In January 1999, Meet the Composer announced four new sites for Round VI of New Residencies. The composers initiated their residencies in March, and in June the four recipients met in midtown Manhattan with members from previous Rounds to discuss ways of maximizing the New Residencies program, topics included: Scenarios of Conflict and Are New Residency Partnerships Communication? Brief descriptions of the residencies follow below:

Linda Tutas Haugen: Grand Forks, ND/East Grand Forks. MN

In the wake of the greatest natural disaster ever to be suffered by the Grand Forks area - the flooding of the Red River Valley in April 1997 - Linda Tutas Haugen and five arts, municipal and community based organizations will use music to celebrate the community's continuing recovery. Ms. Haugen will work with the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, North Valley Arts Council, East Grand Forks Public Schools, Grand Forks Public School District, and Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota.

Janika Vandervelde: Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.

Janika Vandervelde will begin a residency with the Minnesota Chorale, a 200-voice choir made up of 30 to 40 contracted singers and 160 avocational singers, which serves as the primary symphonic chorus for the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Vandervelde's residency will also involve the Minnesota Center for Arts Education, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota. With the assistance of these organizations, Ms. Vandervelde will work with children at local schools on performance and improvisation, instruct over 120 young people, and create and present new works reflecting the spirit and heritage of the state's various communities.

Hannibal Lokumbe: New Orleans, LA

In an effort to develop audiences and foster greater participation and appreciation for the arts in New Orleans' African-American community, jazz composer/trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe will work with two of the city's major arts organizations - the Contemporary Arts Center and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Lokumbe's activities will provide a link between the Contemporary Arts Center, the Louisiana Philharmonic, and New Orleans's various ethnic and racial communities, in the city known as the birthplace of jazz.

Kevin James: New York, NY

Working with the Coalition for the Homeless, the Quintet of the Americas, the Sirius String Quartet, and The Kitchen Center for Video, Music, and Dance, composer Kevin James's residency will focus on a project that will provide New York City's homeless population with a musical means of easing and expressing their feelings of isolation, fear, and depression. In an effort to connect the homeless to the greater New York community, Mr. James will compose a new work, entitled "Portraits." The composition will consist of taped material the composer has gathered from over 700 homeless people throughout the city. The premiere of "Portraits" will feature various chamber ensembles and soloists.