Podcasts about newmusicbox

Growing up in Soviet-era Lithuania, where people were often afraid to express their real feelings, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė discovered early on that music was safer than language and that it could enable her to express her innermost feelings without self censoring. It ultimately led her on the path to becoming a composer whose music is performed all over the world.  Although Žibuoklė now divides her time between a democratic Lithuania and the United States, her formative experiences have led her to explore a sonic vocabulary, which though frequently inspired by nature and always deeply emotive, is completely abstract and open to multiple interpretations. This hour-long conversation with Frank J. Oteri also features excerpts from eight different pieces of Žibuoklė's music. Learn more about her and read a complete transcript of the conversation on NewMusicBox: https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/zibuokle-martinaityte-unexplainable-places/

inti figgis-vizueta creates music that carefully balances experimentation and practicality. In her conversation with Frank J. Oteri, she likens her compositions to plants which have the ability to grow and change when different people performing them. And in the last few years inti's music has been championed by an extremely wide range of musicians from Roomful of Teeth to Ensemble Dal Niente to the Kronos Quartet.

As an advocate of historically marginalized composers, musicologist Douglas Shadle is a leading voice in public discussions about the role of symphony orchestras and orchestral music in American life. His first book, Orchestrating the Nation: The Nineteenth-Century American Symphonic Enterprise (Oxford, 2016), explores the volatile relationships between composers, performers, critics, and audiences throughout the 19th century and demonstrates why American composers rarely find a home on concert programs today.   Shadle is also a highly-regarded expert on fellow Little Rock native Florence Price, the first African American woman to win international acclaim as a composer. His research on Price has been featured in The New Yorker, New York Times, and NewMusicBox. Shadle's second book recontextualizes Antonín Dvořák's iconic New World Symphony within the complex landscape of American culture at the end of the nineteenth century.   Shadle's publications have won two ASCAP Deems/Taylor Virgil Thomson Awards, the Society for American Music Irving Lowens Article Award, the inaugural American Musicological Society H. Robert Cohen/RIPM Award, and the Vanderbilt Chancellor's Award for Research. Shadle joined the Blair School faculty in 2014 and has served as the chair of the Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology since 2019.   Thank you for joining us on One Symphony. Thanks to Douglas Shadle for sharing his knowledge and insights, you can find Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony where you get your books. Works on the show today included Dvorak's American String Quartet performed by the Prague Quartet and his Ninth Symphony with Charles Mackerras and the London Philharmonic, Myun-Wun Chung and the Vienna Philharmonic, and Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony.   You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you'd like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music! https://www.pricefest.org/about/douglas-shadle https://devinpatrickhughes.com onesymphony.org    

Brandee Younger has carved out a very unlikely music career for herself, a classically-trained harpist who went from making her jazz debut over a decade ago to being an in-demand leader and collaborator in a wide range of musical genres. How she has transformed this instrument seems without precedent. But a huge role model for her was Dorothy Ashby, a jazz and later R&B harpist and composer who, in the years since her death, has become one of the recording artists most heavily sampled on hip-hop tracks. Brandee Younger's latest album, Brand New Life, plays tribute to Dorothy Ashby, by taking her poly-stylistic inclinations even further.

The story of Tina Davidson's life, which is the basis of her newly published memoir Let Your Heart Be Broken, is extremely intense but also a rewarding reading experience just like the emotional roller coaster rides in so many of her musical compositions make for very compelling listening. She explained to Frank J. Oteri in this conversation recorded in March 2023 that "when you write about yourself, you really make yourself incredibly vulnerable." In addition to talking about the book, they also talk about many of Tina's musical compositions and the podcast includes excerpts from seven of them.

Composer Kevin Puts takes pride in keeping secrets, both by being understated in his interactions with people and by never initially giving away all the goods in his music, preferring, as he tells Frank J. Oteri, "to keep something in reserve so that there's a payoff for the attentive listener." But in their hour-long conversation, he'll reveal some of the secrets behind The Hours (his Metropolitan Opera debut), and Contact (his triple concerto for Time for Three which just won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition), and much more. Read more at NewMusicBox: newmusicusa.org/nmbx/kevin-puts-keeping-secrets/

This is a live performance of Los Angeles-based composer Colloboh, recorded and filmed at the dublab studios and featuring new compositions utilizing modular synthesizers. Colloboh – experimental producer Collins Oboh. Born in Nigeria, raised in the DMV, and now at 28 years of age, Colloboh asserts himself as a no-nonsense contender of electronic music composition utilizing modular synthesizer. With the release of his 2021 Entity Relation EP and opening for beloved dream pop duo Beach House on their ‘Once Twice Melody' tour, Colloboh has begun to cultivate a following eager to listen to his forward-thinking musical arrangements. This program is part of New Music USA's web magazine NewMusicBox “Guest Editor series”, which aims to celebrate a plurality of voices from across the nation and will feature exclusive content written, produced, or commissioned by a rotating artist or organization. The series kicks off with dublab. NewMusicBox, edited by Frank J. Oteri, amplifies creators and organizations who are building a vibrant future for new music in all its forms, and has provided a vital platform for creators to speak about issues relevant to them in their own words since 1999. The dublab partnership features weekly content from at least 15 different voices through January 2023, presented in conversations, DJ mixes, articles, and live performances all exploring the current landscape of music composition. The Guest Editor is the first such series in the magazine's 23-year history and reflects New Music USA's aim to deepen its impact across the many diverse music communities across the United States. This aim is also demonstrated by NewMusicBox's ongoing “Different Cities, Different Voices” feature that spotlights music creation hubs across the nation. You can see the video HERE

