Commissioning Music/USA 2002
Dan Becker; San Francisco, CA
Commissioning Parties:
· * Kathleen Supové; Brooklyn, NY
· Reduta Deux; New York, NY
Composer DAN BECKER will create a new 15-minute work for pianist Kathleen Supové. The work will be undertaken in a collaborative manner, and will contain many of the following characteristics: The use of a Yamaha Disklavier piano, the use of a digital sampler, or a combination of the two. The work is scheduled to be completed by winter of 2002/03. At that time Kathy will program the work into her "Exploding Piano" performance season, as well as at several Universities that feature a Disklavier in their Music Technology Departments, such as New York University and UC Berkeley.
Reduta Deux is a producing organization which has presented works in theater, dance, music, cabaret, and poetry since 1984. Although Reduta is primarily New York based, its work has been presented all over the United States as well as in Europe. Most recently, Reduta Deux has been devoted to encouraging the evolution of the concert form.
Sebastian Currier; New York, NY
Commissioning Party:
· Copland House; Cortlandt Manor, NY
Composer SEBASTIAN CURRIER will write a 16-19 minute piece for a chamber ensemble comprised of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. The piece will consist of a series of imaginary dances. Rather than a foxtrot, tango, allemande, or a waltz - each with their own characteristic rhythmic structure and character - there will be a series of fantasy dances, sometimes whimsical, sometimes otherworldly, at times suggestive of pre-existing dances, at other times purely fantastical. The piece will be completed by the fall of 2003, with performances beginning shortly after that.
Copland House is the only composer's home in the United States devoted to nurturing American music through a broad range of activities. These include a thriving composer's residency program, an acclaimed resident chamber ensemble, related public and scholarly programs, educational activities that bring American music to young people, and a variety of recording, broadcast, and Internet projects. In fall 2000, Copland House was designated an Official Project of Save America's Treasures, a public-private partnership of the White House and The National Trust for Historic Preservation that seeks to preserve America's rich cultural heritage.
David Dzubay; Bloomington, IN
Commissioning Party:
· Manhattan Brass Quintet; New Rochelle, NY
Composer and trumpet player DAVID DZUBAY will write a new 15-minute piece for brass quintet in multiple movements. He will finish the composition by April 2003, after which time the Manhattan Brass Quintet will perform the new work on concert series in New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Taiwan.
Performing a stylistically varied repertoire that spans over 500 years, the Manhattan Brass Quintet appears in recitals, special events, and free-to-the-public educational and community concerts. In addition to its standard repertoire, the quintet places an emphasis on the commissioning and performance of new works, especially those that integrate new or unique styles into the repertoire. The quintet's members are New York area freelance musicians - performing in a wide variety of settings in and around New York. Members of the MBQ regularly perform with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Broadway shows, and record movie scores and jingles.
Bill Frisell; Bainbridge Island, WA
Commissioning Party:
· The St. Ann Center for Restoration and the Arts; Brooklyn, NY
Composer and guitarist BILL FRISELL will compose a 90-minute multimedia suite for guitar, trumpet, violin and charcoal. He was inspired by award-winning "alternative" cartoonist Jim Woodring and the classical "chops" of trumpeter Ron Miles and violinist Jenny Scheinman. The trio will perform live in Frisell's latest collaboration, Mysterio Sympatico, to Woodring's animations and collages, which will be projected onto a large, on-stage screen. Arts at St. Ann's will premiere the work for four performances in Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO Summer 2003.
Arts at St. Ann's has long been recognized by artists, critics and audiences as a leading innovator for consistently inventive concert and new music theater presentations. ASA's performance history encompasses three unifying factors: music in a multiplicity of forms; the desire to cross-over among these forms and other disciplines (theater, puppetry, film, and spoken word); and a sense of the artist at work in an environment especially designed for experimentation and creative expression.
