Today, Carnegie Hall extended its public closure through January 2021 in the interest of protecting the safety of its artists, audiences, and staff. Following extensive and continuing consultation with medical professionals, and, given current social distancing protocols, it was clear to Carnegie Hall that more time is required for health conditions to improve before they can welcome people back safely to their concert halls.
This closure includes American Composer Orchestra’s (ACO’s) November concert which was to feature the world premiere of new works by George Lewis and Jane Meenaghan plus NY premieres of Andrew Norman’s Begin and an ACO co-commission by Ellen Reid.
All these works, plus Mark Adamo’s new work Last Year: Concerto for Solo Violoncello with Harp, Piano, String Orchestra and percussion and Nina C. Young’s Out of whose womb came the ice (postponed when the crisis caused the cancellation of our April 2020 concert), will be reprogrammed at the very earliest opportunity. Audience members who purchased tickets for American Composers Orchestra’s November 5, 2020 concert should visit www.carnegiehall.org/Coronavirus-Information for updates and information about Carnegie Hall’s policies for what to do about purchased tickets.
As we work towards a new beginning for the music that we all love so much, ACO has been producing Connecting ACO Community (https://bit.ly/ACOConnect). Volume 3 will be announced in mid-July, including several appearances by ACO’s musicians. We are also working on additional online activities for our emerging composers and our dedicated supporters and listeners to be released throughout fall of 2020.
Finally, we remain hopeful that our April 2021 concert at Carnegie Hall, featuring the fabulous violinist Jennifer Koh with ACO, our ACO Readings for Emerging Composers in June 2021, and a special project to be announced soon will remain on our schedule. All these events are currently scheduled for late spring of next year, and we hope that circumstances will evolve enough by then to gather for a burst of spring creativity and celebration. In any case, we will continue to work on finding creative and dynamic ways to share the voices of American composers – and the performers who realize their vision – with all of you.
with
Derek Bermel Artistic Director, American Composers Orchestra David Hertzberg, Composer Alex Temple, Composer Ben Cadwallader Executive Director, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Derrick Spiva, Jr, Composer Kyu-Young Kim Artistic Director, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra PaviElle French, Composer Alecia Lawyer Founder & Artistic Director, ROCO Anthony DiLorenzo, Composer
Moderated by Edward Yim, President, American Composers Orchestra
As symphonic orchestras look ahead to performances that incorporate social distancing even onstage, American Composers Orchestra gathered representatives from three of the country’s leading chamber-size orchestras to shine a spotlight on contemporary chamber orchestra repertoire, in a free online discussion Thursday, June 18, 2020 from 1:30-2:30pm PT / 4:30-5:30pm ET. The event, moderated by ACO President Edward Yim, included Derek Bermel, Artistic Director, American Composers Orchestra; Ben Cadwallader, Executive Director, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Kyu-Young Kim, Artistic Director, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; and Alecia Lawyer, Founder & Artistic Director, ROCO.
Panelists presented works for chamber orchestra (maximum 50 players) that their orchestra commissioned, premiered, or championed, and five composers joined them in discussing their works.
About the Panelists:
Edward Yim, President, American Composers Orchestra (Moderator)
Edward Yim became President of American Composers Orchestra in 2017, following his role as vice president for artistic planning at the New York Philharmonic. As the senior staff director in charge of programming, he collaborated across the organization to create and maintain the organization’s artistic profile by initiating long-term project development, engaging guest conductors and soloists, and coordinating repertoire for a year-round schedule of concerts in New York, international touring, and media activities. Previously, Yim was senior vice president and director of the Conductor and Instrumentalists Division at IMG Artists and served as director of artistic planning for both New York City Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.
Derek Bermel, Artistic Director, American Composers Orchestra
Grammy-nominated composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been widely hailed for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Bermel is also Director of Copland House’s emerging composers institute Cultivate, served as Composer-in-Residence at the Mannes College of Music, and enjoyed a four-year tenure as artist-in-residence at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton. Bermel has become recognized as a dynamic and unconventional curator of concert series that spotlight the composer as performer. Alongside his international studies of ethnomusicology and orchestration, an ongoing engagement with other musical cultures has become part of the fabric and force of his compositional language, in which the human voice and its myriad inflections play a primary role. He has received commissions from the Pittsburgh, National, Saint Louis, and Pacific Symphonies, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, WNYC Radio, La Jolla Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, eighth blackbird, Guarneri String Quartet, Music from Copland House and Music from China, De Ereprijs (Netherlands), violinist Midori, and electric guitarist Wiek Hijmans among others. His many honors include the Alpert Award in the Arts, Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, American Music Center’s Trailblazer Award, and an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; commissions from the Koussevitzky and Fromm Foundations, Meet the Composer, and Cary Trust; and residencies at Yaddo, Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Bellagio, Copland House, Sacatar, and Civitella Ranieri.
Ben Cadwallader, Executive Director, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
A native of Pennsylvania, Ben Cadwallader has served in leadership positions at performing arts organizations throughout the country, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and the East Coast Chamber Orchestra. Prior to joining LACO, Cadwallader was Executive Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO). Under his leadership, VSO evolved to become a creative leader in Vermont’s arts community, increasing contributed revenue and growing audiences statewide. He helped create a constellation of collaborative, inclusive and innovative musical and educational musical experiences that have been proven popular with audiences and donors alike, bringing together an enthusiastic and growing fan base. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, where Ben served as Education Programs Manager and oversaw educational initiatives and managed the Composer Fellowship Program, he ushered the program through a period of remarkable growth, reinvention, and increased national visibility. Ben hired composer Andrew Norman as Program Director and composer Sarah Gibson as Teaching Artist and expanded LA Phil musician involvement in the program. During his tenure, the number of applications for the fellowship reached historic highs. With Norman and composer/conductor Christopher Rountree, he conceived, created and implemented the National Composers Intensive (NCI). He also oversaw the YOLA Neighborhood Project in-school residencies and expanded the program to include 15 partner schools, serving 6,200 students in grades K-5. As a strong believer in the importance of community involvement, Ben volunteered as a mentor with the King Street Center in Burlington, VT. He also served as volunteer oboe teacher for Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) and was a volunteer youth group facilitator for the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas. Ben holds a Bachelors of Music in Performance from Mannes College of Music.
Kyu-Young Kim, Artistic Director, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Artistic Director and Principal Violin of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kyu-Young Kim is one of the most versatile and accomplished musicians of his generation. His appointment as the SPCO’s Artistic Director in January 2016 marks the first time a playing member has been tapped to take the artistic helm of a major American orchestra. Previously, Kim served as Director of Artistic Planning with the SPCO while continuing to perform in the orchestra. Since assuming his dual role in 2013, the SPCO has named seven new Artistic Partners, opened its new Concert Hall at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts to great critical acclaim, toured throughout the U.S. and to Europe, and won a Grammy Award in 2018 for its disc of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Kim has also toured throughout the world as a founding member of the Daedalus Quartet with whom he won the Grand Prize at the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition and was a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two Program. As a former member of the Pacifica String Quartet, Mr. Kim won the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award. He has appeared as soloist with the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Poland and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. He has also served as guest concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and is an Emeritus Member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Alecia Lawyer, Founder & Artistic Director, ROCO
Named by Musical America as one of classical music’s Top 30 Influencers for 2015 and a Lorée oboe artist in 2019, Texas native Alecia Lawyer is the Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Oboist of ROCO, a professional music ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 musicians from across the US and Canada, including guest conductors from around the world. Expanding the repertoire, ROCO has commissioned and world premiered over 100 works from living composers. The group performs dozens of concerts annually in multiple venues throughout Houston, many of which are broadcast nationally and live streamed to the world. Known as “The Most Fun You Can Have with Serious Music!” ROCO has been called a trailblazer and arts disrupter and is leading the sector in innovation. Calling her business model “Wildcatting in the Arts,” Lawyer was named a finalist for Texas Musician of the Year (along with Willie Nelson) and was listed as one of Houston’s Top 50 Most Influential Women. She is a proud senior fellow of American Leadership Forum, a trustee for Episcopal High School, on the advisory board of Bright Sky Press, and a member of the Institute for Composer Diversity. She has received numerous awards, including the Gutsy Gal Award from Houston Woman Magazine and Sigma Alpha Iota Musician of the Year. She regularly presents her entrepreneurial model and dynamic ideas to conservatories, universities, and music festivals around the US, such as Juilliard, Yale, SMU, Round Top, and the Texas Music Festival, using ROCO as a case study for community-specific orchestra building. Business and social groups in the Greater Houston Area engage her to speak on numerous topics related to the creation, innovation, marketing, and development of the arts.