Warp Composers' Sen Moreira is joined by producer and composer Casey MQ in a conversation about the current landscape in the world of composition, film scoring, and publishing in an ever changing music industry. Sen Moreira is the North America Licensing & Composer Manager for the newly established Warp Composers, representing composers across Warp Publishing and Warp Records rosters from their offices in Los Angeles and London. Casey Manierka-Quaile is an artist, producer and composer from Toronto, now based in Los Angeles. He is classically trained as a pianist and has written and produced under the artist name of Casey MQ, collaborating with the likes of Oklou, Christine & The Queens, Flume and more. Winner of the 2021 Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song, Manierka's scores have premiered at TIFF, SXSW, Berlinale, Sundance and Rotterdam Film Festival. This program is part of New Music USA's web magazine NewMusicBox “Guest Editor series”, which aims to celebrate a plurality of voices from across the nation and will feature exclusive content written, produced, or commissioned by a rotating artist or organization. The series kicks off with dublab. NewMusicBox, edited by Frank J. Oteri, amplifies creators and organizations who are building a vibrant future for new music in all its forms, and has provided a vital platform for creators to speak about issues relevant to them in their own words since 1999. The dublab partnership will feature new weekly content from at least 15 different voices through January 2023, presented in conversations, DJ mixes, articles, and live performances all exploring the current landscape of music composition. The Guest Editor is the first such series in the magazine's 23-year history and reflects New Music USA's aim to deepen its impact across the many diverse music communities across the United States. This aim is also demonstrated by NewMusicBox's ongoing “Different Cities, Different Voices” feature that spotlights music creation hubs across the nation. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dublab-inconversation/support

The new music community has been impacted, inspired and transformed by Tania León as a musical creator--as well as an interpreter, educator, and organizer--for decades. In the last two years, the rest of the world has caught up with her. In 2021, she received the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her extraordinary orchestral composition Stride which was given its world premiere performance by the New York Philharmonic just a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic reached New York City. And in December 2022, she was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors along with George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, and the four members of the Irish rock band U2; to mark the occasion all were greeted at The White House by U.S. President Joe Biden. Back in 1999, Tania León was the very first composer featured in a one-on-one conversation for NewMusicBox; with this new SoundLives podcast recorded more than 23 years later, she is the first person ever so featured twice!

Jeremiah Chiu is Los Angeles-based artist, musician, educator, and community organizer. Chiu's hybrid practice often operates under his studio moniker, Some All None, where projects lie at the intersection of art, music, technology, and publishing. Chiu is Full-Time Faculty in the Graphic Design Department at Otis College of Art & Design, a recording artist on International Anthem, and a resident DJ at dublab. Marta Sofia Honer is a viola and violin performer, session player, and educator in Los Angeles. Working in both classical and contemporary fields, Honer's versatility in different musical settings has garnered her credits alongside Beyoncé, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Chloe x Halle, Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes, including four Grammy nominations. She regularly records for film and television and is a recording artist on International Anthem. This live performance by Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer took place at the dublab studios featuring some of the music they composed together as part of their recent album, Recordings from the Åland Islands, out now on International Anthem. This program is part of New Music USA's web magazine NewMusicBox “Guest Editor series”, which aims to celebrate a plurality of voices from across the nation and will feature exclusive content written, produced, or commissioned by a rotating artist or organization. The series kicks off with dublab. NewMusicBox, edited by Frank J. Oteri, amplifies creators and organizations who are building a vibrant future for new music in all its forms, and has provided a vital platform for creators to speak about issues relevant to them in their own words since 1999. The dublab partnership will feature new weekly content from at least 15 different voices through January 2023, presented in conversations, DJ mixes, articles, and live performances all exploring the current landscape of music composition. The Guest Editor is the first such series in the magazine's 23-year history and reflects New Music USA's aim to deepen its impact across the many diverse music communities across the United States. This aim is also demonstrated by NewMusicBox's ongoing “Different Cities, Different Voices” feature that spotlights music creation hubs across the nation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JRF9hVnYYQ dublab is a listener supported radio station. Become a Sustaining Member today https://www.dublab.com/support/memberships

Qur'an Shaheed (b. 1992, Pasadena, CA) is a pianist, poet, singer and songwriter based in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA. She has been playing piano since the age of four, trained extensively in classical and contemporary music. Since 2012 she has been developing her practice as a songwriter alongside her solo piano and ensemble work. She released the album Process, with producer Jesse Justice and Preference Records, in 2020 and regularly performs in and around Los Angeles. Her sound is innovative, highly personaland experimental, incorporating elements of improvisation as well as neo-classical and neo-soultechniques. This live performance by Qur'an Shaheed is part of New Music USA's web magazine NewMusicBox “Guest Editor series”, which aims to celebrate a plurality of voices from across the nation and will feature exclusive content written, produced, or commissioned by a rotating artist or organization. The series kicks off with dublab. NewMusicBox, edited by Frank J. Oteri, amplifies creators and organizations who are building a vibrant future for new music in all its forms, and has provided a vital platform for creators to speak about issues relevant to them in their own words since 1999. The dublab partnership will feature new weekly content from at least 15 different voices through January 2023, presented in conversations, DJ mixes, articles, and live performances all exploring the current landscape of music composition. The Guest Editor is the first such series in the magazine's 23-year history and reflects New Music USA's aim to deepen its impact across the many diverse music communities across the United States. This aim is also demonstrated by NewMusicBox's ongoing “Different Cities, Different Voices” feature that spotlights music creation hubs across the nation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWhF3un9tmM dublab is a listeners supported station, become a Sustaining Member today https://www.dublab.com/support/memberships

Elena Ruehr's prolific output is a by-product of her maintaining a consistent composing schedule (five hours every day from Noon to 5:00pm) as well as her never-ending inspiration from the visual arts and her constant reading (four books a week), plus her desire to communicate with listeners. As she explained to Frank J. Oteri in this hour-long conversation about her music which features excerpts of nine of her compositions, "It's all about turning emotion into sound. As far as I'm concerned, that's my job; that's what I do."

