A typical program is divided between works by the three members of the group, works by young and emerging composers (such as Alla Borzova, Artur Kampela, and Daniel Bernard Roumain) and works by more established composers (such as Elliott Carter, David Del Tredici, Charles Dodge, Leon Kirchner, Thea Musgrave, Shulamit Ran, and Ned Rorem). A typical program also will feature at least one of the members of the group as a performer on one or more piece.

Our principal artistic goals are to present high quality concerts of contemporary American chamber music, to feature a wide variety of aesthetic viewpoints and musical styles, and to do so in an atmosphere that is entertaining and enjoyable as well as intellectually stimulating. In fourteen seasons we have performed almost 400 works by more than 175 composers, including 145 world premieres.

Each year we sponsor a composition competition that attracts entries from across the country and results in the performance of the winning composition(s) at our fi-nal concert of the season. Past winners include Judith Lang Zaimont, Jeffrey Stadelman, Marti Epstein, Paul A. Siskind, Madelyn Byrne, Laurence Bitensky, and Matthew Guerrieri.

Another important aspect of the organization is our "Collaborations" series, in which we join forces with outstanding new music ensembles and soloists to present concerts of new and recent works written especially for the occasion by the members of Friends & Enemies. Past collabora-tors include the Talujon Percussion Quartet, pianist Barry David Salwen, the Viennese composers group Projekt UrauffŸhrung and London's Fibonacci Sequence .

Performers at Friends & Enemies concerts are drawn from a core group of some of New York's finest contemporary chamber music specialistsÑtheir expertise and spirit result in per-formances that are both polished and passionate. While a large number of these artists have many years of experience as free-lance musicians, an equal number are at the beginning their professional performing careers.

Friends & Enemies concerts are noted for their accessible, friendly atmosphere and for the lively exchange of ideas that occursÑwhat the New York Times has called "lots of disputa-tious energy among the composers and a great sense of wrangling over what music is and where it should go." The composers who are performed are almost always in the audience; they often introduce their works and are available for discussion at the receptions which follow each concert. Scores of the works performed are also available in the lobby for perusal before and after the concert. We believe this user-friendly approach to new music makes a real contri-bution to the cultural life of New York. Peter Goodman of New York Newsday wrote after attending one of our concerts, "May these Friends flourish."