Miles Green; Brooklyn, NY
Commissioning Party:
· Streb/Ringside; New York, NY
Composer MILES GREEN, in collaboration with choreographer Elizabeth Streb, will create the score for a new evening length work entitled RIPPED. The score will combine voice, extant compositions, synthesized material, and an amplified performing deck. In RIPPED, like an animated flipbook, a continuous line of action will be formed as performers, set pieces, and visual effects collide to create glaring, jagged action images one after another. The work will pay homage to daredevils (mudwrestlers, magicians, mountain climbers) who deal with really basic elements: water, air, wood, breath, and bone. Working with these elements, Miles Green's voice, the sound of the dancers against surfaces, and the sounds of elements on surfaces will be the basic instruments of the composed score.
STREB is dedicated to supporting and presenting the work of choreographer Elizabeth Streb and to bringing the audience and community into the artistic process through programs such as PUBLIC/ACTION and KID ACTION.
Jennifer Higdon; Philadelphia, PA
Commissioning Parties:
· * eighth blackbird; Evanston, IL
· Concert Artists Guild; New York, NY
Composer and performer JENNIFER HIGDON will create two works for eighth blackbird. The first, a single-movement work of 14-16 minutes duration, will serve as a substantial concert piece, highlighting the virtuosic and coloristic gifts of the group. The second, a single-movement work of 3-4 minutes, will serve as either a concert-opener or an encore piece. This will be a "racing dance" for the group in the spirit of virtuosic movement. Both works will be scored for the full ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion. Both works will be completed by December 2003 for a premiere in January 2004.
Hailed as ambassadors of new music, eighth blackbird has a growing reputation for its astounding versatility and for its dedication to today's composers. The sextet, currently ensemble-in-residence at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, was honored in 2000 with the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the first BMI/Boudleaux-Bryant Fund Commission. Each member of eighth blackbird holds a bachelor's degree in music performance from Oberlin Conservatory and diplomas in chamber music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory.
Daniel Hoffman; Oakland, CA
Commissioning Party:
· A Traveling Jewish Theatre; San Francisco, CA
Composer DANIEL HOFFMAN will write a music theater work, Opening to You, to be presented by A Traveling Jewish Theatre in 2003. The work will be 70-80 minutes composed for violin, guitar, percussion, and three actor/musicians. It will be developed during a month long workshop and a six week rehearsal period, followed by 20 to 30 performances over the course of 4-6 weeks in January 2003. The piece will be centered on Norman Fischer's new translations of the Psalms. Hoffman will draw from five particular musical styles for his composition: 20th Century Western classical music, Yiddish Folk music, Jewish liturgical music, classical Arabic music, and American jazz and popular music styles.
A Traveling Jewish Theatre's mission is to reach the hearts and minds of people from all cultural backgrounds by creating and presenting original and unique works of theatre that are experimental in form, content and style, inspired by the rich fabric of Jewish experience, history and imagination. Founded in 1987, ATJT is one of the country's pre-eminent ensemble theatres and the only professional Jewish theatre company dedicated to creating original work. In addition to its four-play mainstage season, ATJT also continues to tour nationally and internationally; provide educational and outreach programs; and offer professional training and apprenticeship programs.
Zakir Hussain; San Anselmo, CA
Commissioning Party:
· Painted Bride Art Center; Philadelphia, PA
Classical tabla virtuoso/composer/multi-percussionist ZAKIR HUSSAIN will compose a new 25-minute piece for an evening length music and dance suite titled Flammable Contents: ZH/RH/SH. Artistically, this project breaks through into a new dimension bringing together (for the first time to create new work and perform it live) the legendary master Zakir Hussain (ZH), the foremost practitioner of hip-hop dance Rennie Harris (RH), and Spoken Hand (SH) - an innovative large hand drumming orchestra, comprised of Afro-Cuban bata, Brazilian samba, North Indian tabla, and West African djembe batteries. Flammable Contents: ZH/RH/SH is envisioned by the collaborating artists as a summit of live music and hip-hop dance and will premiere October 17, 2002 at the Painted Bride Art Center.
