A New York–based chamber music and multimedia ensemble led by flutist Guillermo Laporta and pianist Josefina Urraca, with core members Emilie-Anne Gendron, Matthew Cohen, and Julia Yang. CreArtBox crafts immersive performances that merge classical and contemporary music with original visual art, stage design, and spatial storytelling.
Recognized by The New Yorker as one of its "art and music top picks," praised by Time Out as "an ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary events," and described by BroadwayWorld as "wholly authentic, visually and aurally compelling," CreArtBox is celebrated for its ability to enhance the listening experience of live music through theatrical design while preserving the integrity of each composition.
The ensemble maintains a well-established concert series in New York City, tours nationally with recurring engagements on the West Coast, and performs internationally in countries such as Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Queens Council on the Arts New Work Grant, the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Amphion Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
CreArtBox also runs an open call for scores and a composer residency program, fostering the creation of new works and mentoring emerging voices. Over the past decade, the ensemble has presented works by a wide range of voices, from Pulitzer Prize winners like Caroline Shaw and David Lang to contemporary creators such as Timo Andres, Anna Clyne, Joshua Penman, Andrea Casarrubios, Hannah Selin, Nico Muhly, Dai Wei, Brian Wysocki, Annamaria Kowalsky, and Cullyn Murphy, among many others.
Each core member brings a distinctive artistic trajectory: Laporta has combined a career as a flutist with theater directing and lighting design; Urraca is an acclaimed solo and chamber pianist with deep ties to Spanish repertoire; Gendron performs internationally as both a soloist and as a member of the Momenta Quartet; Cohen collaborates widely with leading ensembles and is a member of the Formosa Quartet; and Yang is a prize-winning cellist and a member of the award-winning Merz Trio. Together, they shape CreArtBox into a platform where rigorous performance, innovation, and accessibility meet.
The project was originally conceived in 2006 in Europe as Cre.Art Project by Laporta and clarinetist/performance creator Tagore Gonzalez, and later re-established in New York City in 2013. Since then, CreArtBox has produced a series of theatrical and interdisciplinary works, including Architecture of a Common Man (2023), the opera-ballet Two Roads (2020), Visuality (2012/14), the opera Noctum (2011), the musical London the Show (2009), and Cre.Art Project I (2006).
In addition to its American-based activities, CreArtBox co-produces Festival ADAR, an international arts festival held since 2021 in Asturias, Spain, dedicated to revitalizing rural communities through music, contemporary creation, artist residencies, and site-specific projects.
CreArtBox is a New York–based chamber music and multimedia ensemble led by flutist Guillermo Laporta and pianist Josefina Urraca, with core members Emilie-Anne Gendron, Matthew Cohen, and Julia Yang. Recognized by The New Yorker as one of its "art and music top picks," praised by Time Out as "an ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary events," and described by BroadwayWorld as "wholly authentic, visually and aurally compelling," CreArtBox is celebrated for performances that merge classical and contemporary music with original stage design and visual art.
The ensemble's work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Queens Council on the Arts, the Amphion Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. It also runs an open call for scores and a composer residency program, and co-produces Festival ADAR in Asturias, Spain - dedicated to revitalizing rural communities through music, residencies, and site-specific projects.
CreArtBox is a New York–based chamber music and multimedia ensemble led by flutist Guillermo Laporta and pianist Josefina Urraca, with core members Emilie-Anne Gendron, Matthew Cohen, and Julia Yang. Recognized by The New Yorker as one of its "art and music top picks," praised by Time Out as "an ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary events," and described by BroadwayWorld as "wholly authentic, visually and aurally compelling," the ensemble creates immersive performances that merge classical and contemporary music with original stage design and visual art.
“Critics top pick for the best music, art and theatre.”
- The New Yorker
“A new ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary events.”
- Time Out
“A wholly authentic, visually and aurally compelling experience.”
