artists sharing in each other’s stories and disciplines to dictate the form of its shows.

Collaborative Arts Ensemble is proud to be recipients of grant support from the Alan D. Marks Center at The Juilliard School, the From the Top Alumni Leadership Grant, and the Robert & Mercedes Eicholz Arts Entrepreneurship Prize.