American Composers Orchestra Announces a new solo commissioning initiative in response to the COVID-19 crisis with online world premieres beginning Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5pm on Zoom
$5 tickets* available through Eventbrite
If the $5 entrance fee poses a barrier to participation, interested listeners will be asked to fill out an anonymous form at https://bit.ly/ACOConnectComp or email Aiden Feltkamp at aiden@americancomposers.org to request a fee waiver.
In response to the impacts of COVID-19 on composers and performers, American Composers Orchestra announces Connecting ACO Community, a new initiative to commission short works for solo instrument or voice. Each composer will receive $500 to write the work, and each performer will receive $500 to perform the work, with the rights to stream for six months.With this project, ACO aims to support artists who need financial assistance; to create new work that will live beyond this crisis; and provide virtual, interactive performances to ACO’s supporters and the general public.
Premieres of the new works will take place on a regular basis on Sundays at 5pm EST, beginning Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5pm EST with violinist Miranda Cuckson performing a new work by Ethan Iverson, hosted on Zoom. Ticketholders will receive a private link to join the performance, and all of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go solely to fund artists involved in this project. The composer, performer, and a host (ACO President Ed Yim or ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel, who is also donating his own performance to the project) will hold an online chat with attendees after the performance. The recorded session will be available within 24 hours after the performance on ACO’s website and social media platforms, as well as on MUSIC on the REBOUND: an online festival for participating in live events as well as a platform for streaming concerts.
Connecting ACO Community Composer-Performer Teams and Schedule of Events
FESTIVAL PASS (Volume 1): All 7 Events, April 19 – May 31, 2020 $35 Festival Pass | Buy Now
Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5pm: Ethan Iverson & Miranda Cuckson, violin $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 5pm: Shara Nova & Ahya Simone, harp $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 5pm: Vicente Hansen Atria & Jay Campbell, cello $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Sunday, May 10, 2020 at 5pm: Sakari Dixon Vanderveer & Derek Bermel, clarinet $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 5pm: Gity Razaz & Jennifer Koh, violin $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 5pm: Yuan-Chen Li & Jeffrey Zielger, cello $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 5pm: Carlos Simon & Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor and Brooklyn Youth Chorus $5 Tickets | Buy Now
Connecting ACO Community is funded with a lead gift from Augusta Gross and Leslie Samuels with additional gifts from Anonymous, Derek Bermel, Carlos Simon and Ed Yim.
Registration is open for our Sonic Spark Lab summer session. Classes run July 7-August 14.
This class is perfect for students with an interest in self-expression. It provides approaches for funneling creative energies into music and prepares students to more deeply explore the creative arts.
To get the most out of our classes, students should have some prior music experience, but there are no minimum requirements beyond enthusiasm!
This class is for:
MIDDLE SCHOOL aged students
Classes will meet:
via zoom
TUESDAYS and FRIDAYS
10:30-11:45am*
TUITION:
$125
Scholarships are available in cases of need. Look for the check box on the registration.
*if there is overflow, an additional class may be added at 1pm.
Dear members of American Composers Orchestra’s community:
George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Ahmaud Arbery. Nina Pop. These are only the most recent of too many tragic deaths as our country grapples with centuries of racism.
ACO reaffirms its solidarity with the Black members of our musical and national community. We also realize that our core values of diversity, empowerment, and creativity must be further strengthened with a pledge to fight racism within our own organization and the world of classical music.
Virulent racism spans centuries, and no single message of support and solidarity can do justice to the challenges that lie ahead. In the end, anti-racism is not a statement in an email or on social media. It is an ongoing conversation towards action; it’s work we must embrace every day, as individuals and as an organization.
ACO is committed to doing that work. We will do it through the artists we support. We will do it by finding and sharing resources about anti-racism and bias. And we will do it through seeking, welcoming and empowering all voices in all parts of our organization.
We begin by sharing work from artists whom we are honored to count as part of ACO’s community: bassoonist Monica Ellis and composers Carlos Simon, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Valerie Coleman. These artists are allowing us to offer their work as a way to reflect on the past and face the future. We also include information about colleague organizations that are leading the way towards a better future and educational resources recommended by our staff and colleagues.
The Artists Speak
A participant in ACO’s Emerging Composer Reading Sessions and the recipient of two ACO commissions, Carlos Simon wrote Elegy, which is part of his recording My Ancestor’s Gift.
He writes: This piece is an artistic reflection dedicated to those who have been murdered wrongfully by an oppressive power, namely Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
The stimulus for composing this piece was prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch’s announcement that a grand jury had decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson after the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The evocative nature of the piece draws on strong lyricism and a lush harmonic charter. A melodic idea is played in all the voices of the ensemble at some point of the piece either whole or fragmented. The recurring ominous motif represents the cry of those struck down unjustly in this country. While the predominant essence of the piece is sorrowful and contemplative, there are moments of extreme hope represented by bright consonant harmonies.
Virtuoso bassoonist Monica Ellis, a member of the famed Imani Winds, offered these observations and a performance as part of the #TakeTwoKnees movement spreading throughout our musical community.
For the beautiful Black boys in my life – For my 14-year-old nephew who is kind, gentle, a leader and sincerely woke but also already 6ft tall. From afar he looks older than his years and is therefore susceptible to police profiling, which terrifies me.
For my 11-year-old nephew who is talented, funny, fiercely loyal, loving and only 11 so what could possibly happen, right? But we remember #TamirRice who was snuffed out at only one year older than he.
And finally, for the love of my life, my 6-year-old son, who at this tender age knows no hate, only wants to love, play, be loved and live the best life he, and all Black people, are entitled to live.
I fear for my Black boys, but also must lift them up. May this world find its way to a better place for us all.
Composer and ACO Board Member Jonathan Bailey Holland created his chamber work Synchrony in 2015.
He writes: Synchrony is about duality on many levels, and in many ways: from the instrumentation and their possible combinations – oboe and bassoon, violin and cello, oboe and cello, violin and bassoon, etc.; to musical form and structure – call and response, imitation, repetition; to the external influences – black and white race relations, class relations within and between races, morality vs emotion, double standards of laws and socially accepted behavior, confronting symbols vs confronting ideology. While these issues pervade the news these days with an alarming frequency, I, as an African-American composer of classical music, live this duality every day.
Flutist and composer Valerie Coleman wrote her work Phenomenal Women on commission from American Composers Orchestra with Imani Winds as the soloists.
Coleman writes: The spirit and process behind the movements are informed by the efforts of phenomenal women who energize me through their transcendental efforts: the struggles that poet Maya Angelou faced in her life and her impact in the lives of women globally; how Olympic Gold medalist Boxer Claressa Shields grew up in Flint, a town ravaged by contaminated water; athlete Serena Williams’ ongoing perseverance on the tennis court to become one the greatest athletes of all time; Michelle Obama’s grace under pressure as the First Lady, mom and advocate for families and children; and the courage of immigrant mothers who have risked their lives to enter the United States and are fighting to reclaim their children. Phenomenal Women is about celebrating women’s efforts to overcome adversity, no matter who and where you are.
The piece has already been performed by the Atlanta Symphony, the Albany Symphony, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra since its premiere with ACO in 2018. Watch Valerie speak about the work in her own words: https://youtu.be/mM7HdxA384I
Write and call your local elected officials to ask how they are addressing systemic racism to ensure Black people do not suffer police brutality. https://www.usa.gov/local-governments
Thank you for being part of ACO’s community and joining us on the journey ahead.
Sincerely yours,
Derek Bermel, Artistic Director
George Manahan, Music Director
Sameera Troesch, Board Chair Elect
Frederick Wertheim, Board Chair
Ed Yim, President and CEO
American Composers Orchestra seeks to identify and celebrate emerging American composers through its EarShot program.
Drawing from a national network of partners, EarShot works with orchestras around the country to identify and support emerging orchestral composers. Orchestras have relied on EarShot to identify and connect with creative artists, and to advise the orchestra on commissions, competitions, and program design. Managed by American Composers Orchestra (ACO), EarShot is a partnership between ACO, League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum, and New Music USA. Over the past 10 years the program has initiated dozens of composer/orchestra/conductor relationships across the country offering opportunities to more than 100 composers. In 2016, ACO launched a composer archive of past EarShot compositions as a resource to the field.
This year, the Oregon Symphony EarShot readings participant composers will work closely with mentor composers consisting of established American composers (TBA), as well as a conductor chosen by Oregon Symphony.
