Called "a dynamic new music ensemble" (The New York Times) ModernWorks was formed in 1997 by cellist and long-time concert producer Madeleine Shapiro. The focus of the ensemble is the exploration of the wealth of recent repertoire written for strings in a variety of combinations. Though the core is a string quartet, the ensemble also performs repertoire in numerous other combinations; string duos and trios, as well as works with voice, percussion and accordion. Its ModernCelli ensemble performs music for multiple cellos, and the ensemble also presents concerts in a violin, cello and accordion trio format.

The ensemble performs an eclectic range of new works by both established and emerging composers, and participates in the creation of new works. In the short time that the ensemble has been in existence, it has won critical acclaim for its New York seasons. It has also presented numerous New York or United States premieres of works by both young, emerging composers, and such diverse established composers as Sofia Gubaidulina, Kaija Saariaho, Luciano Berio, Iannis Xenakis and Bernard Rands. ModernWorks is proud to have been the recipient of a commissioning grant from Meet the Composer to commission a duo for cello and accordion by the eminent American composer Charles Wuorinen. The work received its premiere in January, 2002. The ensemble is proud to have received a second Meet the Composer Commissioning Award to commission a work for violin, cello, accordion and electronics from composer Anthony Cornicello, thus continuing it's expansion of the strings and accordion literature. ModernWorks takes particular pride in its work with younger American composers whose works are presented annually on both the New York series and on tour in the United States and abroad.

ModernWorks consists of a core of some of New York City's most prominent performers of new music. The ensemble is a member of The New York Consortium for New Music and has appeared in New York on Sonic Boom 6, 8, 9, the festival's 10th anniversary marathon at The Knitting Factory, and Sonic Boom 11, also at the Knitting Factory. Other NY appearances have included two seasons at the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse in which the ensemble was featured in a three concert series of 20th century Italian music; the museum of Arts & Design (7 seasons) andNorthRiverMusic (3 seasons). The ensemble has been heard on NPR's Performance Today and WNYC's "New Sounds" and has been featured in an on-line webcast in the American Music Center's NewMusicBox. ModernWorks held a residency at New York University where it performed in the university's new Black Box theater and presented lecture demonstrations and readings of works by student composers.

Recent touring appearances have includedThe A.M.B.E.R. Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, the Freer Gallery of Asian Art at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington,D.C., the International Festival of Cello Ensembles in Beauvais, France and a concert tour in Italy with appearances on such prestigious festivals as Nuovi Spazi Musicali (Rome) and Rive Gauche Concerti (Turin). Other recent concerts took place at the African Art Museum, NJ (2 seasons) in connection with the New Jersey Composer's Guild; the Hudson River Center for Contemporary Art; at CUNY with the American Accordion Association (2 seasons); the "Take Five on Tuesdays" series at the University of Maryland's new Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center; the World Music Festival at Montgomery College, Rockville, MD; and an appearance in collaboration with jazz legends Roscoe Mitchell and Muhul Richard Abrams on Mutable Music's Sounds Like New festival celebrating 15 years of the prestigious Interpretations series.