October Sky is a mixed-instrument chamber ensemble featuring violinist John Irrera, percussionist Annie Stevens, tenor Brian Thorsett and cellist Alan Weinstein. Members of the ensemble have performed both as soloists and as members of October Sky around the world. The ensemble is actively engaged in the creation of new repertoire for this unique instrumentation and actively commissions, performs and records new works as well as fresh arrangements of neglected repertory. Their premiere recording was released by MSR Classics in the summer of 2023 to critical acclaim and features new works by American/Welsh composer Hilary Tann, Daron Hagen and Stacy Garrop. The group consists of artist-educators and is the commissioning ensemble for the Andrew Yee Composition Competition at the School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.