New works for the sixteen-ish piece jazz orchestra by composers Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, and Marty Ehrlich.

The New York Composers Orchestra was formed in 1986 by composers Wayne Horvitz and Robin Holcomb. The NYCO provides a regular performing ensemble for composers wishing to write for a jazz instrumentation without being confined to traditional notions of jazz and big band styles. This requires musicians who are excellent readers, ensemble players, and improvisers in a variety of idioms. Since its inception, the NYCO has performed commissioned works by Lenny Pickett, Marty Ehrlich, Anthony Braxton, Bobby Previte, Elliott Sharp, Robin Holcomb, Doug Wieselman, Philip Johnston, Butch Morris, Bob Nell and Wayne Horvitz. Initial performances in New York included concerts at Roulette, The Greenwich House Music School, BAM, The Kitchen and the Knitting Factory. In 1988 the NYCO was featured at the Moers Music Festival in Germany.