About the Jazz Composer Orchestra Institute

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) and The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, in cooperation with the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University, presents the third Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (JCOI) in 2015-16. The program commenced August 8-13, 2015 with a Summer Intensive at The Herb Alpert School at UCLA. A second phase of the program includes Orchestral Readings of new music by select participants in spring-fall of 2016.

JCOI brings together jazz composers at various stages in their careers chosen from a national pool of applicants, to explore the challenges of writing for the symphony orchestra. Composers working in jazz, improvised, and creative music will be selected based on their excellent musicianship, originality, and potential for future growth in orchestral composition.

JCOI is a new development in the jazz field. While many jazz composers seek to write for the symphony orchestra, opportunities for hands-on experience are few. JCOI aims to provide new resources for both jazz and classical music, promoting the emergence of composers trained in both jazz and new orchestral techniques. Participants in JCOI will study with leading composers, conductors and performers in a curriculum designed and led by James Newton (JCOI Director; University of California, Los Angeles), Derek Bermel (Artistic Director, ACO), Anthony Davis (University of California, San Diego), Gabriela Lena Frank (composer in residence, Houston Symphony), Anthony Cheung (composer), Vincent Mendoza (composer/arranger) Steve Coleman (saxophonist/composer/MacArthur Fellow), and Christopher Rountree (conductor). Wild UP! is ensemble-in-residence.

The two phases of JCOI are described below. Participation in Phase 1 is required as a prerequisite to be considered for the Phase 2.

Jazz and the Future of the Symphony Orchestra
by Howard Mandel

PHASE 1: SUMMER INTENSIVE
August 8-13, 2015. UCLA, Herb Alpert School of Music
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, April 30, 2015

A series of workshops and seminars will include the study of scores and compositional techniques, including electronics; best practices regarding orchestration, instrumentation, notation, score preparation, performance practice, and practical work with crucial orchestral instruments, such as the string family. Other important topics include the culture of working with a symphony, dealing with a conductor as a collaborator, and techniques for structuring improvisation within the orchestral context. Students will receive live demonstrations of instrumental techniques from wildUp, a resident chamber ensemble known nationally for its performances of new music that often embraces improvisation and cutting-edge new music techniques.

Tuition for Summer Intensive is $500 per participant, which includes daily continental breakfast and lunch. Participants are responsible for their own travel and housing arrangements; a list of recommended accommodations will be provided to those accepted, including UCLA dormitories available at reasonable rates. There is no application fee.

Eligibility and Guidelines

• Applicant must be either a U.S. or Canadian citizen or a non-citizen, lawfully and permanently residing or studying full-time in the United States.
• There are no age restrictions on participation.
• Previous experience composing orchestral music is not required, but applicants must demonstrate a strong desire to compose for symphony orchestra and the capacity and interest to engage in intensive study of the details and complexity of orchestral music, as a way to expand their own creative possibilities.
• Composers who have participated in prior ACO New Music Readings or previous JCOI Intensives are ineligible to apply for the 2015 JCOI Intensive. (Previous JCOI participants are eligible to apply for the Phase 2 JCOI Readings.)
• The online application must be submitted no later than Friday, April 30, 2015.
• There is no application fee.
• Incomplete, illegible, or late applications will not be considered.

How to Apply

Before submitting an application, carefully review the eligibility & submission guidelines and the requirements below. A complete submission must include the following:

• A completed online submission form.
• One original score composed within the last four years (any instrumentation, aesthetic, or style), clearly labeled with the composer’s name and title of the work on the cover page. Upload the score in PDF format with this online application. The score need not be orchestral, but scores that demonstrate the applicant’s ability to clearly express her/his musical intentions in notation, and display an understanding of the complexities of instrumentation in larger ensembles are recommended.
• Two audio examples of the composer’s original work, composed within the last four years (any instrumentation, aesthetic, or style). The recording need not be of the submitted score, and may also feature the composer’s work as a performer, improviser, and/or band leader, etc. Work samples need not include orchestral music. Each example should not exceed 5 minutes in length. Upload in MP3 audio format with this application.
• A current resume including educational background, major teachers, awards, and professional affiliations. Upload resume in PDF format with this online application.
• A personal statement addressing the applicant’s goals as a composer and how participation in the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute might impact future creative directions. Previous hands-on orchestral experience is not expected, but applicants should address how increasing their skills, knowledge and experience with orchestral instruments and composition will affect the creative output. Upload in PDF format with the online application.
• One letter of recommendation from an established composer, performer, improviser, or other music professional, attesting to the applicant’s accomplishments and potential as an orchestral composer. Upload in PDF format with this application. If you prefer, a printed copy of the the recommendation may be sent under separate cover to:

Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute
American Composers Orchestra
244 West 54th Street, Suite 805
New York, NY 10019

For questions or further information:
call: 212-977-8495 ext. 202
email: jcoi@americancomposers.org

PHASE 2: NEW MUSIC READINGS
Spring – Fall, 2016

Upon completion of the Summer Intensive, each participant will be eligible to apply for inclusion in the Institute’s second phase, the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute New Music Readings, to be held spring – fall, 2016. Up to 16 composers selected for participation in this second phase will each compose an original work for orchestra during the intervening months between the two phases.

During the JCOI Readings, the new works will be heard in rehearsal, open public readings, and a public performance. Composers will receive coaching from mentor composers and a professional music copyist/engraver during the period they are writing their pieces; and feedback from orchestra principal musicians, conductors, librarians, and mentor composers during the Readings. Each composer will also receive a professional digital audio recording of their new piece for archival and study purposes. Each composer participating in the Readings will receive a $500 honorarium to assist with the copying and preparation of score and parts, as well as domestic travel and lodging to attend the Reading of their work.

Orchestras participating in the Phase 2 Readings are members of EarShot, the National Orchestral Composition Discovery Network, a program of American Composers Orchestra in partnership with American Composers Forum, The League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. Past orchestras participating in JCOI have included American Composers Orchestra, the La Jolla Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic.

About American Composers Orchestra

About the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

With its three outstanding departments of Ethnomusicology, Music and Musicology, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music aspires to educate the whole student through productive collaborations between performance and scholarship, a cross-cultural, global understanding of the art of music, and preparatory training for a broad range of careers in music after graduation. Public concerts, lectures, symposia, master classes, and musical theater and opera productions, are a hallmark of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Each department hosts a calendar of events open to the entire community, enriching the lives of both those on stage and those in the audience, and contributing to the quality of life in the city and beyond. The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music was formed in 2007, with the support of a $30 million endowment from the Herb Alpert Foundation, made possible through the generosity of the renowned performer, producer and philanthropist Herb Alpert and his wife Lani Hall Alpert.
www.schoolofmusic.ucla.edu

About Columbia University Center for Jazz Studies

At the Center for Jazz Studies, jazz becomes a music without borders that provides new models for innovative teaching and scholarly inquiry in the arts, humanities, and sciences. Our themes of internationalization, technology and community encourage excellence in research, in the teaching of music and culture, and in the presentaion of public events. The Center views the interdisciplinary expansion of the intellectual conversation surrounding jazz, and especially its lifeblood practice, improvisation, as tracing a path toward the development of new knowledge that illuminates the human condition.

About EarShot