In keeping with ACO’s commitment to customizing the EarShot residencies to the participating orchestra’s programming requests, Oregon Symphony will only select Hispanic and Latinx composers for their residency.
The Oregon Symphony and ACO are currently making this call for scores for readings to be held between September 22 and 24, 2020. Due to the current public health crisis, these readings may need to be postponed, but both organizations are committed to producing these readings with the selected participants at the earliest next opportunity. Appropriate decisions will be made in Summer 2020, with the artists’ well-being and the CDC’s most recent and applicable suggestions at the core of the decision to proceed or postpone.
There is no application fee. Travel and accommodations are provided, and composers will receive a recording of their work for archival and study purposes.
This program is for composers who have had fewer than 2 symphonic orchestra (35+ players) pieces performed by a professional symphony orchestra. (College and festival orchestra performances do not count toward the number of pieces “performed by a professional symphony orchestra.”)
U.S. applicants must be either a U.S. citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing, or studying full-time, in the United States. DACA status applicants are eligible to apply. Mexican, Canadian, Central American, and South American applicants must be a citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing or studying full-time in their respective country.
We seek composers of all backgrounds, including those whose gender identity, race, ethnicity, physical ability, neurodiversity, socio-economic status, and/or background has been historically or currently underrepresented in professional orchestral programming. Within that, Hispanic and Latinx composers will be chosen for this specific reading residency.
There are no age restrictions; applicants should be composers at the early stages of their professional orchestral careers.
Composers selected to participate in prior ACO EarShot, Underwood, or Whittaker New Music Reading Sessions are ineligible.
Previous Jazz Composers Orchestral Institute (JCOI) participants are eligible to apply.
Past applicants not previously selected are welcome to re-apply to EarShot and Underwood with a new score and a complete application, including all required background information. Only past applicants who have been sent an invitation may re-apply with the same score.
Application Instructions
Each composer may submit only one composition for consideration. Works that have been previously submitted to ACO for consideration may not be resubmitted, unless requested by ACO.
Works may not have been performed or read by a professional orchestra. If the work has been read by a professional orchestra, the work is eligible for submission only if it has undergone major revisions.
Compositions must be less than 15 minutes in length. A portion or movement from a longer work may also be considered, and the length of that segment is up to the discretion of ACO and the partner orchestra.
Instrumentation should not exceed the standard symphonic complement: winds at 3.3.3.3; brass at 4.3.3.1; harp, piano, timpani plus 3 percussion, and strings. Doublings allowed: piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon. If the submitted work does not meet this orchestration, composers should expect some re-orchestration will be requested if chosen.
Compositions may not include voice, MIDI, digital technology, amplification, and/or sound reinforcement. Concerto works are not eligible. Some fixed electronics and pre-recorded tapes are allowed.
Do not submit recordings.
The quality of the score submitted is the primary evaluation criterion. It is therefore in the applicant’s best interest that the score be clear, accurate, and the best representation of the composer’s work. The additional background and educational information is for eligibility and documentation purposes; these materials are not considered in the general review of scores.
Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
Composers selected are responsible for delivering professional-quality score and parts, but a printing stipend of $250 will be provided to offset costs. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Applicants must submit an electronic submission form, the orchestral score and resume. There is no application fee.
How to Apply
Before submitting an application, carefully review the eligibility & submission guidelines above. A complete submission must include the following:
A completed online submission form.
A pdf of the score clearly labeled with the composer’s name and title of the work on the cover page. Please include a full instrumentation list after the cover page.
There is no application fee.
The application process must be completed by 11:59 pm EST on May 19, 2020. Late submissions will not be considered.
Selection Process
All scores are read by a panel of 3 composers from varying backgrounds, demographics, and styles. The panelists rate the scores numerically on criteria such as originality, technical proficiency, and orchestration. A reduced number are sent to a second panel of 2-3 mentor composers and ACO’s Artistic Director, who in turn select a group of finalists. From these finalists, the orchestra’s conductor and other artistic personnel determine participants for the readings. All panels change with each call for scores.
If Selected
Composers will be notified via email by July 15, 2020 for the Oregon Symphony EarShot readings (and by August 12, 2020 for the National Symphony Orchestra EarShot readings).
Composers must be available and ready to attend reading sessions, feedback meetings and professional development workshops on the dates listed for the reading applied for. Necessary accommodations for physical disability and/or neurodiversity will be provided upon request.
Composers must provide professional, legible orchestral parts and scores prepared according to guidelines established by the Major Orchestral Librarians Association. Materials for the first reading session must be delivered no later than 45 days before the reading session for which they have been selected.
Composers agree to: submit photos and sound clips for web use and a short biography for media purposes; to participate in blogging and social media to be videotaped/recorded for archival and promotional purposes; and to have their music recorded for archival and study purposes.
Questions & Information
For application form and additional information visit: bit.ly/springearshot2020
For questions, please contact Aiden Feltkamp, Emerging Composers and Diversity Director: 212.977.8495 ext 252 or aiden@americancomposers.org
CONVOCATORIA PARA ENVÍO DE OBRAS
Sesiones de lecturas de obras contemporáneas para orquesta 23-24 de septiembre Sinfónica Oregon (Portland, OR, Estados Unidos)
Límite de recepción de obras: 19 de mayo, 2020 11:59pm EST (hora del Este de EU) Notificación de resultados a compositores: 15 de julio, 2020
Programa
American Composers Orchestra busca identificar y celebrar a los compositores estadounidenses emergentes a través de su programa EarShot.
A partir de una red nacional de asesores y defensores, EarShot trabaja con orquestas de todo el país para identificar y apoyar a compositores prometedores en las primeras etapas de sus carreras. Las orquestas han confiado en EarShot para identificar y conectarse con compositores consistentes con su visión artística, y para asesorar a la orquesta sobre las comisiones, concursos y diseño de programas. Administrado por la American Composers Orchestra (ACO), EarShot es una asociación entre ACO, League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum y New Music USA. En los últimos 10 años, EarShot ha iniciado docenas de relaciones compositor / orquesta / director en todo el país ofreciendo oportunidades a más de 100 compositores. En 2016, ACO lanzó un archivo de compositor de composiciones anteriores de EarShot ahora en el repertorio orquestal.
Este año, los compositores participantes de las lecturas de EarShot de la Sinfónica Oregon trabajarán en estrecha colaboración con los compositores mentores (que se anunciará).
De acuerdo con el compromiso de ACO de personalizar las residencias EarShot a las solicitudes de programación de la orquesta participante, Oregon Symphony solo seleccionará compositores hispanos y latinos para su residencia.
No hay tarifa de solicitud. Se proporcionan viajes y alojamiento, y los compositores recibirán una grabación de su trabajo para fines de archivo y estudio.
Requisitos
Este programa es para compositores que han tenido menos de 2 piezas de orquesta sinfónica (más de 35 jugadores) interpretadas por una orquesta sinfónica profesional. (No se aplican las presentaciones de orquesta en colegios y festivales).
Los solicitantes estadounidenses deben ser ciudadanos estadounidenses o no ciudadanos que residan legalmente y permanentemente, o que estudien a tiempo completo en los Estados Unidos. Los solicitantes mexicanos, canadienses, centroamericanos y sudamericanos deben ser ciudadanos o no ciudadanos que residan legalmente y permanentemente o estudien a tiempo completo en sus respectivos países.
Buscamos compositores de todos los orígenes, especialmente aquellos cuya identidad de género, raza, origen étnico, capacidad física, neurodiversidad, estatus socioeconómico y / o antecedentes ha sido históricamente o actualmente subrepresentada en la programación orquestal profesional.
No hay restricciones de edad; Los solicitantes deben ser compositores en las primeras etapas de sus carreras profesionales de orquesta.
Los compositores seleccionados para participar en las sesiones anteriores de ACO EarShot, Underwood o Whittaker New Music Reading no son elegibles.
Los participantes anteriores de JCOI son elegibles para postularse.
Los solicitantes anteriores no seleccionados previamente pueden volver a presentar una solicitud con una nueva puntuación y una solicitud completa, incluida toda la información de antecedentes requerida. Los solicitantes anteriores a quienes se les haya enviado una invitación pueden volver a presentar la solicitud con la misma puntuación.
Instrucciones para realizar la solicitud
Cada compositor puede presentar solo una composición para su consideración. Los trabajos que se hayan presentado previamente a ACO para su consideración no pueden volver a presentarse, a menos que ACO lo solicite.
