Speculum Musicae is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music

Contemporary classical music

Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...

. It was founded in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1971 and is particularly noted for its performances of the music of Elliott Carter

Elliott Carter

Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...

. Oboist Joel Marangella

Joel Marangella

Joel Marangella is an American oboist who has performed in concert with many of the world's leading orchestras. A founding member of the Speculum Musicae, he was the principal oboist for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and a founding member of the New Music Ensemble.-Biography:Marangella...

 and cellist Fred Sherry

Fred Sherry

Fred Sherry is an American cello virtuoso who is particularly admired for his work as a chamber musician and concert soloist. He studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School before winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1968. In 1971 he co-founded the Speculum Musicae...

 were two of the group's founding members, and Robert Black

Robert Black (conductor)

Note: Not to be confused with the saxophonist or the double-bass player named Robert Black.Robert Carlisle Black was an American conductor, pianist and composer...

 was also a long-time member.

The group is made up of twelve New York-based musicians. Its repertoire includes 25 commissioned works, 52 world premieres, and 32 U.S. premieres.

Speculum Musicae has been in residence at Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...

, Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, and Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

, and has recorded for the Albany, Bridge, Cambria, Centaur, Columbia, Composers Recordings, Inc.

Composers Recordings, Inc.

Composers Recordings, Inc. was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City....

, New World, and Nonesuch labels. It received the Laurel Leaf Award

Laurel Leaf Award

The Laurel Leaf Award recognizes the achievement of an individual or group in encouraging and fostering American music. The award has been presented annually by the American Composers Alliance since 1951...

 from the American Composers Alliance

American Composers Alliance

The American Composers Alliance is an American membership organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus and others, it is the oldest national organization of its kind, and represents over 200...

in 1997.