Launched during the thick of the Covid Pandemic, the Floating series was just what Los Angeles needed—an invitation to come outside and hear the city in new ways. Through a weekly series of roving soundscapes and soundbaths activated in unique and natural spaces, the Floating collective have opened up Angelenos' ears and spirits to the wonders of the environments around them. These all ages happenings are generous affairs both for the audience and performers who are encouraged to embrace the indeterminacy of outdoor performance and expand into the infinite potential of the moment. Floating succeeds in merging the ambience of the city with the intentionality of sonic artistry and as collective co-founder Noah Klein puts it, “Finding the threads between soundscape and landscape.” dublab co-founder Mark “Frosty” McNeill sat down with Noah Klein to discuss his personal musical practice, history of community organizing through the lens of music, deep love of nature and dedication to creative placemaking. Their conversation took place under a canopy of trees at Trails Cafe, in Griffith Park over a chickpea salad sandwich and cold beverages. This program is part of New Music USA's web magazine NewMusicBox “Guest Editor series”, which aims to celebrate a plurality of voices from across the nation and will feature exclusive content written, produced, or commissioned by a rotating artist or organization. The series kicks off with dublab. NewMusicBox, edited by Frank J. Oteri, amplifies creators and organizations who are building a vibrant future for new music in all its forms, and has provided a vital platform for creators to speak about issues relevant to them in their own words since 1999. The dublab partnership will feature new weekly content from at least 15 different voices through January 2023, presented in conversations, DJ mixes, articles, and live performances all exploring the current landscape of music composition. The Guest Editor is the first such series in the magazine's 23-year history and reflects New Music USA's aim to deepen its impact across the many diverse music communities across the United States. This aim is also demonstrated by NewMusicBox's ongoing “Different Cities, Different Voices” feature that spotlights music creation hubs across the nation. https://newmusicusa.org/newmusicbox/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dublab-inconversation/support

Victoria Shen's needle nails technique, which was appropriately earlier this summer in a Beyoncé video, is just one of many new approaches to making sounds that Shen (who performs under the moniker Evicshen) uses in her provocative performances and installations. But even though all the sounds she makes, and often all the devices she uses to make them as well, are her own creations, she is ambivalent about describing herself as a composer as she tells Frank J. Oteri in this NewMusicBox podcast. To learn more about Shen and to see as well as hear more of her work, please visit NewMusicBox: https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/victoria-shen-the-landfill-of-meaning/

While the idiosyncratic graphic scores of 2022 Pulitzer Prize winning composer Raven Chacon are stunningly original in their conception and have been recognized as works of visual art in their own right (several are in this year's Whitney Biennial), they have a larger social purpose. WARNING: A little bit after the 44 minute mark in this hour-long podcast there is an excerpt of a musical performance involving shotguns.

"The text is so crucial to my process. I try and derive every little detail -- rhythm and harmony and melody and the overall mood and tone and textures and timbres of the piece -- from the text itself. The text is really at the heart of everything I do."Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been called "devastatingly beautiful" (The Washington Post) and praised for its "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies deployed with finesse" (The New York Times). Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW ensemble, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Modesto Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Phoenix Chorale, Tonality, and VocalEssence.​The recipient of ACDA's inaugural Raymond W. Brock Competition for Professional Composers, an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, Trumbore has also served as Composer in Residence for Choral Chameleon. She has been awarded artist residencies at Copland House, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, the Tusen Takk Foundation, and Ucross. Her choral works have been commissioned for premieres at national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, American Guild of Organists, Chorus America, and National Collegiate Choral Organization, and her music is available through Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, and Graphite Marketplace.Trumbore is passionate about setting to music poems, prose, and found text by living writers. She has  written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays for Cantate Magazine, the Center for New Music, and NewMusicBox. Her first book, Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life, was hailed by writer Angela Myles Beeching as a "treasure trove of practical strategies for moving your artistic career forward... not only for composers, but for performers, writers, and any other creatives." Trumbore's short fiction is published or forthcoming from Southern Indiana Review, New Delta Review, and F(r)iction. She is currently working on a collection of short stories.Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition (B.M.) and English (B.A.) from the University of Maryland, as well as a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. A New Jersey native, Trumbore currently lives in Azusa, CA with her spouse and their three cats.To get in touch with Dale, you can visit her website --  daletrumbore.com -- or use her contact form.Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels

For Anthony Davis, whose compositional aesthetics are an amalgamation of several different musical traditions (jazz, Western classical music, gamelan), different kinds of music recall different emotional states and experiences in terms of what the music implies. So it's inevitable that he has devoted so much of his compositional energies to opera, and in particular to using the operatic medium to tell stories that either deal with significant historic events or which focus on important social concerns. As he tells Frank J. Oteri in this latest episode of NewMusicBox's SoundLives podcast, "What we face now ... has made it more urgent for me, as an artist, to present things to challenge those forces." Read more on NewMusicBox: https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/anthony-davis-any-means-necessary/.

Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke shares her experience of imposter syndrome, a feeling that one is not worthy or deserving of one's success. We discuss how these inner bullying voices originated in relation to her body image and how music became a safe, empowering space. Lastly, Sasha shares how couples therapy and practicing gratitude enable her to take ownership and responsibility for her personal and musical life, and how she stays connected to her kids when she's on tour. This episode of LooseLeaf NoteBook is supported by New Music USA and featured on NewMusicBox. www.sashacooke.com Questions or comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel

How we perceive sound on a psychological level as it unfolds over time is key to the sonic experiences that Sarah Hennies creates. Despite the extremely broad stylistic range of her output, everything from her early collaborative work as part of an experimental rock band to a multimedia documentary to extended duration solo and chamber music compositions for various instrumental combinations, it all shares a concern for extremely precise sonic gestures and involves a great deal of repetition. While Sarah Hennies prides herself on scores that are extremely economical (a score for a nearly 34-minute piece is a mere two pages), the sonorities feel extremely generous.

