Aurora Nealand 2025 Composer in Residence New Works Concert

Aurora Nealand is a dynamic composer, multi-instrumentalist (saxophone, accordion, voice), and social-practice artist based in New Orleans. A driving force in the city’s traditional jazz and improvised music scenes since 2004, Nealand combines deep respect for New Orleans musical traditions with a passion for innovation and storytelling through sound. She leads The Royal Roses, a band that bridges early New Orleans jazz with experimental collective improvisation and sound collage, drawing inspiration from movements like the AACM.

Beyond her performance career, Nealand is a sought-after educator and collaborator. She has worked with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Let Freedom Swing program and serves as a facilitator for Found Sound Nation, fostering global musical exchanges through residencies like OneBeat. In 2023, she premiered The Book of Communal Howling with the Instigation Orchestra and debuted City Songs, a community-driven sonic mapping project featured at Big Ears Festival and set to expand internationally in 2024.

A co-founder of SONO (Sound Observatory New Orleans), Nealand is dedicated to supporting workshops and new music in her region. Her projects have earned her accolades including multiple OffBeat Awards for Best Female Performer, Best Saxophonist, and Best Traditional Jazz Band. Her diverse body of work spans theatrical productions (KindHumanKind), solo projects (The Monocle Ensemble), and collaborations with artists such as Preservation Hall All-Stars, Bill Frisell, Pauline Oliveros, and Animal Collective. Nealand’s performances have graced premier stages and festivals worldwide, including the Montreal Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Brian Roy Haas is an internationally celebrated, award-winning pianist, composer, producer, and arranger whose prolific career spans nearly four decades and includes almost 40 albums of original compositions. Brian began playing piano at age 4, and he won his first International Piano Concerto Competition at just 16, solidifying his life’s mission in music.

Haas earned a full scholarship to the University of Tulsa, graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. While at TU, he founded Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO), a band that has become an institution in modern music, defying genre. Over the past 31 years, JFJO has toured extensively, completing 13 European tours, countless circuits through the Americas, and playing at iconic festivals like North Sea, Berlin, Tampere, and Montreal. They've also sold out prestigious venues such as Bimhuis, Snug Harbor, Yoshi's, and The Blue Note.

Beyond JFJO, Haas’s illustrious career includes collaborations with legends like Nikki Glaspie, George Porter Jr., Helen Gillet, The Funky Meters, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Nolatet, and Les Claypool, among others. His latest project, Punkadelick—a trio with Glaspie and Mike Dillon—released the critically acclaimed Inflorescence in 2023 on Sony Red, followed by a 17-month tour that sold out venues nationwide.

When not touring, Haas devotes his time to music education, teaching improvisation in public schools through Arts and Humanities programs funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. His dedication to innovation and education continues to inspire the next generation of musicians.

Host or Publisher New Orleans JCC