Eunice’s piano teacher, Mrs. Dinklaker, believed that rigorous finger-strengthening exercises were crucial to the development of a pianist’s technique. Unfortunately, there were occasionally side effects. And although Eunice had to give up her dream of becoming a great concert pianist, she did with a little practice develop into the finest safecracker that Omaha had ever seen.
In celebration of 60x60's celebration of a decade of one-minute works. The PianoForte Foundation is presenting their own special 60x60 mix for 2012 with each submission containing piano samples. Christopher Preissing is the audio coordinator for this mix.
Composers selected for the 60x60 (2012) PianoForte Mix include:
Larry Achiampong,
Erol Bugra Balci,
Peter Batchelor,
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz,
Alba Francesca Battista,
Jay Batzner,
Canary Burton,
Antonio D'Amato,
Heitor Dantas,
Douglas DaSilva,
Brian Alan DeLaney,
Damian Dziwis,
Rachael Forsyth,
Massimo Fragala,
Aaron Fryklund,
Larry Matthew Gaab,
Iris Garrelfs,
Monroe Golden,
Jim Haynes,
Jonathan Hey,
Matthieu Jacquot,
Aaron Krister Johnson,
Cody Kauhl,
Micahel Kinney,
Kiss Krisztian,
Hoyong Lee,
Eric Leonardson,
Fiona Linnane,
John Maycraft,
Mike McFerron,
David McIntire,
Dave Mooney,
David Morneau,
Damian O'Riain,
Diego Dall Osto,
Ken Paoli,
Giorgos Papamitrou,
Piotr Pawlik,
Jakub Piotr Polaczyk,
Christopher Preissing,
Karl Reinhard,
Scott Rubin,
Marilinda Santi,
Aurelio Scotto,
Alan Shockley,
Hsiao ShuJin,
Evagelia Siarvali,
Adam Sieverson,
Nahum-Hugh Smith,
David Jason Snow,
Ariane St-Louis,
Phil Taylor,
Luca Vanneschi,
Anna Veismane,
Robert Voisey,
Jane Wang,
Sander Roscoe Wolff,
Maximilian Yip,
Zachariah Walter Zubow, and
anonymous
When I first started studying composition, my teacher lectured to me about how to present my piece in person. I thought it was crazy that a composer should stand up and present his piece verbally to the audience. The piece should speak for itself… right?
Years later, after presenting hundreds of concerts I realize how right he was. I am still a big believer that your compositions should stand on their own and speak for themselves; however, that has nothing to do with presenting the work and connecting with the audience.
If you are fortunate, your work is being presented to a diverse audience that will most likely not have a frame of reference to the work you have written. The idea is to give the audience something to guide them in their listening experience. If you can do it in person that is very effective; otherwise, program notes is what you have for times when you can’t be present.
Some common rules to successful program notes: First explain the piece in one sentence in 15 words or less. It is always best to name the piece’s title at least once in italics and/or quotes. Most audiences want to know the inspiration for the piece or its topic; why the composer wrote the work.
Always manage your audiences’ expectations for a successful listening experience with basic indications of the work: length, dynamics, pace, instrumentation, etc.
For example – “Heavy Clouds” is a short soft duet for viola and voice that fades into nothing.
A couple of guidelines to note: 1-3 minutes is short; 4-9 minutes is average; 10-15 minutes is long; over 15 minutes is very long and best to start giving estimates of how long exactly; over 30 minutes or an hour you need to prepare the audience for the long haul. Composer’s who think 12 minutes works are short are not in sync with the world as we know it and the audience will know it if you advertise it in your notes.
Remember, program notes are opportunity to for the audience to bond with your work in a way that might not be able to do from a one time listen in a performance space. (You want to encourage them to listen to your piece again!) So do not “torture” your listener. Misdirection, inside jokes, cryptic explanations, and detailed compositional mechanics will most likely be lost on the audience even with the best intentions.
This is not to say you can’t explain yourself. (If you have the time.) I know many presentations of works will highlight a motif, or describe a particularly noticeable compositional technique which gives an audience the inside track of the working of the composition. The best presentations describe why the composer used it and what it symbolizes; however, long detailed analysis of ones own work usually ends in boring an audience, even if they are all students.
Again, program notes are a way for a listener to connect to your work. When people connect to the work they want to listen to it again. When they do, the piece will speak for itself.
60x60, Composer's Voice, and Fifteen Minutes of Fame take a little break for the holidays. Lots of shows coming up in January!!!
Like:
60x60 Dance in Montreal!!!
Composer's Voice presteing an International Concert in NYC featuring Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame: Jasmin Cowin, harp!