Psychiatrist Alana Mendelsohn, MD, PhD, Catherine Hancock, and Katya Gruzgliina share the mission of Creatives Care, which aims to partner artists with affordable mental health care providers and help individuals assess what kind of therapy might be right for their specific needs. Our conversation covers why therapy is particularly beneficial for artists, how to understand when you might need help, and how to handle obstacles that keep us from seeking support. Catherine and Katya share their own personal experiences with vocal injury and its relationship to their work de-stigmatizing mental and physical illness within the arts. Lastly, we discuss questions collected from our podcast listeners, which range from how to handle career disappointment, leaving the arts, to how to process the unfolding crisis in the Ukraine. This episode is supported by New Music USA and featured on NewMusicBox www.creativescare.org Questions or comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel

Composer, arranger, conductor, and teacher Alice Parker has been a fixture of the choral music community since working with the legendary Robert Shaw Chorale when she was fresh out of college in the late 1940s. As she explains to Frank J. Oteri. Parker has devoted herself almost exclusively to music for the voice, since she strongly believes that people find their common ground through singing together. Read more at NewMusicBox: https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/alice-parker-feeling-the-same-emotion-at-the-same-time/

Composer Andrew Norman shares how his creative anxiety has led him into a current period of writer's block. We discuss how his frenetic language captures how thoughts move in his mind, the underlying sources of his anxiety, and brainstorm together how he can move forward to reconnect with the joy of his creative process.   This episode of LooseLeaf NoteBook is supported by New Music USA and featured on NewMusicBox.    www.andrewnormanmusic.com   Questions and comments may be shared on my YouTube channel. 

We open this segment with the music of Steve Gunn, one of the artists featured in a recent episode of Essential Tremors,a terrific and very popular podcast from WYPR's Podcast Central that explores the musical influences of composers and performers across a full spectrum of musical genres. The podcast debuted in 2018, and it's just dropped its 50th episode. Joining Tom now to talk about the podcast's concept, and how it's worked for the past three-plus years, are Essential Tremors' creators and co-hosts: Matt Byars is the drummer and sound processor in the DC-based band The Caribbean, and plays as Attorneys General and The Jarvik 6; he is also a middle school English teacher. He was previously a contributor to WYPR's “The Signal.” Matt was raised in Kentucky and has lived in Baltimore since the mid-1990s. Lee Gardner has been a professional journalist and music writer for more than 25 years. He's the former music editor, and editor in chief, of Baltimore City Paper. Lee is currently a senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington, DC. His writing has appeared in or on The Wire, Newmusicbox, Nylon, National Public Radio, and numerous altweeklies. He was born in Tennessee. Lee Gardner and Matt Byars join us on Zoom from Baltimore. Essential Tremors streams on WYPR's Podcast Central and other platforms. It's alsobroadcast on WYPR on the second Sunday of every month at 7:00 PM on 88.1 FM and at wypr.org.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Opera Uprising we talk about: * Libretto Creation * The Priestess of Morphine  * Voice type inclusivity * Writing for Trans Voices * Including LGBTQIA+ Stories Find out more about Aiden Feltkamp Anthology of New Music: Trans & Nonbinary Voices, Vol. 1  Website: aidenkimfeltkamp.com Twitter: @TransCherubino  Bio: Aiden K. Feltkamp (they/he) began their artistic life at the age of 5 playing a quarter-size cello and now they're "upending preconceptions about voice and gender" (New York Times) as a trans nonbinary writer.   Aiden's written work spans the serious and the ridiculous, the real and the surreal. Some of their favorite projects include: an opera with Dana Kaufman about Emily Dickinson's queerness, an interactive fiction experience about alien communication coded in Javascript (“Hello, Aria”), new English translations of Jewish lesbian erotic poet Marie-Madeleine's work (The Priestess of Morphine with Rosśa Crean), and a four-part series decoupling gender and voice types. Most recently, their work has been commissioned by Cantus, Amherst College, and the International Museum of Surgical Sciences, and has been published in Crêpe & Penn, Bait/Switch, and NewMusicBox.   Before pursuing their medical transition, Aiden performed opera professionally, specializing in Baroque opera and new music. Their most fulfilling roles include Hansel, Prince Orlofsky, Cherubino, Ottavia in L'incoronazione di Poppea (especially in a Baroque gesture production with director Drew Minter), and Elizabeth in the World and NY premieres of Griffin Candey's Sweets by Kate. They continue to train their new voice and have recently performed as Figaro in ChamberQUEER's abridged Le Nozze di Figaro.   As an equity and inclusion specialist, they consult for performing arts organizations, funders, universities, and businesses. Aiden has worked with Johnson & Johnson, Yelp, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, OPERA America, the League of American Orchestras, and the LA Phil. Currently, they wrangle composers and arts administrators as the first-ever Director of Emerging Composers and Diversity for the American Composers Orchestra. Aiden is a Turn the Spotlight fellow (20/21 cohort), mentoring with Kathleen Kelly. As part of the fellowship, they curated New Music Shelf's Anthology of New Music: Trans & Nonbinary Voices, Vol. 1. They graduated from Bard College Conservatory's Graduate Vocal Arts Program (under the direction of Dawn Upshaw) with a Masters of Music, and received their B.S. in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University. They hold certifications in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Cornell University) and Data Science (BrainStation). They currently live in Jersey City with their partner, cat, parrots, and robot dog. 

For Huang Ruo, music--like theater--exists in a four-dimensional space. As he explains to Frank J. Oteri in this latest episode of NewMusicBox's SoundLives podcast, there is also a larger purpose in most of Huang Ruo's work, whether it is to call attention to stories of people, particularly Asians and Asian-Americans, whose voices have often not been heard, or to provide an environment for reflection and healing.

Among the recurring themes in talking with composer-pianist-conductor Matthew Aucoin is generosity and risk-taking, something that is in abundance in Aucoin's own music as well as his personality. Over the course of an hour, Aucoin talks with Frank J. Oteri about his opera Eurydice, which was just performed at the Metropolitan Opera; the first commercial recording of his music; his just released new book about opera, The Impossible Art, which was also just released; his desire to develop new musical repertoire that addresses climate change; his critique of Pierre Boulez, and much much more. Read an introductory essay and a full transcript at NewMusicBox: https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/matthew-aucoin-risking-generosity/

NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy Award-winner Terri Lyne Carrington was practically born into jazz, but she is not a traditionalist. By embracing elements from rock, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop into her own compositions, she is making music that is very much about the present moment. And in founding the Berklee Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice and now partnering with New Music USA on the new Next Jazz Legacy program, Terri Lyne hopes to build a future that dismantles the jazz patriarchy and eliminates the gender imbalance among instrumentalists.