- Broadway World
Flutist, composer, and multimedia creator. Executive Director of CreArtBox and Festival ADAR. At the heart of his practice lies the concept of the "visual concert" - multimedia performances that weave visual art and theatrical design into live chamber music. His work has been praised by The New Yorker, Time Out, and Broadway World.
Spanish pianist and co-director of CreArtBox and Festival ADAR. Her playing has been praised by Mundo Clásico for its blend of "introspection and musical abandon." She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris, Sony Auditorium in Madrid, and Monten Hall in Tokyo, and trained with Dmitri Bashkirov, Maria João Pires, and Ferenc Rados across Salamanca, Paris, and New York.
Lauded by The New York Times as a "brilliant soloist" and by Strad Magazine for her "marvellous and lyrical playing." A longtime member of the Momenta Quartet and one of the concertmasters of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Her dynamic New York-based career spans recitals in Paris and Sweden, festivals across Europe and Asia, and collaborations with Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, Edgar Meyer, and Gil Shaham.
Ukrainian-American violist Matthew Cohen is the newly appointed violist of the Formosa Quartet and a founding member of Ensemble Elatós. A special prize winner at the Primrose International Viola Competition and top-prize winner in Cremona and at Vivo International. A passionate advocate for the viola as a singular voice, championing lesser-known works and new arrangements.
Praised for her "sense of joyful virtuosity" (South Florida Classical Review), Julia Yang is a founding member of the Naumburg-winning Merz Trio and of Trio Phōs. Called the "stunning find of the evening" by the New York Classical Review, she has collaborated with Jonathan Biss, Mitsuko Uchida, and Kim Kashkashian at festivals including Marlboro, Yellow Barn, and Tippet Rise.
We welcome speculative profiles from producers, educators, marketers, designers, and developers. Share your skills with us at info@creartbox.nyc.
CreArtBox selects a roster of composers each season through its open Call for Scores. Selected works receive a New York premiere with the ensemble and are featured throughout the season's programming.
View past seasons →A selection from the organization's records. The complete history runs to many pages.
CreArtBox opens its 2025/26 season at The DiMenna Center to a full 250-seat capacity.
Free concert at Flushing Town Hall in partnership with the Queens Public Library.
The New York Series returns to The DiMenna Center for Classical Music as its permanent home with a fixed core ensemble.
A new opera/ballet/film production, in partnership with Culture Lab - written and directed by Guillermo Laporta.
CreArtBox receives the NYSCA Support for Organizations Grant.
Three nights at the Blue Gallery in Manhattan. With Granados, Saint-Saëns, Caroline Shaw, Annamaria Kowalsky, Nico Muhly, Hannah Selin, Michel van der Aa, Mozart, Brian Wysocki, Ravel, Shostakovich, and Nadia Boulanger.
Launches a live-podcast music series with the Queens Public Library. Hybrid talk-show + chamber concert.
CreArtBox announces winners of its Call for Submissions for contemporary music. Over 500 applications received.
Establishes The Association for the Arts Development in Rural Areas of Spain. Inaugural project: the Leiguarda Music Festival.
Second production of the opera-ballet Two Roads, with dancers Mary Taylor Hennings and Can Wang, soprano Ariadne Greif, baritone Nathaniel Sullivan, actress Julie Berndt.
CreArtBox presents AWAVE at the Ryogoku Concert Hall in Japan. A multimedia concert experience for flute, piano, video, and electronics.
A full-scale music and theatre production written by Guillermo Laporta and Jacopo Rampini. Queens Theatre · CSV Center · The Tank Theater · Artisphere D.C.
Josefina Urraca and Guillermo Laporta found CreArtBox in New York City. The project carries forward the work begun in 2006 as Cre.Art Project in Europe.
A multimedia opera for chamber ensemble, physical actor, aerialist, and soprano.
Original incarnation founded in Europe by Guillermo Laporta and clarinetist Tagore Gonzalez.
Public and private institutions whose grants and awards have sustained CreArtBox's non-profit mission. Alongside generous individual donors.