Las obras pueden no haber sido interpretadas o leídas por una orquesta profesional. Si el trabajo ha sido leído por una orquesta profesional, el trabajo es elegible para su presentación si se ha sometido a revisiones importantes.
Las composiciones deben tener menos de 15 minutos de duración. También se puede considerar una porción o movimiento de un trabajo más largo.
La instrumentación no debe exceder el complemento sinfónico estándar: vientos a 3.3.3.3; latón en 4.3.3.1; arpa, piano, timbales más 3 percusiones y cuerdas. Se permiten doblajes: flautín, trompa inglesa, clarinete bajo y contrabajo. Si el trabajo presentado no cumple con esta orquestación, los compositores deben esperar que se solicite cierta reorganización si se elige.
Las composiciones no pueden incluir voz, electrónica, MIDI, tecnología digital, amplificación y / o refuerzo de sonido. Las obras de concierto no son elegibles.
No envíe grabaciones.
La calidad de la puntuación presentada es el criterio principal de evaluación. Por lo tanto, lo mejor para el solicitante es que la partitura sea clara, precisa y la mejor representación del trabajo del compositor. Los antecedentes adicionales y la información educativa son para propósitos de elegibilidad y documentación; estos materiales no se consideran en la revisión general de puntajes.
No se considerarán las solicitudes incompletas, ilegibles o tardías.
Los compositores seleccionados son responsables de entregar puntajes y piezas de calidad profesional. Se proporcionarán viajes y alojamiento.
Los solicitantes deben presentar un formulario de presentación electrónica, la partitura orquestal y el currículum. No hay tarifa de solicitud.
Cómo realizar la solicitud
Antes de enviar una solicitud, revise cuidadosamente las pautas de elegibilidad y envío anteriores. Una presentación completa debe incluir lo siguiente:
Un formulario de envío en línea completado.
Un pdf de la partitura claramente etiquetado con el nombre del compositor y el título de la obra en la portada. Incluya una lista completa de instrumentación después de la portada.
No hay tarifa de solicitud.
El proceso de solicitud debe completarse antes de las 11:59 p.m. EST del 19 de mayo de 2020. No se considerarán los envíos tardíos.
Si resulta seleccionado
Los compositores recibirán una notificación por correo electrónico antes del 12 de agosto de 2020 para las lecturas de EarShot de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (y antes del 15 de julio de 2020 para las lecturas de EarShot de Symphony de Oregón).
Los compositores deben estar disponibles y listos para asistir a sesiones de lectura, reuniones de retroalimentación y talleres de desarrollo profesional en las fechas indicadas para la lectura solicitada. Las adaptaciones necesarias para discapacidad física y / o neurodiversidad se proporcionarán a pedido.
Los compositores deben proporcionar partes orquestales profesionales y legibles y partituras preparadas de acuerdo con las pautas establecidas por la Asociación de Bibliotecarios Orquestales Mayores. Los materiales para la primera sesión de lectura deben entregarse a más tardar 45 días antes de la sesión de lectura para la cual han sido seleccionados.
Los compositores aceptan: enviar fotos y clips de sonido para uso web y una breve biografía para fines de medios; participar en blogs y redes sociales para grabar / grabar en video para fines de archivo y promoción; y para grabar su música con fines de archivo y estudio.
Para preguntas, comuníquese con Aiden Feltkamp, Directora de Diversidad y Compositores Emergentes: 212.977.8495 ext 252 o aiden@americancomposers.org
American Composers Orchestra seeks to identify and celebrate emerging American composers through its EarShot program.
Drawing from a national network of partners, EarShot works with orchestras around the country to identify and support emerging orchestral composers. Orchestras have relied on EarShot to identify and connect with creative artists, and to advise the orchestra on commissions, competitions, and program design. Managed by American Composers Orchestra (ACO), EarShot is a partnership between ACO, League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum, and New Music USA. Over the past 10 years the program has initiated dozens of composer/orchestra/conductor relationships across the country offering opportunities to more than 100 composers. In 2016, ACO launched a composer archive of past EarShot compositions as a resource to the field.
This year, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) EarShot readings participant composers will work closely with mentor composers Esa-Pekka Salonen, Derek Bermel, and Jessie Montgomery, as well as conductorsfrom Marin Alsop’s Graduate Conducting Program at Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute.
The NSO and ACO are currently making this call for scores for readings to be held on November 16 and 17, 2020. Due to the current public health crisis, these readings may need to be postponed, but both organizations are committed to producing these readings with the selected participants at the earliest next opportunity. Appropriate decisions will be made in Fall 2020, with the artists’ well-being and the CDC’s most recent and applicable suggestions at the core of the decision to proceed or postpone.
There is no application fee. Travel and accommodations are provided, and composers will receive a recording of their work for archival and study purposes.
This program is for composers who have had fewer than 2 symphonic orchestra (35+ players) pieces performed by a professional symphony orchestra. (College and festival orchestra performances do not count toward the number of pieces “performed by a professional symphony orchestra.”)
U.S. applicants must be either a U.S. citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing, or studying full-time, in the United States. DACA status applicants are eligible to apply. Mexican, Canadian, Central American, and South American applicants must be a citizen or non-citizen lawfully and permanently residing or studying full-time in their respective country.
We seek composers of all backgrounds, including those whose gender identity, race, ethnicity, physical ability, neurodiversity, socio-economic status, and/or background has been historically or currently underrepresented in professional orchestral programming.
There are no age restrictions; applicants should be composers at the early stages of their professional orchestral careers.
Composers selected to participate in prior ACO EarShot, Underwood, or Whittaker New Music Reading Sessions are ineligible.
Previous Jazz Composers Orchestral Institute (JCOI) participants are eligible to apply.
Past applicants not previously selected are welcome to re-apply to EarShot and Underwood with a new score and a complete application, including all required background information. Only past applicants who have been sent an invitation may re-apply with the same score.
Application Instructions
Each composer may submit only one composition for consideration. Works that have been previously submitted to ACO for consideration may not be resubmitted, unless requested by ACO.
Works may not have been performed or read by a professional orchestra. If the work has been read by a professional orchestra, the work is eligible for submission only if it has undergone major revisions.
Compositions must be less than 15 minutes in length. A portion or movement from a longer work may also be considered, and the length of that segment is up to the discretion of ACO and the partner orchestra.
Instrumentation should not exceed the standard symphonic complement: winds at 3.3.3.3; brass at 4.3.3.1; harp, piano, timpani plus 3 percussion, and strings. Doublings allowed: piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon. If the submitted work does not meet this orchestration, composers should expect some re-orchestration will be requested if chosen.
Compositions may not include voice, MIDI, digital technology, amplification, and/or sound reinforcement. Concerto works are not eligible. Some fixed electronics and pre-recorded tapes are allowed.
Do not submit recordings.
The quality of the score submitted is the primary evaluation criterion. It is therefore in the applicant’s best interest that the score be clear, accurate, and the best representation of the composer’s work. The additional background and educational information is for eligibility and documentation purposes; these materials are not considered in the general review of scores.
Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.
Composers selected are responsible for delivering professional-quality score and parts, but a printing stipend of $250 will be provided to offset costs. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Applicants must submit an electronic submission form, the orchestral score and resume. There is no application fee.
How to Apply
Before submitting an application, carefully review the eligibility & submission guidelines above. A complete submission must include the following:
A completed online submission form.
A pdf of the score clearly labeled with the composer’s name and title of the work on the cover page. Please include a full instrumentation list after the cover page.
There is no application fee.
The application process must be completed by 11:59 pm EST on May 19, 2020. Late submissions will not be considered.
Selection Process
All scores are read by a panel of 3 composers from varying backgrounds, demographics, and styles. The panelists rate the scores numerically on criteria such as originality, technical proficiency, and orchestration. A reduced number are sent to a second panel of 2-3 mentor composers and ACO’s Artistic Director, who in turn select a group of finalists. From these finalists, the orchestra’s conductor and other artistic personnel determine participants for the readings. All panels change with each call for scores.
If Selected
Composers will be notified via email by August 12, 2020 for the National Symphony Orchestra EarShot readings (and by July 15, 2020 for the Oregon Symphony EarShot readings).
Composers must be available and ready to attend reading sessions, feedback meetings and professional development workshops on the dates listed for the reading applied for. Necessary accommodations for physical disability and/or neurodiversity will be provided upon request.
Composers must provide professional, legible orchestral parts and scores prepared according to guidelines established by the Major Orchestral Librarians Association. Materials for the first reading session must be delivered no later than 45 days before the reading session for which they have been selected.