Hi friends! Welcome back to the Composer Happy Hour. If you are reading this, you are likely a fan of the show and/or an avid supporter of whateverandeveramen. Thank you so much for your ongoing support - we really do appreciate it. If you haven't already, please rate and review the podcast here or on your chosen streaming platform (or both!). This is most appreciated. Our guest this episode is Jennifer Jolley. I had a chance to work with Jenn back in 2016 when she was in a residency with my choirs. I was quickly impressed with her as a composer, but also as a human. She is very kind and supportive of young musicians, and incredibly humble. So humble, in fact, that she has an entire blog dedicated to her own musical rejections. Her choral music often sets texts that address a fairly specific moment in time or experience. This is in stark contrast to the "tradition" of setting pretty poetry by dead white people, that seems to aim for timelessness, but too often ends up not being very good even in the moment. In this episode we discuss baseball, how to give directions in California, and why f*ck is such a great word for choral music. As always, if you like what you hear - buy us a beer! Your contributions will help to fund future projects by whateverandeveramen. Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) is a composer, blogger, and professor person. She is also a cat lover and part-time creative opera producer. ​ Jennifer's work draws toward subjects that are political and even provocative. Her collaboration with librettist Kendall A, Prisoner of Conscience, has been described as “the ideal soundtrack and perhaps balm for our current ‘toxic… times'” by Frank J. Oteri of NewMusicBox. Her piece, Blue Glacier Decoy, written as a musical response to the Olympic National Park, depicts the Pacific Northwest's melting glaciers. Her partnership with writer Scott Woods, You Are Not Alone, evokes the fallout of the #MeToo Movement. ​ Jennifer's works have been performed by ensembles worldwide. She has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Quince Ensemble, and many others. Jennifer deeply values the relationship that is created between composers and the communities with whom they collaborate. She has been composer-in-residence at multiple institutions. She promotes composer advocacy through her opera company NANOWorks Opera and her articles for NewMusicBox & I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Also, she is on the Executive Council of the Institute for Composer Diversity and the New Music USA Program Council. Jennifer joined the Texas Tech School of Music composition faculty in 2018 and has been a member of the composition faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp since 2015. www.jenniferjolley.com All Recordings Used by Permission of the Composer: "Prisoner of Conscience" (2015) Quince Ensemble "Drei Brücken" (2012) I. Roebling - Premiere Performance, Commissioned by the Contemporary Arts Center for their 2012 Gala, Drew Klein, Performance Curator III. Brent Spence - University of Toledo Chamber Singers "Her Speed Left the Winds Behind" (2020) Voices of Ascension and Trio Triumphatrix

A week after her first live concert performance since the pandemic, composer & percussionist Susie Ibarra talked with us about: a year of making music under quarantine; her collaborative approach to working with other musicians; her explorations of jazz, classical music, traditional Philippine music, and even indie rock; drums as melodic instruments; and the gender stereotyping of percussion in different genres and cultures.

For the past 20 years, Ricky Ian Gordon has been creating works for the stage—operas, musicals, or one-of a-kind music/theater hybrids—and getting them produced one after another, seemingly without a pause. But 14 months ago, everything came to a screeching halt as the world went into lockdown due to the pandemic. Read a full transcript of this conversation over at NewMusicBox: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/ricky-ian-gordon-my-way-of-enveloping-a-story

The only thing that is almost as exciting as watching and listening to a multimedia performance by Pamela Z is to hear her talk about it which she does for almost an hour in a fascinating conversation with Frank J. Oteri that spans a wide range of topics including: creating and performing during the pandemic; her artistic beginnings as a singer-songwriter and how she transitioned into an experimental composer; a difficult encounter with TSA agents; dealing with constant changes in technology; and her obsession with old telephones. Read a complete transcript and see and hear some of Pamela Z's music on NewMusicBox: nmbx.newmusicusa.org/pamela-z-expan…-imaginations/

Judith Lang Zaimont is defiantly unwilling to be typecast for creating music in a particular style, which makes her music always a welcome surprise. NewMusicBox editor Frank J. Oteri talks with her constant reinvention and re-evaluation of her music for solo piano, chamber ensembles, orchestras, and Jewish religious services. To read a complete transcription of this podcast, visit NewMusicBox: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/judith-lang-zaimont-the-music-she-has-to-write/

Valerie Coleman is committed to storytelling through her music, no matter the idiom. NewMusicBox editor Frank J. Oteri talks with her about her early realization that she is a composer and what a composer's responsibilities are. To read a complete transcription of this podcast, visit NewMusicBox: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/valerie-coleman-writing-music-for-people/

Julie Giroux, who creates music primarily for wind band, takes musicians and audiences on a journey that is a real sonic adventure and, at the same time, is always fun. NewMusicBox editor Frank J. Oteri talks with her about the ins and outs of the wind band (including an in-depth discussion of her own wind band symphonies), her career in Hollywood (which led to her being the first female composer to win an Emmy), her wacky arrangements of Christmas songs, and how she's coping with life in quarantine. To read a complete transcription of this podcast, visit NewMusicBox: nmbx.newmusicusa.org/julie-giroux-a…f-168-crayons/

We launch the first episode of the Band Room Bookshelf with composer and writer, Dale Trumbore, speaking about her book, Staying Composed: Overcoming anxiety and self-doubt within a creative life. Dylan and Dale speak about her background, what inspired her to write the book, the loads of ideas and techniques to help deal with the struggles creatives face and much more!Help Support the Band Room Podcast by Becoming a Patron Through Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/bandroompodBRP Storehttp://www.bandroompod.com/storeMusic used in this episodeBRP Theme Music: Skyline by EKR HammellPerforming Ensemble: University of Toronto Wind Ensemble, Dr. Gillian MacKay, Conductor About DaleDale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been praised by The New York Times for its "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies." Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by ensembles including the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Modesto Symphony, Pacific Chorale, Pasadena Symphony, The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, and VocalEssence.Trumbore's 2019-2020 season included performances at the NCCO National Conference, the Norton Simon Museum, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. She has served as Composer in Residence for Choral Chameleon as well as Artist in Residence at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Copland House, and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico.​How to Go On, Choral Arts Initiative's album of Trumbore's choral works, debuted at #6 on Billboard's Traditional Classical Chart. Choral Arts Northwest, The Esoterics, Helix Collective, New York Virtuoso Singers, and soprano Gillian Hollis have also commercially recorded works by Trumbore. Her choral works are available through Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, and Graphite Marketplace.As a composer who works frequently with words, Trumbore is passionate about setting to music poems, prose and found text by living writers. She has written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays for 21CM, Cantate Magazine, the Center for New Music, and NewMusicBox. Her first book, Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life, was hailed by writer Angela Myles Beeching (Beyond Talent) as a "treasure trove of practical strategies for moving your artistic career forward... not only for composers, but for performers, writers, and any other creatives."Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition and English from the University of Maryland and a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. A New Jersey native, Trumbore lives in Azusa, CA with her husband and their two cats.Episode LinksDale's Websitehttps://www.daletrumbore.com/Staying Composedhttps://www.amazon.ca/Staying-Composed-Overcoming-Self-Doubt-Creative/dp/109724864X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=staying+composed&qid=1606668479&sr=8-1​Follow Dale on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/daletrumbore/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bandroompod)

