Anne Kauffman, director

Anne Kauffman is a new play director based in NYC. She’s worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway and at several regional theaters across the country. She premiered Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth at the New York Philharmonic in 2018. Kauffman is a Resident Director at Roundabout Theater, Artistic Associate and Founding Member of The Civilians, a Clubbed Thumb Associate Artist and co-creator of the CT Directing Fellowship, a New Georges Associate Artist, an SDC Executive Board Member and Trustee of SDCF. Kauffman’s awards include three Obies, the Joan and Joseph Cullman Award for Exceptional Creativity from Lincoln Center, the Alan Schneider Director Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, and the Joe A. Callaway.

Jeff Sugg, projection designer

Jeff Sugg is a Tony-nominated designer and theater maker with over 25 years experience in the performing arts. Sugg has designed for a wide range of productions from Broadway to regional theater to international concert halls. Select theater credits include: Broadway: Mr. Saturday Night, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (broadway, Tour, Australia), Sweat, Bring It On, 33 Variations. London: Tina the Musical (West End), Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre). His off-broadway and regional work has been seen at Second Stage, The Public, St. Ann’s Warehouse, BAM, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, NYTW, Steppenwolf, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and dozens more. His work with music has included Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth, Flower Power, and her Pulitzer Prize–winning piece Anthracite Fields; Natalie Cole; and Prince’s final appearance on Saturday Night Live. Jeff Sugg is the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, Bessie Award, and two Henry Hewes Design Awards.

Andrew Cotton, sound engineer

In his role as tour manager and engineer, Andrew Cotton works closely with both composers and musicians in creating new works. Cotton works closely with several major producers, specializing in contemporary music projects with artists and concert series as diverse as Elvis Costello and John Harle, the BBC Promenade Series, Meltdown, George Russell, Carla Bley, Talvin Singh, Cold Cut, KT Tunstall, Elvis Costello, John Harle, Andy Sheppard, Carla Bley, Angelique Kidjo, Manu Dibango, District Six, Iva Bittova, Philip Glass, Steve Reich among others. He regularly collaborates with composers Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang on their pieces for the All-Stars as well as large ensemble, dance and theatre pieces. He also act as technical manager and sound collaborator with percussionist Evelyn Glennie DBE. As a sound designer he has designed The Carbon Copy Building –Turin, New York, Hamburg and Liverpool; Chaos – New York; The New Yorkers – Brooklyn Academy of Music; Ballet Tech –Joyce Theatre NY 1997-1999, Bang on a Can Marathons 1997 – 2016, Hearing Voices – Jocelyn Pook 2016 and 2017, Piano Circus 2015-present, Steel Hammer 2015-present, BBC Scotland Hogmanay 2015-present, riSE and fLY 2015, Road Trip 2017,  2017-18 among others. 

Márion Talán de la Rosa, costume designer

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Márion Talán del la Rosa has nurtured her work by collaborating with artists and innovators of dance, drama, music, and opera for over the last two decades. During this time, her collaborators include Julia Wolfe, Heather Christian, Eperanza Spalding, Sonya Tayeh, Caleb Teicher, Chanel DaSilva, Antonio Brown and Joe Salvatore. For the past 18 years, she was the wardrobe supervisor and in-house designer at the Juilliard School. Her work has been featured with such renowned companies and venues as Ars Nova, Gibney Dance Company, Limon Dance Company, Parsons Dance, Fall for Dance at City Center, The New York Philharmonic, Guggenheim Works in Process, Ballet X, AMP Dance, Pilobolus, BAM Next Wave Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Kaastbaan Cultural Park, American Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, NYU Steinhardt among many others. Her work has been nominated for The Lucille Lortel Awards and profiled in multiple media outlets including the New York Times, Broadway World, Broadway Blog, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Broad Street Review. Márion is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 82. mariontalandelarosa.com