Composers agree to: submit photos and sound clips for web use and a short biography for media purposes; to participate in blogging and social media to be videotaped/recorded for archival and promotional purposes; and to have their music recorded for archival and study purposes.
Questions & Information
For application form and additional information visit: bit.ly/springearshot2020
For questions, please contact Aiden Feltkamp, Emerging Composers and Diversity Director: 212.977.8495 ext 252 or aiden@americancomposers.org
CONVOCATORIA PARA ENVÍO DE OBRAS
Sesiones de lecturas de obras contemporáneas para orquesta 16-17 de noviembre Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Washington D.C.)
Límite de recepción de obras: 19 de mayo, 2020 11:59pm EST (hora del Este de EU) Notificación de resultados a compositores: 12 de agosto, 2020
Programa
American Composers Orchestra busca identificar y celebrar a los compositores estadounidenses emergentes a través de su programa EarShot.
A partir de una red nacional de asesores y defensores, EarShot trabaja con orquestas de todo el país para identificar y apoyar a compositores prometedores en las primeras etapas de sus carreras. Las orquestas han confiado en EarShot para identificar y conectarse con compositores consistentes con su visión artística, y para asesorar a la orquesta sobre las comisiones, concursos y diseño de programas. Administrado por la American Composers Orchestra (ACO), EarShot es una asociación entre ACO, League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum y New Music USA. En los últimos 10 años, EarShot ha iniciado docenas de relaciones compositor / orquesta / director en todo el país ofreciendo oportunidades a más de 100 compositores. En 2016, ACO lanzó un archivo de compositor de composiciones anteriores de EarShot ahora en el repertorio orquestal.
Este año, los compositores participantes de las lecturas de EarShot de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional trabajarán en estrecha colaboración con los compositores mentores Esa-Pekka Salonen, Derek Bermel y Jessie Montgomery, así como los directores del Programa de Dirección de Graduados de Marin Alsop en el Instituto Johns Hopkins Peabody.
No hay tarifa de solicitud. Se proporcionan viajes y alojamiento, y los compositores recibirán una grabación de su trabajo para fines de archivo y estudio.
Requisitos
Este programa es para compositores que han tenido menos de 2 piezas de orquesta sinfónica (más de 35 jugadores) interpretadas por una orquesta sinfónica profesional. (No se aplican las presentaciones de orquesta en colegios y festivales).
Los solicitantes estadounidenses deben ser ciudadanos estadounidenses o no ciudadanos que residan legalmente y permanentemente, o que estudien a tiempo completo en los Estados Unidos. Los solicitantes mexicanos, canadienses, centroamericanos y sudamericanos deben ser ciudadanos o no ciudadanos que residan legalmente y permanentemente o estudien a tiempo completo en sus respectivos países.
Buscamos compositores de todos los orígenes, especialmente aquellos cuya identidad de género, raza, origen étnico, capacidad física, neurodiversidad, estatus socioeconómico y / o antecedentes ha sido históricamente o actualmente subrepresentada en la programación orquestal profesional.
No hay restricciones de edad; Los solicitantes deben ser compositores en las primeras etapas de sus carreras profesionales de orquesta.
Los compositores seleccionados para participar en las sesiones anteriores de ACO EarShot, Underwood o Whittaker New Music Reading no son elegibles.
Los participantes anteriores de JCOI son elegibles para postularse.
Los solicitantes anteriores no seleccionados previamente pueden volver a presentar una solicitud con una nueva puntuación y una solicitud completa, incluida toda la información de antecedentes requerida. Los solicitantes anteriores a quienes se les haya enviado una invitación pueden volver a presentar la solicitud con la misma puntuación.
Instrucciones para realizar la solicitud
Cada compositor puede presentar solo una composición para su consideración. Los trabajos que se hayan presentado previamente a ACO para su consideración no pueden volver a presentarse, a menos que ACO lo solicite.
Las obras pueden no haber sido interpretadas o leídas por una orquesta profesional. Si el trabajo ha sido leído por una orquesta profesional, el trabajo es elegible para su presentación si se ha sometido a revisiones importantes.
Las composiciones deben tener menos de 15 minutos de duración. También se puede considerar una porción o movimiento de un trabajo más largo.
La instrumentación no debe exceder el complemento sinfónico estándar: vientos a 3.3.3.3; latón en 4.3.3.1; arpa, piano, timbales más 3 percusiones y cuerdas. Se permiten doblajes: flautín, trompa inglesa, clarinete bajo y contrabajo. Si el trabajo presentado no cumple con esta orquestación, los compositores deben esperar que se solicite cierta reorganización si se elige.
Las composiciones no pueden incluir voz, electrónica, MIDI, tecnología digital, amplificación y / o refuerzo de sonido. Las obras de concierto no son elegibles.
No envíe grabaciones.
La calidad de la puntuación presentada es el criterio principal de evaluación. Por lo tanto, lo mejor para el solicitante es que la partitura sea clara, precisa y la mejor representación del trabajo del compositor. Los antecedentes adicionales y la información educativa son para propósitos de elegibilidad y documentación; estos materiales no se consideran en la revisión general de puntajes.
No se considerarán las solicitudes incompletas, ilegibles o tardías.
Los compositores seleccionados son responsables de entregar puntajes y piezas de calidad profesional. Se proporcionarán viajes y alojamiento.
Los solicitantes deben presentar un formulario de presentación electrónica, la partitura orquestal y el currículum. No hay tarifa de solicitud.
Cómo realizar la solicitud
Antes de enviar una solicitud, revise cuidadosamente las pautas de elegibilidad y envío anteriores. Una presentación completa debe incluir lo siguiente:
Un formulario de envío en línea completado.
Un pdf de la partitura claramente etiquetado con el nombre del compositor y el título de la obra en la portada. Incluya una lista completa de instrumentación después de la portada.
No hay tarifa de solicitud.
El proceso de solicitud debe completarse antes de las 11:59 p.m. EST del 19 de mayo de 2020. No se considerarán los envíos tardíos.
Si resulta seleccionado
Los compositores recibirán una notificación por correo electrónico antes del 12 de agosto de 2020 para las lecturas de EarShot de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (y antes del 15 de julio de 2020 para las lecturas de EarShot de Symphony de Oregón).
Los compositores deben estar disponibles y listos para asistir a sesiones de lectura, reuniones de retroalimentación y talleres de desarrollo profesional en las fechas indicadas para la lectura solicitada. Las adaptaciones necesarias para discapacidad física y / o neurodiversidad se proporcionarán a pedido.
Los compositores deben proporcionar partes orquestales profesionales y legibles y partituras preparadas de acuerdo con las pautas establecidas por la Asociación de Bibliotecarios Orquestales Mayores. Los materiales para la primera sesión de lectura deben entregarse a más tardar 45 días antes de la sesión de lectura para la cual han sido seleccionados.
Los compositores aceptan: enviar fotos y clips de sonido para uso web y una breve biografía para fines de medios; participar en blogs y redes sociales para grabar / grabar en video para fines de archivo y promoción; y para grabar su música con fines de archivo y estudio.
Para preguntas, comuníquese con Aiden Feltkamp, Directora de Diversidad y Compositores Emergentes: 212.977.8495 ext 252 o aiden@americancomposers.org
American Composers Orchestra (ACO) announces two commission awards for emerging composers Paul Novak and Dai Wei. They were chosen from six participants in ACO’s 29th Underwood New Music Readings, one of the most coveted opportunities for emerging composers in the United States. Paul Novak receives the2020 Underwood Commission while the CANOA(Composing a New Orchestra Audience)Consortium for Emerging Composers Commission goes to Dai Wei.
Amidst concerns of the spread of COVID-19, and at the request of the City College of New York, the Readings on March 12 and 13, 2020 were closed to the public and open only to orchestra musicians, composers, and staff. ACO President Ed Yim reflects, “We were, of course, gratified that ACO was able to complete this year’s Underwood New Music Readings just before this period of self-isolation had to begin. And now, to be able to look towards the future with this announcement – to a time when we can gather again and make music for audiences – is uplifting.”
Underwood Commission recipient Paul Novak will write a new work to be performed by ACO in a future season. Novak says, “I had a truly magical experience at the Underwood Readings; working with ACO as they brought six new works to life, I could sense their passion for and commitment to the music of our time. I’m so honored to have received this new commission, and I’m looking forward to collaborating again with this fantastic and forward-thinking ensemble!”
