Meet the Composer
Kathryn Gould
Magnum Opus—14 new works for orchestra and counting…
“I am mindful of the effort it takes to create a new piece of orchestral music—for the composer of course, but also the performers and conductors. Bringing the new notes on the page to vibrant life takes a lot of extra effort and imagination, much more than playing the familiar. I am so honored to be working with people that make that commitment in service of this magnificent art form. I just want to go to a concert of new music and go wow, that was incredible, I want to hear that again right now! That's why I'm doing this.”
—Kathryn Gould
A pioneering example of individual investment in the future of music, Magnum Opus is a major commissioning project executed by Meet The Composer in collaboration with founding patron Kathryn Gould. Since 2003, it has made possible the commissioning of fourteen new works for orchestra. Seven have premiered so far, with more than two dozen subsequent performances.
The coming 2010/11 season will be another banner year for the project, with three world premieres and a total of 19 performances of new works.
| Date | Composer | Conductor | Orchestra |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 5-7* | Lowell Liebermann | JoAnn Falletta | Virginia Symphony |
| November 14, 16* | Avner Dorman | Alasdair Neale | Marin Symphony |
| December 2-4 | John Tavener | Giancarlo Guerrero | Nashville Symphony |
| February 3 | Avner Dorman | Alexander Mickelthwate | Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra |
| March 18 | Behzad Ranjbaran | Michael Morgan | Oakland East Bay Symphony |
| April 16, 17 | Miguel del Aguila | JoAnn Falletta | Buffalo Philharmonic |
| May 1, 3 | Behzad Ranjbaran | Alasdair Neale | Marin Symphony |
| May 12-14 | Avner Dorman | Giancarlo Guerrero | Nashville Symphony |
| May 20-22* | Kenji Bunch | Jeffrey Kahane | Colorado Symphony |
* Includes world premiere performance
Based in San Francisco, Kathryn Gould is a founding partner of Foundation Capital and is regularly recognized as one of the country's most accomplished venture capitalists. She has been featured in Forbes magazine's "Midas List" of Tech's Best Venture Investors and has a primary focus on investing in the telecom, networking and enterprise software sectors.
Outside of work, Kathryn describes herself as a "serious violinist, painter and pilot, and a frivolous boogie boarder." But as a devoted concert-goer and musician, Kathryn wanted to become more involved in encouraging composers to reach audiences. She embarked on a project called Magnum Opus.
She and Meet The Composer together launched Magnum Opus in 2003. In its first phase, Meet The Composer enlisted three orchestras in the San Francisco area (Marin Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony) to form a consortium to commission a total of nine new works. The commissioned composers of this phase were:
Kenji Bunch
David Carlson
Osvaldo Golijov
Pierre Jalbert
Ingram Marshall
Kevin Puts
Bezhad Ranjbaran
Roberto Sierra
Peteris Vasks
Each orchestra premieres three of the nine. Especially important to the spirit of the project is its guarantee of subsequent performances after the premiere. With each orchestra committing to performance of all nine works, each new composition is guaranteed a minimum of three performances.
The second phase of Magnum Opus involves five conductors (JoAnn Falletta, Giancarlo Guerrero, Jeffrey Kahane, Alexander Mickelthwate, and Alasdair Neale). To date, five more new works have been commissioned, from:
Kenji Bunch
Miguel Del Aguila
Avner Dorman
Lowell Liebermann
John Tavener
These composers have proposed five intriguing new works, from Bunch's piano concerto to Dorman's symphonic poem inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Shadow." Again, each work is guaranteed a premiere and at least two further performances.