Student CoLab is National Sawdust’s flagship education program for middle school composers. This free culminating concert brings together original works created and performed by the students, spanning voice, guitar, piano, violin, electronics, and visual art—all written and designed by the participants.

This concert spotlights five thrilling works by Brazilian-American composer Felipe Lara, offering a vivid journey through more than a decade of his distinctive musical voice. Spanning intimate solo writing to expansive large-ensemble works, the program reveals Lara’s fascination with structures and ideas drawn from musical fractals, mirrors, mosaics, and labyrinths. Influences from electronic music are translated into purely instrumental contexts, creatively expanding the expressive and sonic possibilities of acoustic forces. Together, these works trace Lara’s evolving artistic vision that is at once rigorously constructed and richly immersive.

U Feel back in New York on June 5th for a special night at National Sawdust, the modern intimate concert hall in the heart of Williamsburg. For the occasion, the space will be powered by a full 360° Meyer Sound system, built for a fully immersive all-night experience. Joining us as special guest will be Laidlaw, alongside friends & fam support DJs to be announced soon.

Cellist Dr. Tommy Mesa performs the world premiere of Andrea Casarrubios' 'The Book of Signatures' for The Next Festival of Emerging Artists' 2026 season celebrating the vital contributions of women immigrant composers to the American musical landscape. Coinciding with the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this landmark program continues the Festival’s advocacy for diverse, global voices through a series of evocative world premieres.

A NationalSawdust+ evening of performance and conversation exploring the essential in composing, writing, and creating recipes—and the concept of zero waste.

As a child, if you’re lucky, summer afternoons stretch out like a yawn, pool waves are as warm and engulfing as a blanket, the safety of your mother’s arms feels endless. On her new album, Neon Summer Skin, Bedouine, the project of Azniv Korkejian, explores this feeling of safety long before one can fully understand the concept. Written with vivid, honest and intimate imagery after visiting her family in Saudi Arabia, it tells the story of family and upbringing, and mourns the end of her childhood. There is a singular resonance and newfound heft in this music previously unheard in Bedouine’s discography.