Mentor composer Melinda Wagner says, “We were all impressed with Paul Novak’s exquisitely constructed piece—the patient bloom of colors, skittering textures, and whimsical clouds of sound. I am very excited about Paul’s Underwood Commission, and I look forward to hearing his new work for ACO.”
The CANOA Consortium Commission for Emerging Composers was created as a way to involve more orchestras in supporting emerging composers and as a way to meet the challenge of going beyond the first performance of a work. By embedding repeat performances into the design of the commission (an opportunity rare for emerging composers), the CANOA Consortium Commission is funded with the generous support of Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.
“We love symphonic music,” said the Schlichtings. “CANOA was created to help sustain an art form we care very much about. It is based on the idea that bringing new compositions to the repertoire is essential to orchestral life. A key part of CANOA is to support programs that provide talented composers with better ways to develop their orchestral writing skills, and have their work performed. Which is exactly what the Consortium for Emerging Composers provides. We are thrilled to support Dai Wei and look forward to hearing what she creates.”
The consortium commission partners and performance season dates will be announced at a later time.
“Dai Wei’s music spoke in a clear and vibrant voice—with orchestral flair, drama, and a mystical lyricism entirely its own.”,” says ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel. Dai Wei states, “It felt so unreal to me the moment that I found out I received the commission. I am so fortunate to be part of this amazing program that embraces new music and gives opportunities to diverse composers.”
About the Selected Composers and Their Music
Paul Novak (b. 1998) – as the light begins to drift for chamber orchestra
Paul Novak writes music that is lyrical but fragmented, exploring the subtleties of instrumental color and drawing influence from literature, art, and poetry. Read More
He has received numerous national awards, most recently from the ASCAP/SCI Commission, Tribeca New Music, Webster University, and YoungArts Foundation, and has participated in festivals across the country, including the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of the United States Composer Apprenticeship. Novak has collaborated with ensembles including the Austin Symphony, Orlando Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, NYO-USA, the Amaranth and Rosco Quartets, Sō Percussion, Texas New Music Ensemble, NODUS Ensemble, MotoContrario Ensemble, Ensemble Ibis, Blackbox Collective, Face the Music, and Worcester Chamber Music Society; he has worked on interdisciplinary projects with Rice Dance Theatre, poets Ming Li Wu and Erica Cheung, and the Bowdoin Museum.
Originally from Reno, NV, Novak is an undergraduate student at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he has studied with Kurt Stallman, Pierre Jalbert, Anthony Brandt, and Karim Al-Zand. Upcoming projects in Spring 2020 include a commission from the Texas New Music Ensemble, a soprano/contrabass duo for LIGAMENT, and work for viola and ensemble for violist Sebastian Stefanovic. www.paulnovakmusic.com.
Of his piece as the light begins to drift, Novak writes, “As a student at Rice, I’ve become familiar with the unusual and beautiful cloud formations that appear in East Texas skies. as the light begins to drift was inspired by their subtle interplay of light and shadow and their flowing, hazy geometries. The work opens with a burst of swirling texture, with spiraling runs and swells entangling in a chaotic sound world. The brass interjects with jagged, syncopated hits as different instruments emerge from and then vanish into the ensemble. After a spiraling downward run, a plaintive English horn melody is accompanied by a canopy of string harmonics and trills. In the second section, crystalline percussion instruments merge with subtle orchestral textures. A clarinet solo leads into a pulsing triplet ostinato, which is passed throughout the ensemble, growing in intensity until it reaches a furious climax. The work closes gently with the return of the English horn, fading to nothing in a halo of shimmering sounds.”
Dai Wei (b. 1989) – Saṃsāric Dance
Dai Wei is originally from China. Her musical journey navigates in the spaces between east and west, classical and pop, electronic and acoustic, innovation and tradition. Read More
She often draws from eastern philosophy and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance and reflect an introspection on how multidimensional conflict and tension can create and inhabit worlds of their own. Her artistry is nourished by the Asian and Chinese Ethnic culture in many different ways. Being an experimental vocalist, she performs herself as a Khoomei throat singer in her recent compositions, which filter different experiences and backgrounds as a calling that transcends genre, race, and labels.
She recently served as Young Artist Composer-in-Residence at Music from Angel Fire and Composer Fellow at Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong. She has received commissions and collaborations with Utah Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Bang on a Can, Curtis 20/21 Ensemble, Merz Trio, and the Rock School of Ballet in Philadelphia. Her compositions were broadcast by WHYY, Performance Today, Radio Television Hong Kong, and Qinghai Television.
Wei is currently pursuing a doctorate in composition at Princeton University as a Naumburg Doctoral Fellow. She is working on a piece called Partial Men for string quartet, live electronics, and voice where she will perform with Aizuri String Quartet. The piece is dedicated to two deceased men who donated their kidneys to her mother, and to many other deceased organ donors who extended other people’s lives. www.daiweicomposer.com.
Of her piece Saṃsāric Dance, she writes, “The piece was inspired by a book I was reading called The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, which is written by Sogyal Rinpoche. He says, ‘The successive existences in a series of rebirths are not like the pearls in a pearl necklace, held together by a string, the “soul,” which passes through all the pearls; rather they are like dice piled one on top of the other. Each die is separate, but it supports the one above it, with which it is functionally connected. Between the dice there is no identity, but conditionality.’
The title comes from the Sanskrit word Samsara, which is defined as the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. There are three different characters who represent three different lifetimes. They are being reincarnated and intersected by each other and more. It’s like a musical hotpot filled with diverse ingredients, and diversity is something we have since day one in our history. At the end of the piece, the orchestra evolves into only one pitch which represents the oneness of everything. As if we can finally rest. And yet, another journey is just about to start.”
The Underwood New Music Readings and Commission are made possible with lead support from Mr. and Mrs. Paul Underwood.
The CANOA Consortium Commission for Emerging Composers is funded by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.
Additional support for ACO Readings comes from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Fromm Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and the League of American Orchestras with support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
American Composers Orchestra Announces Volume 2 of its solo commissioning initiative, created in response to the COVID-19 crisis, beginning Sunday, June 7, 2020.
$5 tickets* available through Eventbrite. (Fee waivers available)
Connecting ACO Community Volume 2 Composer-Performer Teams and Schedule of Events
FESTIVAL PASS (Volume 2): All 6 Events, June 7-July 19, 2020 $30 Festival Pass | Buy Now
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 5pm ET: Shara Nova & Ahya Simone, harp (register/buy tickets) Note: Ahya Simone was unable to appear during the originally scheduled premiere in Volume 1, during which Shara Nova premiered a version for voice and guitar. This installment features Simone performing a second premiere of the work When I Said Let a Change Come for harp.
Ticketholders will receive a private link to join the performance, and all of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go solely to fund artists involved in this project. If the $5 entrance fee poses a barrier to participation, interested listeners will be asked to fill out an anonymous form at https://bit.ly/ACOConnectComp or email Aiden Feltkamp at aiden@americancomposers.org to request a fee waiver.
In an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), Carnegie Hall has extended its public closure through Sunday, May 10, 2020. This includes ACO’s April 2 concert. For more information, see the full letter from ACO’s Leadership, click here.
Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 7:30 PM
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
57th St. and 7th Ave., NYC
ABOUT
The Natural Order features the world premieres of two new works commissioned by ACO that explore the complicated relationship between humankind and the natural world – MarkAdamo’s Last Year: Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra and Nina C. Young’s Out of whose womb came the ice. John Luther Adams’ Become River, previously announced, will be replaced on the program with SilvestreRevueltas’ Colorines.
FEATURED ARTISTS American Composers Orchestra
George Manahan, music director and conductor
Jeffrey Zeigler, cello
David Tinervia, baritone
R. Luke DuBois, projection designer
THE WORKS
COLORINES (1932)
A symphonic poem for chamber orchestra by Silvestre Revueltas.
<<MORE INFO>>
Inspired by the Colorín, or Coral Tree, the score of Colorines, “not only evokes the deep color that the trees of this name give to the landscape, but also the feelings of the women wearing necklaces made of the red and black fruit of this tree, or of children playing with them” (Musical Quarterly, 1941).
LAST YEAR(World Premiere; ACO Commission) Cello Concerto by Mark Adamo, written for Jeffrey Zeigler and ACO.
<<IN THE COMPOSER'S OWN WORDS>>
I was brainstorming with the protean cellist Jeff Zeigler about our long-dreamt concerto right about the time I listened—for the first time in a while—to a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in which my spouse’s father – as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic – played the solo part under Leonard Bernstein. I was struck, not only by the beauty of the playing, but by the vigor and color of the composition—and by the innocence of its portraits. As soon as I finished listening to the concerti, I watched on the news how Hurricane Harvey—yet another in a series of once-in-a-lifetime storms that now seem to arrive every year—had just inundated the city of Houston. I turned to my spouse and, thinking of the Vivaldi, I thought, “there’s no way you could compose that piece today, could you?”