Founded in 1969, Painted Bride Art Center has been a cultural pioneer since it first opened its doors. Recognized nationally as a premiere venue for dance, jazz, poetry, spoken word, theater, world music and visual arts, The Bride has presented some of the brightest legends, including Spalding Gray, Elvin Jones, and Philadanco.
Anthony Iannaccone; Ypsilanti, MI
Commissioning Parties:
· * Camerata Woodwind Quintet; Macomb, IL
· Eastern Winds; Ypsilanti, MI
· Musical Arts Quintet; Muncie, IN
· Van Buren Quintet; Winchester, VA
Composer ANTHONY IANNACCONE will write a new work for woodwind quintet. The quintet will consist of three contrasting movements, with a total duration of 20 minutes. The commission will be performed by four respected woodwind quintets from four states, with the premiere scheduled for April 2003.
Since 1966, the Camerata Woodwind Quintet has served as the ensemble-in-residence at Western Illinois University. With recordings of standard quintet literature on the Music Minus One label, the first members of the Camerata Woodwind Quintet made a major contribution to the education of wind chamber musicians throughout the world. Now in its second generation and third decade, the Camerata Woodwind Quintet represents the ongoing commitment of Western Illinois University to the creation and performance of significant original wind chamber music and chamber music education throughout the nation.
Leroy Jenkins; Brooklyn, NY
Commissioning Party:
· Relâche, Inc.; Philadelphia, PA
Improvisation artist and musical pioneer LEROY JENKINS will compose a 12-18 minute work for the eight-person Relâche ensemble (viola, oboe/English Horn, flute/piccolo, clarinet/saxophone, bassoon, keyboard/piano, bass/contrabass, and percussion). Relâche is planning for the next season five Future Sounds programs, each featuring a new commission. In addition to the programs highlighting works by Mr. Jenkins (to be performed in January 2003), the remaining programs will include commissions by Cynthia Folio, Fred Frith, Paul Epstein, and Christian Marclay. Each of the five Future Sounds programs will be centered on a specific theme or inter-arts idea, which has been drawn from the interests of each composer, with Jenkins' being experimental improvisation and jazz.
The Relâche Ensemble was founded in the late 1970's. Since then it has defined its aesthetic around the "downtown" new music repertoire. This repertoire maintains a close connection to the high art of classical composition and performance, but also embraces the breadth of contemporary music culture, incorporating aspects from jazz, rock, popular, and world-music to electronic and avant-garde idioms. Commissioning forms a central component of Relâche's mission, and the group's repertoire includes commissions by such noted composers as Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, and Pauline Oliveros.
Tania León; Nyack, NY
Commissioning Parties:
· * MOSAIC; Weston, CT
· The Circum Arts Foundation; New York, NY
Composer and conductor TANIA LEÓN will create a 20-25 minute work for the ensemble MOSAIC consisting of flute, cello, piano, and percussion. The work will be performed both as a concert work for MOSAIC and as part of a collaboration with the choreographer Donald Byrd. This project will bring together Donald Byrd and his dance artists Donald Byrd/The Group; composers Tania León and Steven Mackey and video artist Star Reese. The premiere will be at Symphony Space in March 2003 with choreography by Mr. Byrd. The remaining performances will be as part of MOSAIC's concert touring season.
Founded in 1992 by Zizi Mueller, MOSAIC is a quartet of instrumentalists in a unique core combination of flute, cello, piano, and percussion. There exists no other group today with this specific makeup. They are involved in commissioning and recording new works and presenting their programs in residencies as well as in traditional concert formats. Although championing the contemporary repertoire, the ensemble covers the spectrum from Bach to Berio.
