ASMAC NYC (New York City)

ASMAC NYC is the New York City branch of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers. We aim to be a valuable resource and community for current professionals in the Broadway music community and for those who aspire to join the ranks, including composers, music directors, orchestrators, arrangers, and copyists.

ASMAC NYC aims to provide a community for arrangers and orchestrators, principally those working in theatre, concerts, and recording.

We look to inspire, mentor, and educate our current and future colleagues by sharing our collective stories and experience so that our craft will continue to thrive and grow.

• Developing content, tutorials, and other support tools to inspire our community and bolster our collective professional development.
• Fostering innovation for the future of our field while continuing to build on useful past practices and approaches.
• Sharing common practices through discussion as well as targeted committees.
• Encouraging aspiring professionals through mentorship, educational material, and live example.

ASMAC NYC was founded in the spring of 2020 by Doug Besterman and Ed Windels, from an idea originally initiated by former ASMAC President Larry Blank, and with the generous input and participation of a vast number of the New York City musical theater community.

Current initiatives include:

• Educational content featuring top creators in their field.
• Guides for new and upcoming orchestrators and arrangers.
• Mentorships.
• A score study library of historic and current musical theater works.

From the very beginning of ASMA (ASMAC’s original acronym) in 1938, there were New York members and Los Angeles members. Some members worked in both cities and moved back and forth, based on assignments offered to them. A formal New York chapter was established in 1944 and continued to function until the 1970s. Several prominent founding ASMA members served as NY Chapter President; the address for NY ASMA remained the same for decades: 224 West 49th Street. Throughout the 1950s, NY ASMA held monthly workshops for arrangers and composers. Since 2020, ASMAC NYC has sponsored some fabulous online and in-person events.