Last Year is my attempt to answer that question: not in four separate concerti, but in a single four-movement concerto for cello and an orchestra of strings, harp, piano and percussion not dissimilar in forces from Vivaldi’s own. While the score has no overt program, certain events and images shadow it. The nervous, fugitive scherzo of my Autumn is haunted by the memory of Eunice Foote, the first scientist to present proof of greenhouse gases, and first scientist to be dismissed and denied for such proof. Winter stands in awe before Le Triangle Noir, three municipalities in Canada rendered glittering and lethal by an ice-storm of historic dimension that killed 35 people in 1998. Spring: Zephaniah 1:15-16 signals here a rebirth not of hope, but alarm: two ancient musical tropes are joined in contrapuntal battle in the emotional nadir of the concerto. And Summer: for Julia, b. 2046 imagines whatwe could say to someone born into a world of danger—and, perhaps, hope—that now we can only imagine. -Mark Adamo
OUT OF WHOSE WOMB CAME THE ICE (World Premiere of expanded version; ACO Commission) A sonic and visual glimpse of a segment of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-17) by composer Nina C. Young with original text by Young and David Tinervia.
<<READ MORE ABOUT THE WORK>>
In August 1914, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton gathered a crew of 27 men and set sail for the South Atlantic. They were in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize of the Heroic Age of Exploration: to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent by foot. Upon entering the Weddell Sea, they encountered unusually foul weather. Weaving south, their ship, the Endurance, became trapped only 85 miles from their destination. After months of waiting for the ice to break, the ship was crushed and sank, leaving the crew stranded upon the ice floes. In pursuit of survival, Shackleton and his crew endured 22 months traversing ice floes up the Antarctic Peninsula. The final leg included a deadly 800-mile open boat journey in their lifeboat, in hopes of reaching South Georgia Island. The crew was rescued on August 30, 1916; everyone survived. Though the expedition failed, it remains one of the most miraculous stories of polar exploration and human survival.
Out of whose womb came the ice looks at the expedition from the time they enter the Weddell Sea to the sinking of the Endurance. The visuals and electronics offer narrative elements drawn directly from documents of the journey: journal entries of the crew and images by expedition’s official photographer Frank Hurley.
Original Text written by Nina C. Young and David Tinervia – for the full text, visit bit.ly/ACOParables
FEATURED ARTISTS
Jeffrey Zeigler is one of the most innovative and versatile cellists of our time. He has been described as “fiery”, and a player who performs “with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone” by the New York Times. Acclaimed for his independent streak, Zeigler has commissioned over three dozen works, and is admired as a potent collaborator and unique improviser. Mr. Zeigler has released dozens of recordings for Nonesuch Records, Deutsche Grammophon, Cantaloupe and Smithsonian Folkways and has appeared with Norah Jones on her album Not Too Late on Blue Note Records. Zeigler can also be heard on the film soundtrack for Paolo Sorrentino’s Academy Award winning film, La Grande Bellezza, as well as Clint Mansell’s Golden Globe nominated soundtrack to the Darren Aronofsky film, The Fountain. Zeigler can also be seen making an onscreen cameo in Season 4 of the Amazon Prime’s Golden Globe Award winning series Mozart in the Jungle. <<KEEP READING>>
Zeigler’s multifaceted career has led to collaborations and tours with a wide array of artists from Yo-Yo Ma and Roomful of Teeth to Tanya Tagaq and Hauschka, and from Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson to John Zorn.
When he is not performing new works for cello, Zeigler is the Label Director of National Sawdust Tracks, the non-profit, in-house record label and recording studio of National Sawdust, an artist-led, multidisciplinary new music venue in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Jeffrey Zeigler was the cellist of the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet for eight seasons. During his tenure, Zeigler had the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of luminaries from Henryk Gorecki and Noam Chomsky to Steve Reich and Tom Waits. Zeigler is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize, the Polar Music Prize, the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recorded Arts, the Chamber Music America Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award and The Asia Society’s Cultural Achievement Award. Zeigler is the Co-Chair of the String Department and on the Cello Faculty at Mannes School for Music.
Baritone David Tinervia has performed as a soloist throughout the United States and Canada. He made his American Composers Orchestra debut in 2017 singing the world premiere of Nina C. Young’s Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice (Part I), noted by The New York Times in “This Week’s 8 Best Classical Music Moments.” Since then he has deepened his commitment to contemporary vocal repertoire working closely with composer John Harbison in Boston, most recently as the baritone soloist in Harbison’s Fifth Symphony with Emmanuel Music. Later this season at Emmanuel Music, Mr. Tinervia will sing as a soloist in Harbison’s Supper at Eammaus, conducted by the composer himself, as well as a world premiere with Harbison at the piano in honor of his 80th birthday. Mr. Tinervia is also a featured soloist on the commercial recording of James Kallembach’s The Most Sacred Body with Music at Marsh Chapel. <<KEEP READING>>
A two-time fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, Mr. Tinervia made his debut as The Traveler in Britten’s Curlew River in collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group. Since then, he has sung a wide variety of early, contemporary and operatic repertoire with many of the region’s finest ensembles, including Boston’s Handel + Haydn Society, Emmanuel Music, Boston Baroque, Arcadia Players, Music at Marsh Chapel, Ballet Opera Pantomime in Montreal and Ensemble Caprice. In 2016, he became a winner of the Boston District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Mr. Tinervia holds bachelor and master’s degrees in music from McGill University in Montreal where he studied under the late Sanford Sylvan. He currently studies with Benjamin Luxon in Western Massachusetts. While committed to his career in music, he is also actively pursuing studies in premedical science at the Harvard Extension School.
R. Luke DuBois is a composer, artist, and performer who explores the temporal, verbal, and visual structures of cultural and personal ephemera. He holds a doctorate in music composition from Columbia University, and has lectured and taught worldwide on interactive sound and video performance. He has collaborated on interactive performance, installation, and music production work with many artists and organizations including Toni Dove, Todd Reynolds, Chris Mann, Bora Yoon, Michael Joaquin Grey, Matthew Ritchie, Elliott Sharp, Michael Gordon, Maya Lin, Bang on a Can, Engine 27, Harvestworks, and LEMUR, and was the director of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra for its 2007 season. Stemming from his investigations of “time-lapse phonography,” his work is a sonic and encyclopedic relative to time-lapse photography. Just as a long camera exposure fuses motion into a single image, his projects reveal the average sonority, visual language, and vocabulary in music, film, text, or cultural information.
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An active visual and musical collaborator, DuBois is the co-author of Jitter, a software suite for the real-time manipulation of matrix data developed by San Francisco-based software company Cycling’74. He appears on nearly twenty-five albums both individually and as part of the avant-garde electronic group The Freight Elevator Quartet. He currently performs as part of Bioluminescence, a duo with vocalist Lesley Flanigan that explores the modality of the human voice, and in Fair Use, a trio with Zach Layton and Matthew Ostrowski, that looks at our accelerating culture through electronic performance and remixing of cinema. DuBois has lived for the last twenty-five years in New York City. He is the director of the Brooklyn Experimental Media Center at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and is on the Board of Directors of the ISSUE Project Room and Eyebeam. His records are available on Caipirinha/Sire, Liquid Sky, C74, and Cantaloupe Music. His artwork is represented by bitforms gallery in New York City.
THE COMPOSERS
Silvestre Revueltas was born in 1899 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Mexico, and died in 1940 in Mexico City. A composer, teacher, and violinist, he was best known for his colorfully orchestrated music of distinctive rhythmic vitality. Revueltas studied violin and composition in Mexico City from 1913 to 1916. He studied at St. Edward College in Austin, Texas, from 1916 to 1918, and at the Chicago Musical College from 1918 to 1920. Revueltas conducted an orchestra in Mobile, Alabama, in 1928, and in the following year he became assistant conductor of the Mexico Symphony Orchestra, a position he held until 1935. In his compositions, Revueltas suggested folk derivations without quoting actual Mexican folk songs. His major works are symphonic poems on Mexican subjects, such as Sensemayá (1938; based on a poem by Nicolás Guillén), but he also wrote chamber music (String Quartets Nos. 1–4, 1930–32), songs, and film scores (Redes, 1935, and La noche de los Mayas, 1939).