Meredith Monk; New York, NY
Commissioning Parties:
· * The House Foundation for the Arts; New York, NY
· Anchorage Concert Association; Anchorage, AK
Composer, singer, choreographer and creator of new opera, musical theater works, films and installations, MEREDITH MONK will compose a new 15-minute work for solo voice and piano. This new work will continue her nearly 40-year, and yet still groundbreaking, exploration of the voice as a multi-faceted instrument capable of tapping into emotions for which we have no words. The House Foundation for the Arts will present the New York premiere in five performances during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons at such venues as Joe's Pub and the Knitting Factory. The Anchorage Concert Association will co-commission the work and present it once during the 2003 season. This work will also become a standard part of Ms. Monk's solo concert repertory and as such will be performed each year at venues throughout the world.
Since its inception in 1968, The House Foundation for the Arts has been dedicated to developing, producing, touring, recording, and exhibiting the works of contemporary performing artist Meredith Monk. The House Foundation provides management, administration, and executive production services for Meredith Monk's solo ventures as well as the works of her two performance ensembles, Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble and The House Company.
Bernard Rands; Cambridge, MA
Commissioning Parties:
· * Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Roslindale, MA
· Cleveland Chamber Symphony; Cleveland, OH
· Princeton Symphony Orchestra; Princeton, NJ
Composer BERNARD RANDS will write a new 25-minute concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra. The chamber orchestra of 24 instrumentalists will be made up of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, percussion, and strings. The concerto will be completed by the end of 2003. Boston Modern Orchestra Project will premiere the piece in spring 2004, with plans to perform the work again in the fall of 2004. Co-commissioner, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, will also present two performances of the work during the 2003-2004 concert season. The Princeton Symphony Orchestra, also a co-commissioner, will present the piece during the 2004 calendar year - Bernard Rands' 70th birthday year.
Founded six years ago, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project is a highly acclaimed, full-sized professional orchestra that performs five to seven innovative and thematic programs of modern music in Boston each year. BMOP is committed to promoting the performance, preservation, and public appreciation of important 20th century orchestral music. They have quickly established themselves as one of the city's most original, and most consistently excellent, musical groups. As the only full-scale professional orchestra devoted exclusively to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, BMOP fills a unique niche in the Boston musical scene.
Stephen Scott; Colorado Springs, CO
Commissioning Party:
· Other Minds; San Francisco, CA
STEPHEN SCOTT will compose a new 60-minute work for soprano and The Bowed Piano Ensemble of ten musicians. The commission will expose the ground-breaking work of this under-recognized composer and inventor who maintains total command of his medium: bowed piano ensemble music, in which the musicians thread nylon fishing lines through the strings of two grand pianos and pull them back and forth to resonate the strings, all without pressing a single key. For his composition of Paisajes Audibles/Sounding Landscapes, Mr. Scott will collaborate with the painter/photographer Ildefonso Aguilar, taking as his point of departure various landscapes, both physical and imagined, natural and cultural, of Lanzarote, the eastern-most of the Canary Islands. The work will be written for soprano Victoria Hansen and the 10-member Bowed Piano Ensemble. This work will be premiered at the 9th Other Minds Festival in March 2003.
Originally incorporated in 1983 as the California College of Performing Arts, Other Minds was substantially reorganized in 1993, with new leadership and programming. Other Minds is dedicated to the encouragement and propagation of contemporary music in all its forms through concerts, workshops, and conferences that bring together artists and audiences of diverse traditions, generations, and cultural backgrounds. By fostering cross-cultural exchange and creative dialogue, and by encouraging exploration of areas in new music seldom touched upon by mainstream institutions, Other Minds is committed to expanding and reshaping the definition of what constitutes "serious music."
