Interchanging Idioms

Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, has been invited to perform for the very first time at one of the world’s most prestigious venues, Carnegie Hall in New York City, in honor of one of today’s leading composers, Philip Glass. Joining them will be Pacific Chorale, also appearing at Carnegie Hall for the first time. One of America’s most revered composers, Glass is Carnegie Hall’s 2017-18 composer-in-residence, where he holds the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair. With this season-long residency by Glass, Carnegie joined a yearlong celebration of the composer’s 80th birthday, presenting performances that feature his classics and premieres. As part of the residency, orchestras from across the United States were invited to submit programs featuring important works by Glass in illuminating contexts. Pacific Symphony and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra were the two orchestras chosen, in part by Glass himself, to perform during Carnegie’s upcoming season. B...

Featuring Music by Icelandic Composers Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Hildur Gudnadóttir, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir, and Thurídur Jónsdóttir New York, NY – Sono Luminus announces the July 31, 2015 worldwide release of Icelandic ensemble Nordic Affect’s debut album on the label, Clockworking , featuring the music of five Icelandic women composers – Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Hildur Gudnadóttir, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir, and Thurídur Jónsdóttir. The album was recorded by Georg Magnússon at The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, with mastering and post-production by Valgeir Sigurdsson. This week, Headphone Commute is featuring the exclusive premiere of the video for the title track, Clockworking by María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, well known for her work with Icelandic band amiina. Watch now at http://bit.ly/HCVideoPremiere . Clockworking represents collaboration, connection, and passionately fierce creativity. As put by Nordic Affec...

Dedicated Proponents, Pianists Adam Tendler & Christopher Taylor Will Reveal the Intricacies of These Linked Works in a Pair of Linked Concerts at Jacaranda Music’s February 22nd Mid-Century Modern Program Jacaranda's 10th anniversary season continues on Saturday, February 22, 2014 with a dinner break — a break that separates the performances of two 20-movement mid-twentieth-century masterworks by John Cage and Olivier Messiaen. Each cycle is played by an American pianist with whom the music has become synonymous: Adam Tendler and Christopher Taylor, respectively. The consecutive concerts (Tendler at 5:00 p.m. and Taylor at 7:30 p.m.) will take place at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Jacaranda’s first decade gave extensive attention to the centenaries of Messiaen (1908-92) and Cage (1912-89). As a nod to that legacy, artistic director Patrick Scott chose for the 10th anniversary two works for solo piano that link the...

left to right: Michael Laurello, Todd Lerew, Kristina Warren Three student composers are chosen from 250+ applicants In partnership with the acclaimed new music ensemble So Percussion, the American Composers Forum is pleased to announce the finalists in the 2014 American Composers Forum National Composition Contest: Michael Laurello (Yale School of Music), Todd Lerew (CalArts), and Kristina Warren (University of Virginia). Each finalist will receive a cash prize and be asked to compose an eight- to ten-minute piece for So Percussion. The resulting pieces will be workshopped with the finalists in residence, and premiered by So Percussion on July 20 at Princeton University, as part of the So Percussion Summer Institute 2014. One of the works will be chosen to receive the final prize, which includes an additional cash award and future public performances by So Percussion. The National Composition Contest is open to composers currently enrolled in graduate and undergraduate inst...

LSO Futures celebrates composers at the cutting edge of music today through a week of events at the Barbican LSO Futures and LSO St Luke’s including two concerts curated by François-Xavier Roth. The LSO has been nurturing the talent of young composers for several years through its Panufnik Young Composers Scheme (set up in memory of composer Andrzej Panufnik), the UBS Sound Adventures Scheme and the recent creation of LSO Soundhub, a laboratory for composers at LSO St Luke’s. LSO Futures throws the doors to these initiatives open, showcasing both the music of today? and the minds behind it. In the words of François-Xavier Roth, it’s a ‘homage to modernity, to new ways, and to creation’, a celebration of music in the 21st-century. On 9 April at 8pm, composer Tansy Davies presents a UBS Soundscapes: Eclectica concert at LSO St Luke’s which recreates her acclaimed album Troubairitz, putting her own music, with its hints of funk, experimental rock, industrial techno, atonalism and elect...

Dave Brubeck dies at 91 A jazz legend died today, at Norwalk Hospital, near his home in Wilton, Connecticut. His famous "Take Five" is one of the great jazz pieces, and ushered in a whole world of different time signatures and irregular rhythms bringing jazz into the main stream. Although early on fellow jazz musicians felt Dave's piano playing didn't swing, he taught the world a new meaning to swing relying on shifting meter and intricate rhythmic play. Back in the mid 70's I was just coming into my own as a musicians (albeit still in 8th grade). I was first chair trombone in a school jazz band and fell in love with making music. It was this year I first heard "Take Five" and it's been my favorite piece of music every since. If you listen to my music today, you'll heard elements of those initial irregular rhythms that seem to somehow feel regular pervasive throughout. While I have studied Bach, Beethoven, Mahler, Debussy, Shostakovich, Copla...