American composer-librettist Mark Adamo first attracted national attention with the libretto and score to his uniquely successful début opera, Little Women, after the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Introduced by Houston Grand Opera in 1998 and revived there in 2000, Little Women has since enjoyed over 100 national and international engagements in cities ranging from New York to Minneapolis, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, Adelaide, Mexico City, Tokyo, and the recent European premiere in Belgium (2009) and Canadian premiere in 2010 in Calgary and Banff. It is one of the most frequently performed North American operas of the last two decades. Comparable acclaim greeted the premiere of Lysistrata, or the Nude Goddess, adapted from Aristophanes’ comedy but including elements from Sophocles’ Antigone.. His third full-length opera, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was commissioned and introduced by San Francisco Opera in June 2013. <<KEEP READING>>
His latest opera, Becoming Santa Claus, was released on DVD/Blu-Ray in September 2017. It was commissioned and introduced by Dallas Opera in December 2015. Adamo’s first concerto, Four Angels: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and introduced in June 2007. It was subsequently performed by Utah Symphony in 2011 and the Thailand International Contemporary Music Festival in July 2016. Naxos released Adamo’s dramatic orchestral song cycle Late Victorians in 2009 on an all-Adamo CD which also features Alcott Music, from Little Women, for strings, harp, celesta, and percussion; Regina Coeli, an arrangement of the slow movement of Four Angels for harp and strings alone; and the four-minute Overture to Lysistrata for medium orchestra, performed by Eclipse Chamber Orchestra.
The music of New York-based composer Nina C. Young (b.1984) is characterized by an acute sensitivity to tone color, manifested in aural images of vibrant, arresting immediacy. Her experience in the electronic music studio informs her acoustic work, which takes as its given not melody and harmony, but sound itself, continuously metamorphosing from one state to another. Her musical voice draws from elements of the classical canon, modernism, spectralism, American experimentalism, minimalism, electronic music, and popular idioms. Her projects strive to create unique sonic environments that can be appreciated by a wide variety of audiences while challenging stylistic boundaries, auditory perception, and notions of temporality. Young’s works have been presented by the National Gallery, the Whitney Museum, LA Phil’s Next on Grand, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series. Her music has garnered international acclaim through performances by American Composers Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, Either/Or, the JACK Quartet, mise-en, wild Up, and Yarn/Wire. <<KEEP READING>>
Winner of the 2015-16 Rome Prize at the American Academy in Rome, Young has also received a Koussevitzky Commission, a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Salvatore Martirano Memorial Award, Aspen Music Festival’s Jacob Druckman Prize, and honors from BMI, IAWM, and ASCAP/SEAMUS. Recent commissions include a violin concerto for Jennifer Koh from the Philadelphia Orchestra and a new work for the American Brass Quintet and EMPAC’s wavefield synthesis audio system. A graduate of McGill University and MIT, Young completed her DMA at Columbia University. She is an Assistant Professor of Composition at USC, and Co-Artistic Director of New York’s Ensemble Échappé.
The commission and world premiere performance of Mark Adamo’s Last Year is made possible with lead funding from Susan W. Rose Fund for Music, with additional support from ACO’s 2020 Commission Club.
The commission and world premiere of Nina C. Young’s Out of whose womb came the ice is generously supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Photos, clockwise from top left: Patricia Martínez, Marco-Adrián Ramos (credit Nancy Pop), José G. Martínez R., Diana M. Rodriguez Aguilar (credit Vicky D’Incecco)
The EarShot Readings with Houston Symphony scheduled to take place in Houston, TX on May 5-7, 2020 have been postponed. In response to recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations, the Houston Symphony announced that it is extending its concert cancelations, canceling all remaining concerts and community activities through May 10, 2020 in order to protect the health of audiences, orchestra and chorus members, and staff.
The readings of all four pieces will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity, as part of a future Houston Symphony season.
Program American Composers Orchestra seeks to identify and celebrate emerging American composers through its EarShot program.
Drawing from a national network of advisors and advocates, EarShot works with orchestras around the country to identify and support promising composers in the early stages of their careers. Orchestras have relied on EarShot to identify and connect with composers consistent with their artistic vision, and to advise the orchestra on commissions, competitions, and program design. Managed by the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), EarShot is a partnership between the ACO, League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum, and New Music USA. Over the past 10 years EarShot has initiated dozens of composer/orchestra/conductor relationships across the country offering opportunities to more than 100 composers. In 2016, ACO launched a composer archive of past EarShot compositions now in the orchestral repertoire.
In keeping with ACO’s commitment to customizing the EarShot residencies to the participating orchestra’s programming requests, Houston Symphony will only select Hispanic and Latinx composers for their residency.
The Houston Symphony participant composers will work closely with mentor composers Derek Bermel, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Jimmy López, and conductor Christopher Rountree.
Featuring composers: José G. Martínez R., En El Otro Lado/On the Other Side Patricia Martínez, PHOSPHORUS Marco-Adrián Ramos, Rehén de tus labios, o Escena de telenovela Diana M. Rodriguez Aguilar, Mudai
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
57th St. and 7th Ave., NYC
ABOUT
Violinist Jennifer Koh’s ongoing exploration of “The New American Concerto” provides the impetus for works by Christopher Cerrone and Lisa Bielawa. Koh’s initiative encourages composers to engage with the issues of the day and respond to them with a violin concerto. Cerrone’s “Breaks and Breaks” features intense dialogues between solo violin and orchestra as they comment on current affairs. Bielawa’s work meditates on the word sanctuary and its significance in the American consciousness. It’s also a deeply personal work with moving quotations of Chopin and Bach—music where Bielawa finds her own sanctuary.
Subscriptions now available. Single tickets available Wednesday August 19, 2020 at 8am.
FEATURED ARTISTS American Composers Orchestra George Manahan, music director and conductor Jennifer Koh, violin
THE WORKS CHRIS CERRONE: Breaks and Breaks (New York premiere) CARLOS BANDERA: new work (World premiere and Underwood commission winner 2018) LISA BIELAWA: Sanctuary (New York premiere, co-commission with Carnegie Hall, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Orlando Philharmonic)
The commission and world premiere performance of the new work by Carlos Bandera is made possible with lead funding from Mr. and Mrs. Paul Underwood.
With special permission from the American Federation of Musicians and the musicians of ACO, we are able to offer this on-demand video stream of the 2020 Underwood Readings which includes six new works by six remarkable composers:
Christian Quiñones, Trigueño o moreno
Paul Novak, as the light begins to drift
Keane Southard, Symphony No. 2 – Movement I
Gity Razaz, And the brightest rivers glide…
Anthony R. Green, Peace Till We Meet Again
Dai Wei, Saṃsāric Dance
This on-demand stream of the 2020 Underwood Readings will be available for a period of seven days from Wednesday, March 25, 2020 through Tuesday, March 31, 2020. This link is private and provided exclusively to ACO’s donors, email subscribers and those who registered to attend the Readings in person. In support of our musicians and in agreement with the American Federation of Musicians, we cannot post the link publicly.
Once you have access, please do not post this link publicly or share with others. Instead, encourage them to sign-up for ACO’s list so we can send it to them directly.
Read more about this year’s participants, their works and the composer mentors in the program book, available by PDF here.
Later this week, ACO will announce the winner of the $15,000 Underwood Commission. Follow us on social media to get the latest updates. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
In an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), Carnegie Hall has extended its public closure through Sunday, May 10, 2020. This includes ACO’s April 2 concert.
While we are unable to present this concert as originally planned, the world premieres of Mark Adamo’s new work Last Year and Nina C. Young’s Out of whose womb came the ice will be rescheduled at the very soonest opportunity.
Stay tuned for videos of our recent Underwood New Music Readings (which were closed to the public at the request of our venue). If you would like to be notified when they are available, please sign up for our email list, or follow ACO on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
For more information, see the full letter from ACO’s Leadership, click here.
Amidst concerns of the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and at the request of the City College of New York, American Composers Orchestra has decided to limit this year’s 29th Annual Underwood New Music Readings on March 12 and 13, 2020 to orchestra musicians, composers, and staff.
ACO will move forward with the mentorship, rehearsals, and read through for the participants. The six emerging composers will still hear their works played by ACO’s musicians and receive feedback from music director and conductor George Manahan, artistic director Derek Bermel, and mentor composer Melinda Wagner.
Refunds will be issued to those who have purchased tickets to the events. More information:
To read about ACO and the participant composers for this year’s Underwood Readings, read the Underwood New Music Readings Program Book online by clicking here.
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