David Biedenbender is an Assistant Professor of Composition at Michigan State and a member of the Blue Dot Collective. He joins the show to talk about his music and share his thoughts about composing for band. Topics: David’s background growing up in Michigan and learning music by watching his mother play organ, and how a high school band director gave him his first big break that led to him studying music. Studying at Central Michigan University and how he didn’t write a single band piece while studying with David Gillingham The story of how he wrote Melodius Thunk and bringing in popular elements such as jazz and rock and roll into the concert band medium. Influences on his compositional style, a conversation about development in band music, and why he self-publishes his music and distributes it through Murphy Music Press. Links: David Biedenbender Murphy Music Press Biedenbender: Melodious Thunk Beidenbender: Cyclotron Abide With Me Biography: David Biedenbender (b. 1984, Waukesha, Wisconsin) is a composer, conductor, performer, educator, and interdisciplinary collaborator. David’s music has been described as “simply beautiful” [twincities.com], “striking” and “brilliantly crafted” [Times Argus] and is noted for its “rhythmic intensity” [NewMusicBox] and “stirring harmonies” [Boston Classical Review]. “Modern, venturesome, and inexorable…The excitement, intensity, and freshness that characterizes Biedenbender’s music hung in the [air] long after the last note was played” [Examiner.com]. He has written music for the concert stage as well as for dance and multimedia collaborations, and his work is often influenced by his diverse musical experiences in rock and jazz bands as an electric bassist, in wind, jazz, and New Orleans-style brass bands as a euphonium, bass trombone, and tuba player, and by his study of Indian Carnatic music. His present creative interests include working with everyone from classically trained musicians to improvisers, acoustic chamber music to large ensembles, and interactive electronic interfaces to live brain data. David has had the privilege of collaborating with many renowned performers and ensembles, including Alarm Will Sound, the PRISM Saxophone Quartet, the Stenhammar String Quartet (Sweden), the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, the United States Navy Band, the Philharmonie Baden-Baden (Germany), VocalEssence, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Music from Copland House Ensemble, Detroit Symphony Orchestra bass trombonist Randall Hawes and pianist Kathryn Goodson, the Juventas New Music Ensemble, the Washington Kantorei, the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, the Boston New Music Initiative, Ann Arbor Dance Works, Composer’s Inc. (San Francisco), and the Grand Valley State New Music Ensemble. dsc_3680Recent recognition for his work includes two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (2011, 2012) and the 2012 Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award. His music has been heard in many diverse venues, including Carnegie Hall, Gaudeamus Muziekweek/TivoliVredenberg (Netherlands), Symphony Space (New YorkCity), the Smithsonian Museum, the German Embassy (Washington, DC), the Antonín Dvořák Museum (Prague), the Old First Church (San Francisco), Harris Hall (Aspen Music Festival), the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Hill Auditorium (Ann Arbor, MI), the University of Michigan Museum of Art, as well as at numerous universities and conservatories, and it has been broadcast on NPR stations around the country, including on WNYC’s Soundcheck with John Schaefer and on Center Stage from Wolf Trap. David’s music can also be heard on many commercially available recordings, including recent albums by the U.S. Navy Band, Akropolis Reed Quintet, H2 Saxophone Quartet, Khemia Ensemble, PUBLIQuartet, and the North Texas Wind Symphony. Recent and upcoming commissions and projects include works for yMusic, the New York Virtuoso Singers, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, San Francisco Symphony principal trombonist Tim Higgins, the Albany (NY) Symphony Orchestra, the Edge Ensemble, the Donald Sinta Saxophone Quartet, the Akropolis Reed Quintet, Kevin Sedatole and the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, and pianist Jeannette Fang. In addition to composing, David is a dedicated teacher. He is Assistant Professor of Composition in the College of Music at Michigan State University, and he previously taught composition and theory at Boise State University, Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University, Madonna University, the Music in the Mountains Conservatory, and the Interlochen Arts Camp. He has also taught an interdisciplinary course in creativity and collaboration in the Living Arts program at the University of Michigan. His composition students have achieved regional and national recognition for their creative work, including numerous awards and acceptance into renowned summer music festivals and undergraduate and graduate composition programs. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in composition from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the Bachelor of Music degree in composition and theory from Central Michigan University. He has also studied at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in Uppsala, Sweden with Anders Hillborg and Steven Stucky, the Aspen Music Festival and School with Syd Hodkinson, and in Mysore, India where he studied South Indian Carnatic music. His primary musical mentors include Stephen Rush, Evan Chambers, Kristin Kuster, Michael Daugherty, Bright Sheng, Erik Santos, Christopher Lees, David R. Gillingham, José Luis-Maurtúa, John Williamson, and Mark Cox.

