Kenny Savelson is the executive director of Bang on a Can, an award-winning contemporary music collective based in New York City, as well as a musician and freelance performing arts producer. He has managed the creation, production and touring of all Bang on a Can 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 more than 50 Bang on a Can marathons at venues throughout New York City, the United States 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 celebrated contemporary artists 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 more than 150 recordings released since 2001. Past collaborations with composer Julia Wolfe include Fire in My Mouth (premiere, New York Philharmonic, 2019), Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio Anthracite Fields (premiere, N.Y. Philharmonic, 2014), Steel Hammer (premiere, Carnegie Hall, 2009), Lost Objects (premiere, Dresden Musikfestspiele, 2001) and 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 in the late ’80s and ’90s. As a drummer, he has toured and recorded with bands over the last three decades in the United States, Europe and Japan.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