Kenny Savelson, producer

Kenny Savelson is the Executive Director of Bang on a Can, an award-winning contemporary music collective based in New York City, a musician, and freelance performing arts producer. He has managed the creation, production and touring of all of Bang on a Can's programs since 1997. Under his administrative leadership, Bang on a Can has grown from an annual New York music festival into a multi-faceted international organization including two annual festivals, two touring ensembles and year-round programming. Savelson has produced over 50 Bang on a Can Marathon concerts at venues throughout New York City, the US and internationally. He has developed the Bang on a Can All-Stars touring projects worldwide since 1998 and its acclaimed collaborations with composers Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe and many of the most celebrated artists in the contemporary field such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Ornette Coleman, Brian Eno, and more. Together with Bang on a Can artistic directors Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, Savelson is a co-founder of Cantaloupe Music, an independent record label with over 150 recordings released since 2001. Previous collaborations with composer Julia Wolfe include Fire in my mouth (premiere: NY Philharmonic, 2019), Wolfe’s pulitzer-prize winning oratorio Anthracite Fields (premiere: NY Philharmonic, 2014), Steel Hammer (premiere: Carnegie Hall 2009), Lost Objects (premiere: Dresden Musikfestspiele 2001), Carbon Copy Building (premiere: Settembre Musica Torino 2000), among others. Savelson began his career in arts administration and production by arranging tours for his own rock groups throughout the late '80s and '90s.  As a drummer, he has toured and recorded with a variety of bands over the last 30+ years in the United States, Europe, and Japan. 

Asher Lloyd Ehrenberg (they/them) is a theatre maker based in NYC. Recent collaborations include work with NAMT, Atlantic Theater Company, New York City Center, La Jolla Playhouse, and NYU. They have assisted and been the associate of directors including Laurie Woolery, Billy Porter, and Anne Kauffman. In 2019, Asher was named the inaugural Directing Apprentice at New York City Center for their Encores! Off-Center season. They are an Indie TheatreFund grant recipient and a founding collaborator of the Trans Theatre Collective.

About Bang on a Can
Founded in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can has been creating an international community dedicated to innovative music, wherever it is found, and has grown from a one-day New York-based Marathon concert to a multi-faceted performing arts organization with a broad range of year-round international activities. In addition to its festivals LOUD Weekend at MASS MoCA and LONG PLAY, current projects include live.bangonacan.org, a digital streaming platform launched during the pandemic with an ongoing schedule of live streamed concerts and world premiere performances of new commissions; The People's Commissioning Fund, a membership program to commission emerging composers; the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who tour to major festivals and concert venues around the world every year; recording projects; the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, a professional development program for young composers and performers led by today’s pioneers of experimental music; Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can’s extreme street band that offers mobile performances re-contextualizing unusual music; Found Sound Nation, a new technology-based musical outreach program now partnering with the State Department of the United States of America to create OneBeat, a revolutionary, post-political residency program that uses music to bridge the gulf between young American musicians and young musicians from developing countries; cross-disciplinary collaborations and projects with DJs, visual artists, choreographers, filmmakers and more. Each new program has evolved to answer specific challenges faced by today’s musicians, composers and audiences, in order to make innovative music widely accessible and wildly received. Bang on a Can’s inventive and aggressive approach to programming and presentation has created a large and vibrant international audience made up of people of all ages who are rediscovering the value of contemporary music. Bang on a Can has also recently launched its new digital archive, CANLAND, an extensive archive of its recordings, videos, posters, program books, and more. Thirty-three years of collected music and associated ephemera have been digitized and archived online and is publicly accessible in its entirety at www.canland.org. Bang on a Can has created a large and vibrant international audience made up of people of all ages who are rediscovering the value of contemporary music. www.bangonacan.org

Bang on a Can Board of Directors
Betto Arcos, Daniel Baldini, Jeffrey Bishop, Michael Gordon, Lynette Jaffe, Alan Kifferstein, Michael Kushner, David Lang, Leslie Lassiter, George Lewis, Raulee Marcus, Elizabeth Murrell, Robert A. Skirnick, Jane Stewart, Sandra Tait, Julia Wolfe and Adam Wolfensohn.

Bang on a Can Staff
Michael Gordon, Artistic Director
David Lang, Artistic Director
Julia Wolfe, Artistic Director
Kenny Savelson, Executive Director
Laura Patterson, Development Director
Philippa Thompson, Project Manager and Summer Festival Manager
Sruly Lazaros, Producer
Emily Motherwell, Communications and Marketing
Brian Petuch, Accounts Manager
Lora Kmieliauskaitė, CIEE Professional Exchange Intern, 2024