Dale Trumbore is a successful composer and the author of the recently released book Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life. She joins the show to talk about her career, her music, and to talk about issues related to anxiety for musicians. Topics: Dale’s background and her journey to becoming a full time composer, including some lessons learned from an influential teacher. Dale’s career as a composer including her choral music, how she finds text to set, and the value she sees for students who are part of commissions. A long discussion about anxiety and strategies for coping with it in a creative career. Some actionable tips for working through creative blocks. Links: Dale Trumbore, Composer Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life Trumbore: In the Middle Yoga with Adriene Messiaen: O Sacrum Convivium Biography: Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been praised by The New York Times for its "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies." Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by ensembles including the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Modesto Symphony, Neave Trio, Pacific Chorale, Pasadena Symphony, The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, and VocalEssence. Trumbore is Composer in Residence for Choral Chameleon and was previously Composer in Residence for Nova Vocal Ensemble. She has been an Artist in Residence at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Copland House, Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and Willapa Bay AiR. How to Go On, Choral Arts Initiative's album of Trumbore's choral works, debuted at #6 on Billboard's Traditional Classical Chart. Choral Arts Northwest, The Esoterics, Helix Collective, New York Virtuoso Singers, and soprano Gillian Hollis have also commercially recorded works by Trumbore. Her published choral works are available through Boosey & Hawkes and G. Schirmer.​ As a composer who works frequently with words, Trumbore is passionate about setting to music poems, prose and found text by living writers. She has written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays for 21CM, Cantate Magazine, the Center for New Music, and NewMusicBox, and she is the author of Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life. Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition and English from the University of Maryland and a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. A New Jersey native, Trumbore lives in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of L.A. with her fiancé and their two cats.

Composer Jennifer Jolley is on the faculty at Texas Tech University and Interlochen and is a member of ADJ*ective New Music and the Blue Dot Collective. In this episode she discusses her career, including how she got into writing for band. Topics: Jennifer’s background and her current gig as a composition professor at Texas Tech University. Combining electronic music with band and how composers can best help teachers bring these types of works to life. How Jennifer got involved in writing music for band and the story of “And The Eyes of the World are Upon You” commissioned by Jerry Junkin and Kappa Kappa Psi. The Fail Blog. Jennifer’s thoughts about self-publishing and distributors and why that’s important for composers. The story of how Jennifer has recognized that her anxiety was in getting in the way of her happiness and the story of her decision to seek help. Links: Jennifer Jolley Why I Compose, aka "The Fail Blog" Blue Dot Collective ADJective New Music Murphy Music Press Jolley: The Eyes of the World are Upon You Jolley: Ash Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 Reich: Music for 18 Musicians Norman: Play: Level 1 Biography: Composer Jennifer Jolley’s diverse catalog includes choral, orchestral, wind ensemble, chamber, and electronic works. She has been commissioned by ensembles and institutions across the United States, including the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, University of Texas at Austin, Bowling Green State University, Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, The Canales Project, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, among others. She is Assistant Professor of Composition at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, is the co-founder of North American New Opera Workshop, and has written articles for the e-zine NewMusicBox. In recent years, Jennifer has been increasingly drawn toward subjects that are political and even provocative. Her 2015 collaboration with librettist Kendall A, Prisoner of Conscience, sets to music statements made by the Russian punk-rock band Pussy Riot as they stood trial in Moscow for “hooliganism” and “religious hatred.” Quince Ensemble has performed the piece widely and has released a recording on their album Motherland with New Focus Recordings. Jennifer’s 2017 piece The Eyes of the World Are Upon You, commissioned by the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble, reflects on the first-ever campus shooting in America, which took place at UT-Austin in 1966. Jennifer’s blog—on which she has catalogued more than 100 rejection letters from competitions, festivals, and prizes—is widely read and admired by professional musicians. She is particularly passionate about this project as a composition teacher, and enjoys removing the taboo around “failure” for her students. In addition to her professorship at Texas Tech, she is a member of the composition faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp. Jennifer deeply values the relationship that is created between composers and the communities with whom they collaborate. She has been composer-in-residence at Brevard College, University of Toledo, and the Vermont Symphony, and was in-residence at the Central Michigan University School of Music and the Alba Music Festival in Italy in 2018. She will be the Composer-in-Residence of the Women Composers Festival of Hartford in 2019. Jennifer Jolley took 2nd Place for the 2017–18 American Prize in Composition (Band/Wind Ensemble Division) and was a finalist for the the Symphony Number One Call for Scores. She holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where her principal teachers included Stephen Hartke, Frank Ticheli, Michael Fiday, Joel Hoffman, and Douglas Knehans.

Description: Reena Esmail knows she doesn’t look like a stereotypical composer, but that doesn’t prevent her from making a big impact. Known for her signature blend of Indian and Western classical music, Reena joins us in the studio to discuss stage fright, getting in touch with her heritage, how the #MeToo movement inspired her, and the washing machine that sparked a revelation. Playlist: Here is a Spotify playlist with hand-picked selections from Chrysanthe, Thomas, and Reena Esmail. Music Featured in Interview: “String Quartet: Ragamala” by Reena Esmail (Listen / Score) “Piano Sonata No. 15 in C, K.545: 1. Allegro” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (iTunes / Spotify) “Jhula Jhule” by Reena Esmail (Listen / Score) “Die Forelle, D. 550” by Franz Schubert (iTunes / Spotify) “Träumerei” by Robert Schumann (iTunes / Spotify) “This Love Between Us” by Reena Esmail (Listen) “Tuttarana” by Reena Esmail (Listen / Score) “#metoo” by Reena Esmail “Nishani” by Reena Esmail (Listen / Score) Additional Links: Hindustani Music: Cultural Collisions (and Washing Machines) - Reena’s blog on NewMusicBox about the washing machine Lightning Round: What genre is your music?  Indpressionism -- “the opposite of Impressionism” Performance ritual? Performance ritual: “breathe, open your mouth, smile.” Composing ritual: A very specific, solitary tea ritual involving the Harney & Sons Soho blend. A modern/technological tool that’s extremely helpful to your practice? iPad. It was so game-changing that Reena celebrates the anniversary of getting her iPad (July 17, 2017). A failure that turned out for the best? Failing to be a pianist Something besides music that you’re obsessed with right now? Hardcore math and data sets. A piece of art that changed your life? The chandelier at Mandarin Oriental by Dale Chihuly on 59th and Broadway in New York City. Find Reena Esmail online: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter Something Old: “Call Me a Rainbow” by The Mummers (YouTube) Something New: “String Quartet No. 9” by Georg Friedrich Haas (YouTube) Something Borrowed: Bye Bye Beethoven Concert by Patricia Kopatchinskaja (YouTube) Something Blue: “Aquarium” by Nosaj Thing (iTunes / Spotify) Credits: Hosts: Chrysanthe Tan and Thomas Kotcheff Guest: Reena Esmail Script: Chrysanthe Tan Recording engineer: Mark Hatwan Produced by: Chrysanthe Tan Editing: Mark Hatwan Underscore is an extension of the Classical KUSC family Podcast theme: "Playground Day" by Chrysanthe Tan (iTunes / Spotify) Social Media: Facebook: /underscorefm Twitter: @underscorefm Instagram: @underscorefm Thomas is @thomaskotcheff on Twitter and Instagram. Chrysanthe is @chrysanthetan on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Facebook group: Join our Facebook group, Underscore Society, to give us your thoughts, request future topics, and connect with other podcast listeners! Newsletter: Sign up for our mailing list to receive Underscore updates, offers, and opportunities to connect with other music aficionados. Email: Thoughts, questions, suggestions? We’re at info@underscore.fm

