About MMMR

Started by four musicians with a shared dedication to advancing the music of today, Massachusetts Modern Music Retreat is proud to announce its inaugural season in August 2025!

Massachusetts Modern Music Retreat is an annual gathering of professional musicians, enriching the artistic communities in Central Massachusetts by bringing newly written works to life.

Hailing from around the United States, 10-14 emerging composers and performers meet annually in Townsend, MA for 12 days of solo and chamber music, culminating in several public concert premieres in neighboring communities.

This year's MMMR will take place from Aug 6-17, featuring 12 performers/composers in public concerts (dates TBA).

Our Mission

We seek to foster the highest level of collaborative musicianship without the high financial barriers for musicians and audiences alike at other summer festivals.

We are a supporter-funded program. Our concerts are pay-what-you-can, aligning with our philosophy that contemporary classical music can and should be accessible to everyone.

All funds we raise goes towards subsidizing travel, food, housing, and audiovisual production fees for our musicians so that we can continue innovating and creating in future years!

Click on this link to find out how to support our cause!

Meet the Founders

Timothy Coffey

Artistic Director

Clarinet

Timothy is the musical director and founding member of the Massachusetts Modern Music Retreat, which will have its inaugural season this coming August.

The orchestral setting is Timothy’s primary musical interest and focus. His passion for orchestral performance has led him to attend festivals like the Aspen Music Festival and School and Atlantic Music Festival. This summer, Timothy will be a member of the Round Top Festival Institute Orchestra.

Timothy is a strong advocate for new music. During his education, Timothy has been an active participant in his institutions’ modern music ensembles. Additionally, Timothy has collaborated with many living composers to create works for clarinet, with personal highlights being Bradley de Lucia’s Nocturne for Clarinet and Piano and Ethan Pinckert’s Thought Pattern.In line with this involvement in new music, Timothy will perform Jan Van der Roost’s Clarinet Concerto this coming May as winner of the Lamont Solo Honors Competition.

Timothy recently completed his Bachelor of Music in Performance degree under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Faria at Ithaca College. He is currently studying with Dr. Jeremy Reynolds at the Lamont School of Music for his Master of Music in Performance, where he serves as the Newman Fellow.

Kellen Ko

Director of Engagement

Flute/Piccolo

Kellen Ko is a storyteller, centering humanity in their music. They are frequently requested for their versatility as a chamber performer and new music interpreter. Recent projects include the premiere of Lauren Whritner’s It’s Hideous! for flute and live electronics, a work confronting the complicated social status of trans identity in modern society. Kellen can also be found organizing woodwind chamber concerts to enrich the musical tapestry of their local community.

In 2025, in addition to MMMR, Kellen will also be attending the Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival and the Lawrence Chamber Music Festival. In 2024, they attended the Atlantic Music Festival on a performance scholarship. Past festivals and performances include the Rochester Flute Fair, Brevard Flute Seminar, Aria Music Academy, and a fellowship at Pierrot Chamber Music Festival. They were a finalist in the Ithaca College Concerto Competition and won the Rose City Pride Band’s Young Artist Competition. Kellen was the 2023-2024 Presser Foundation Scholar at Ithaca College, performing on flute and piccolo during their studies with various ensembles.

A dedicated performer and educator, Kellen maintains a private studio working with flute students of all ages and ability levels. In Fall 2025, Kellen will be starting an MM in Contemporary Classical Music Performance at Boston Conservatory on a full-tuition scholarship. Kellen received a BM in Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College, studying with Prof. Allison Parramore and Dr. Wendy Mehne. They previously studied with Corrie Cook.

Noemi Bender

Event Coordinator

Clarinet

Noemi Bender advances the works of living composers through the collaborative and connective process of chamber performance. Noemi Bender is one of the 2025 Ithaca College Concerto Competition winners, making her soloist debut with the IC Symphony Orchestra in May 2025 where she will perform Scott McAllister’s X Concerto. In addition to MMMR, Noemi will also be attending the Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival. Previously, Noemi has attended the Mostly Modern Festival, Apple Hill Chamber Music Festival, as well as the Akropolis Chamber & New Music Institute, learning and recording alongside the Grammy-award winning Akropolis Reed Quintet. She has appeared on recordings of chamber and wind ensemble works by Dana Wilson, Ethan Pinckert, Patrick O’Malley, and Dianna Link.

Noemi has served as the principal clarinetist of the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Ithaca College Wind Ensemble for several consecutive years. Noemi is often requested as a collaborator and new music interpreter at Ithaca College, with a personal highlight being the premiere of Ethan Pinckert’s Thought Pattern for two clarinets in April of 2023.

Outside of Ithaca College, Noemi has performed with ensembles at Cornell University and Binghamton University. She will also appear on the Music at St. Luke Concert Series in Ithaca, NY where she will perform Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.

Noemi currently studies under Dr. Richard Faria at Ithaca College where she will graduate in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance.

Ethan Pinckert

Music Coordinator

Percussion

Ethan Pinckert celebrates art as a holistic and collaborative process by viewing the past through a unique lens, while innovating closely with the voices of the present and future.

At the core of his work, Ethan Pinckert prides himself in being an active participant in the creation and performance of new music. He has performed with the Contemporary Chamber Players at Stony Brook University, the Ithaca College Contemporary Ensemble, the Ithaca College Percussion Ensemble, and Ensemble X at Cornell University. Ethan also works closely with composers within his community giving several premieres of new works featuring percussion, including the West Coast premiere of Seessa’s “The Four Loves” at New Music Gathering 2023. Ethan also frequently appears as a solo artist, performance artist, and collaborating with singer/songwriters around the greater New York City area.

Ethan Pinckert is also an active composer, having recent performances of his work performed by the Ithaca College Percussion Ensemble and by Timothy Coffey and Noemi Bender of Wysteria Winds. Ethan’s work frequently engages with other disciplines of spoken word, visual art, and theater. All the while, it draws directly from how we experience the world around us.

Ethan holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music at Stony Brook University. He had the privilege to study under Mike Truesdell, Conrad Alexander, and Eduardo Leandro. He also won first place in the Green Vibes Project Online Vibraphone Competition in 2020.