Instrumental Solo or Duo Christian Mason Learning Self- Modulation Chamber Thomas Adés The Four Quarters Vocal Colin Matthews No Man’s Land Choral Gabriel Jackson Airplane Cantata Wind Band or Brass Band Simon Dobson A Symphony of Colours Orchestral Sir Harrison Birtwistle Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Stage Works Jocelyn Pook DESH Liturgical Francis Grier Missa Brevis Sonic Art Ray Lee The Ethometric Museum Contemporary Jazz Composition Christine Tobin Sailing to Byzantium Community or Educational Paul Rissmann The Chimpanzees of Project Happytown Making Music Award Emily Howard Mesmerism for Piano and Chamber Orchestra International Award Thomas Larcher Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra The Awards were presented at a ceremony at Goldsmiths' Hall, on Monday 3rd December 2012 which opened with a performance of Gareth Moorcraft’s Rondo? – winner of the third Student Competition at the British Composer Awards – performed by membe...

The closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London gave a celebration of British music, fashion and culture. Yet, none of the music was by a British Classical composer living or dead. This isn't because the organizers don't like classical music. The London Symphony Orchestra played a large role in the creation of the music from recording all the national anthems, playing at both the opening and closing ceremonies. What this shows is classical music, and composers of classical music aren't even thought of, had no relevance when the creators were planning the production. It amazes me that Benjamin Britten, probably the greatest opera composer in the English language (ever) wasn't given a node. Peter Maxell-Davis and Thomas Adès are world wide recognized living composer and yet not mentioned. Film composers like Debbie Wiseman, Patrick Doyle, Craig Armstrong, to name just a few, all went unmentioned. This oversight isn't the death knell of classical music, but it...

I get asked this a lot so I thought I should put my thoughts down for all to see There are a variety of articles out there which talk about commissioning works, many even have prices Randall Giles posts this page: A Brief Guide to Commissioning Music Johansen-Werner posts his thoughts: Some Thoughts on How to Commission Music Ken Davis adds his 2 cents: Commissioning New Music Abbie Betnis has her ideas: How to Commission a New Work from Abbie Betinis Even the American Composers Forum has suggestions: Commissioning by Individuals Pretty much all of those guides are considering major performers for major works. Yes, they talk about individual or solo works. But the moment you suggest a range from hundreds to thousands of dollars you're eliminating most of the musicians on the planet. A struggling performer can't afford to pay $4-500 for a new, untried work for potentially a one-off performance. So, here is my simple method for calculating what I might charge for a ne...

Application deadline: April 23, 2012 (postmark) The Minnesota Orchestra and the American Composers Forum have announced details of the 2013 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, which will run from January 7-13, 2013, at the University of Minnesota's School of Music in Minneapolis. Under the guidance of composer Aaron Jay Kernis, up to nine composers will have orchestral works rehearsed and performed by the Minnesota Orchestra and will participate in a series of seminars on musical, career, business and professional development issues. Composers receive consultations with Kernis and Music Director Osmo Vänskä before and after the rehearsals. They also meet with Orchestra members and attend small-group sessions with leading music industry professionals. Composers’ travel and hotel will be provided. All works selected for the Institute will be performed in a public concert, conducted by Music Director Osmo Vänskä on Friday, January 11, 2013, 8 pm. Complete program de...

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Shining Light, an extraordinary weekend of illuminating events. Encompassing a premiere film screening alongside major concerts at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, DCINY celebrates the life and music of National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, America's most frequently performed choral composer. DCINY will host the New York premiere of the documentary film Shining Night (March 30) and present major works by Lauridsen, who will be in residence throughout the weekend, in concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, conducted by Artistic Director Jonathan Griffith (March 31), and at Carnegie Hall, also featuring music by composer and conductor Eric Whitacre (April 1). This will be a truly a “shining” weekend in tribute to a treasured composer called an "American Choral Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts. Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen (documentary film) Exploring the relat...

Festival to Run Concurrent with American Mavericks Tour Thursday, March 8 – Friday, March 30 WQXR’s online contemporary music station – celebrates America’s great iconoclastic composers this March, as San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas brings his “American Mavericks” tour to New York and beyond. From March 8-30, as the San Francisco Symphony presents Mavericks concerts around the country, Q2 Music will present a wide range of special programming – from live concerts to composer profiles to treasures from the WQXR and WNYC archives – to further illuminate the concerts happening around the country. The festival’s highpoint will be a live event on March 26, “American Mavericks: Music and Conversation with Michael Tilson Thomas,” taking place at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR, the station’s intimate, acoustically superior event venue. The festival will also include Tilson Thomas hosting a weekday show on Q2 Music, innovators such as David Byr...

The composer discusses some of his works, among them a new encore piece for Hilary Hahn Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman is yet another person that was a late-starter in the classically-trained world where everyone seemingly starts learning what they do at age 3 or 4, but he's now proven to us again, just as quite a few others have in our journeys here, that age is only a number in this game. If you click on his website , you'll see that he already has a variety of great works and has been premiering even more as we speak, including one of the Hilary Hahn Encores (EDITOR'S NOTE: I couldn't not ask him about that, and believe it or not, he hasn't even heard this piece played yet. Huh?) and a narrated orchestral work titled Uzu and Muzu from Kakamaruzu premiering in March with the Stockton Symphony. Avner had a few minutes to hang with me via Skype and discuss.