No Garrett this week, but we dove in to talk about those HOT summer festivals you're waiting to get rejected from. Newmusicbox link: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/get-out-there-alternative-opportunities-for-composers-and-performers/ NYT article Alaina talked about: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html As always, contact us at youngmusicianspodcast@gmail.com SEND US QUESTIONS PLZ

Joining us this week is Tracy Wiggins, coordinator of the percussion program at The University of North Alabama.  His interests and experiences are varied, ranging from principle timpanist for several orchestras, to a tuba-percussion duo called Peruba, to playing in the pit for numerous operas and musicals.Topics: Mariah Carey's year-ending performance, hearing protection and decibel results from PASIC 2016, music programming debates, and John Cage's Third ConstructionWatch here. Listen below. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element 0:00 Hello and Happy New Year 10:33 Hearing protection and PASIC 2016 decibel tests results33:31 Quote from Andrew Normam on NewMusicBox.org on why we should program new music54:15 John Cage 3rd Construction - form and "Square Root" formula

To say that Frank J. Oteri has a multi-faceted career in music is a gross understatement. In addition to his own work as a composer, he has been the Co-Editor for NewMusicBox since it was created in 1999, where he writes and reports on all manner of topics relating to the realm of new music, and he bears the unique title of Composer Advocate at New Music USA. He works tirelessly on behalf of composers in the US and abroad, and has a breadth and depth of knowledge of living composers and their works that is, quite simply, staggering. I've been friends with Frank and his wife Trudy Chan (Ep. 25) for years, and it's always a joy to hang out and chat with either of them. So for this week, Frank and I sat down with a bottle of wine, and talked for over two hours! Rest assured, I've split the conversation into two parts so that the second half will come out next week. In Part 1 of this lengthy conversation, we talk about pushing artistic boundaries, the nature of “originality”, and what it means to be an advocate for new music. Links: Frank J. Oteri Frank's writings at NewMusicBox Andrew Norman: On Being Named Composer of the Year by Musical America

I'm joined this week by a number of friends and colleagues to break down The Midwest Clinic, which we all just attended – most of us for the first time. Trudy Chan returns to the show, then Frank J. Oteri (Trudy's husband, and the founder/co-editor of NewMusicBox) joins the conversation, then Sean Perrin of the Clarineat podcast and Garrett Hope (the Justin Timberlake to MPP's SNL) have a nice chat about our first experiences at the conference. In short: it's HUGE, it's overwhelming for a first-timer, and it's an amazing opportunity for composers and for musicians of all stripes to network and to explore a wealth of music, most of it new. Links: The Midwest Clinic Clarineat with Sean Perrin

Alexandra Gardner is a great composer who, thanks in no small part to her time as an Associate Editor for NewMusicBox, knows a lot about the nuts and bolts workings of the concert music world. For this week, she and I sat down to talk about a wide range of practical considerations for composers. During our conversation, we touched on: Pricing your scores Comparing your prices to similar scores by other self-publishied composers or put out by traditional publishers Prices that reflect blood, sweat, and tears cs. those that reflect concrete costs of printing & binding Taking where you are in your career into consideration when pricing your scores Composer web sites Integrating your non-musical interests into your composer site to make it more interesting and engaging Making your site easy to navigate, and your materials/info easy to find Providing the information that performers and presenters need Information redundancies across your site Taking into account the Luddites in the concert music world when making your site Evaluating the use of your time honestly Advice and “your mileaeg may vary” Getting your doctorate Gaining skills from non-musical day jobs Networking and how we perceive it Capital “N” Networking vs. lower-case “n” networking Contacting new people Links: Alexandra Gardner Alex for NewMusicBox “Fair Trade for Sheet Music” by Dennis Tobenski Alex Shapiro: Notes from the Kelp MPP on Twitter MPP on Facebook

After having never met Rob Deemer before in person, I had TWO conversations with him in less than a week for the podcast! Conversation No. 1 was marred by some unexpected audio issues, so we re-recorded less than a week later, and that's what you're getting this week. During Convo No. 2, we talked about: How side projects can boost your career Being able to talk about your music Labels as specifiers & Labels as marketing Drawing parallels between concert music and other fields The ways we talk about “new music” Music as an Experience Program notes Social media as a serious form of professional communication Interacting with musicians when you (or they) live outside of a major metropolitan area Teaching inexperienced artists how to interact on social media Forming deeper relationships online Building community in different ways Relating public professional interactions to professional didactic experiences Operating as a professional online Being human and approachable online Teaching teachers to compose Teaching entrepreneurship and business skills The history of self publishing & the history of teaching music in universities Career trajectories Short term gains vs. long term sacrifices in publishing Making educated and thoughtful business decisions Balancing your time between admin tasks and writing However! Since we covered such vastly different material in each conversation (of course with not-insignificant overlap), we've decided to offer our first conversation as “bonus content” for this week's episode, if you don't mind listening to “the sexiest voice in classical music” through a slight haze of static. Download it HERE. Links: Rob Deemer on Twitter Rob's articles at NewMusicBox