Music and performances by Bella Winds, Vladislav Boguinia, Yuri Boguinia, Fima Chupakhin, Jasmin Cowin, Bill Douglas, Kirsten Economy, Rachel Grasso, Mariam Machaidze, Claudia Montero Trevor Nuckols, Elisabeth Romano
Guest Curator: Jasmin Cowin!
Composer's Voice concert featuring Fifteen-MInutes-of-Fame: Parhelion Trio and music and performances by: Can Bilir; Greg Caffrey; Diego Campagna; Sarah Carrier; Andrea Christie; Steve Cohen; Stanichka Dimitrova; Crystal Gloria Medina; Nailah Nombeko; Noah Palmer; Ken Paoli; Milica Paranosic; Juan Maria Solare; and Linda Wetherill!
60x60 Dance is seeking choreographers and dancers of all styles and genres to participate in the upcoming 60x60 Dance event in Toronto on Sunday March 10 at 8 p.m.
http://www.60x60.com/calls/
The New-Music Consortium, University of South Florida School of Music’s student-run contemporary music organization, is pleased to announce its first ever New-Music Consortium International Call for Scores.
SOUND CONNECTIONS
The Bath Philharmonia announces
A COMPETITION for YOUNG COMPOSERS 2013-14
in honour of the Britten Centenary
• Three finalists, selected by Oliver Knussen, Colin Matthews and Joe Duddell, will have their compositions performed in a concert at Bath Abbey with the Bath Philharmonia on 12 October, 2013, and will receive a recording of their work for their archives*.
• The winning composition will be published by Schott Music, and will receive a second performance in 2014.
The Jack Stone Award for New Music will be awarded to one student who is currently enrolled full time at a community college within the United States. No age or citizenship restrictions apply. The recipient will receive $150, the second place winner will receive $100, and the runner up will receive $50.
That's Right - We're looking for new orchestra music
Deadline: March 1st - but may end early if we receive enough scores ahead of time.
TwtrSymphony is an orchestra dedicated to creating new orchestra music and getting it out to a world wide audience. We are looking to record our 1st CD in 2013. If you would like your music included on the CD, submit your score.
Applications must be submitted electronically by Friday, February 1, 2013
[Note: the online application form will be available starting November 1, 2012]
2013 Music Omi International Musicians Residency:
Thursday, July 18 – Sunday, August 4
Note: there is no fee to apply to or attend Music Omi, but invited fellows must supply their own travel (with the exception of Indian and Czech Republic sponsored fellowships, which do include a travel stipend).
The Choral Arts Laboratory is an annual commissioning and residency program, begun in 2003, which is designed to give American composers under the age of 35 the opportunity to work with the professional singers of Volti during the compositional process. The composer is invited not only to create a work for the ensemble, but to develop the composition in a workshop setting. The composer is then given more time to work out issues discovered during rehearsal with the singers, as well as during consultations with Artistic Director Robert Geary and Volti’s longtime Resident Composer, Mark Winges.
Maurice Ohana International Composition Competition 2013
Competition open to composers of any nationalities, without limit of age.
Each composer must submit a choral piece in three versions of increasing levels of difficulty.
1. An easy level for an amateur chorus (for a 20 to 40-strong mixed voice choir)
2. An intermediate level for a semi-professional chorus (for a 16 to 40-strong mixed voice choir)
3. An advanced level for a professional chorus (for a maximum of 12 mixed voices)
Competition for Student Composers
Award-winning Work to be Premiered in Summer of 2013
The Bowdoin International Music Festival is pleased to announce a competition for student
composers based in the United States of America who are under the age of 35. A prize of
$500.00 will be awarded to the winning composer. The selected work will be premiered at the
Bowdoin International Music Festival’s 2013 Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music.
The 2013 competition is for works written for solo (unaccompanied) violin.
Competition guidelines:
AMF INSTITUTE
Resident Artist Fellowship
Next Up » [Application Deadline] January 5, 2013
Overview
From its inception, the Atlantic Music Festival has established a unique tradition of nurturing young emerging artists through its fellowship program. Open to orchestral instrumentalists (see below), composers, conductors, pianists, and opera singers, fellows receive complete financial coverage of tuition, housing, and meals during the four weeks of residency.
International Summer and Winter University
FUBiS Music Composition Course 2013
The Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS) offers a special course in music composition. The program takes place during the first FUBiS summer term from May 25th to July 6th, 2013.
The Program
1. The course will consist of at least one private composition lesson per week taught by Professor Samuel Adler plus a three hour master class taught by other professional composers.
The [Switch~ Ensemble] invites the submission of works utilizing 5-12 performers and electronics. The winning composition will be premiered in May 2013, and later receive a recording session at the Eastman School of Music in Fall 2013. Although only one work will be selected for our 2012-13 season, other works will be considered for future performances.