SoVoSó; Oakland, CA
Commissioning Party:
· * AXIS Dance Company; Oakland, CA
· Weber State University; Ogden , UT
· Texas International Theatrical Arts Society; Dallas, TX
· University of Texas at Austin; Austin, TX
Renowned Bay Area a cappella group, SOVOSÓ, will create a new 25-minute dancework entitled Sans Instruments in collaboration with choreographer Sonya Delwaide and AXIS Dance Company. The collaboration will be closely constructed so that one musician will be linked to one dancer. There will be a continuous dialogue and improvisation between the musician, dancers, and choreographer. SoVoSó will create the musical piece out of improvisations inspired by the dance movements. The sonic quality of the piece will embrace and punctuate the essence of the unique visual aspects of Delwaide's choreography, while at the same time, pairing with, mimicking and offering accompaniment to the devices and apparatus that propel the AXIS dancers. This project will premiere October 2002 at ODC Theater in San Francisco.
SoVoSó is a highly imaginative a cappella ensemble that sings a unique, rhythmic mix of jazz, gospel, world and R&B music, all rendered in their trademark improvisational style. Their repertoire consists of original compositions and other songs that present a global perspective, from Afro-Latin idioms to traditional jazz choral arrangements. Three SoVoSó members (Joey Blake, Melanie Rath, and David Worm) are alumni of Bobby McFerrin's a cappella group, Voicestra, performing with him until 1993. Sunshine Garcia joined the ensemble in 1995. Destani Wolf and Norman Pitters are the most recent members of the sextet. As SoVoSó ("from the Soul to the Voice to the Song"), the ensemble has continued to pioneer new horizons in contemporary vocal performance, bringing traditional world rhythms into the 21st century.
Since 1987, AXIS Dance Company has been creating and performing innovative danceworks developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without disabilities. AXIS has performed in theaters, dance spaces and alternative venues at its home base in Oakland, California, on tour throughout the U.S. as well as in Germany and Siberia. Described as a "visual and physical discovery, creating fascinating works of movement art, sheerly outrageous and unimaginable," AXIS has received acclaim from an international audience and is respected for setting artistic and educational standards in the emerging field of physically integrated dance.
Matthew Steckler; Salem, MA
Commissioning Party:
· The Center for Arts in Natick; Natick, MA
Composer MATTHEW STECKLER will write a 60-70 minute suite of 8-12 short pieces for woodwind quartet, which will be recorded for an album to be released after the multiple premieres. The pieces will loosely be unified within a single concept or theme, of a programmatic or musical nature. The suite will premiere in January 2003 at the Center for Arts in Natick, and will be staged subsequently in at least six other U.S locations.
By early 1997, an ad hoc group had coalesced with the goal of converting the redundant Natick Town Hall into a dynamic center for the arts. The Center for Arts in Natick came into existence formally in April 1997 as a result of this community project, and, until mid-year 1999, The Center was a wholly volunteer activity. Their mission is to bring arts to the MetroWest community through performances, exhibitions, and arts education. The Center provides a venue for both developing and professional visual and performing artists.
Guy Yarden; Brooklyn, NY
Commissioning Party:
· La Donna Dance, Inc.; New York, NY
Composer, administrator and curator GUY YARDEN will create a new 45-60 minute work for choreographer Donna Uchizono's Salon. He will create a series of songs that employ aspects of traditional tango as their point of departure. The music will investigate the representations of sensuality, melancholy, and intimacy that are common in social dance. Salon will investigate the constant, dynamic interplay of exchange between partners highlighted through the constriction of space using the counterclockwise circle of the tango as a structural metaphor. This new work will be specifically created to be presented in "alternative spaces" such as ballrooms and dance halls, and will be completed by fall 2003.
Since Donna Uchizono's La Donna Dance company debut in 1990, Artistic Director/Choreographer Uchizono 'has been widely recognized for her deep, innovative, and rich collaborations with composers. The company's work has been presented in the United States, Europe, and South America and has received many grants including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and a Rockefeller Map grant in which a work was created for COBAI, a coalition for independent choreographers and dancers in Argentina with music created by the Tobias Indian Nation. This profound month-long residency laid the seed for this current work-in-progress, Salon.
(* denotes lead organization/partner)
