Monday, May 22, 2017

Kick-start

Considering the consequences of that horrible day last week, I've been thinking about what I need to do to move things along in my career, at least to a point that I can feel comfortably satisfied about where I'm going.

Yes, I need to write some music. In the short term, I'm looking at some of the projects from a previous blog. Since much of Labyrinth was conceived as a string quartet, I've been revisiting it. I've pared down most of the first movement and the last third of the finale movement. I will probably drop the interludes - the second one would work fine, but the first one would need to be either solo violin, or have the piano accompaniment scored. I could do that and make a real movement out of it. That would give the quartet the traditional 4 movements. I want to enter it in a competition, so whatever I do, it will have to happen quickly. The big question is how much different I want to make it from the other piece. At the moment, it is a straight reduction. I might make some changes in the first movement, but the middle movement and finale will probably be reductions. I wouldn't be the first person to rescore larger works for smaller forces.


Anyway, the real reason for this blog is a recording. I need to get my music out there, and I would like to do it in a quality way: a real orchestra, with multiple takes and well-edited. It's going to be a while before Labyrinth is committed to CD, but as I consider myself an orchestral composer, I should be looking in that direction.

The first thing I'll need to do before I apply for grants, etc., or set up a crowd-funding campaign will be estimating costs.

To do that, though, I need to decide repertoire, and that is where I'll need some input.

1. Should it be a CD solely of my music, or should I get other composers involved?

Option A: I do have some friends who are pretty major composers who could be the "name" on the CD to help sell it. If I stick with American, that would limit me a little, but it might help with grant applications. I could consider recording one of my arrangements of Nørgård that haven't been recorded, which brings me to the next issue: a soloist. Helle Nacht and Between have been recorded, the later of which will probably be released next year. A chamber version (I think) of Remembering Child was recorded this year, which was basically the original version with a one on a part strings, not my sinfonietta version. There is an orchestra that may be touring with it this year, but it is probably too close to the other recording, especially as it would probably be with the same soloist. Cantica Concertante hasn't been performed, so that is another possibility. Otherwise, there are a few British composers that I would consider including. Then it would be a matter of choosing one or two of my pieces.

Option B: This is where I need more input. Do I go with pieces that have been performed, which I am confident that would have some appeal, or do I record new pieces that have not yet been performed? New pieces would be Symphony No. 3, Chaos, and possibly the Labyrinth Concerto. I probably wouldn't want to go with two concertos because of the cost (three different soloists). Those three are about 65 minutes of music altogether. As I don't have a good full recording of my two old pieces and one new. I've got 3 people who know From Her Husband's Hand (17'), one of whom lives not too far away. Then add Symphony No 3 (25').

2. That's all likely to be expensive. I could go smaller. My Dante Tryptich is about 30' long and while all three movements have been performed, none of the chamber orchestra versions have been, except for Paradiso, which has been done in a slightly altered sinfonietta version. Perhaps that, along with some of my other large chamber pieces (Chaos Theory, The Master's Hammer), and maybe Oyre's Garden. (Full orchestra with a small woodwind section.) A Point of Amber Light or From Her Husband's Hand could fit as the concerto. (Or Cantica Concertante.)

3. Forces. I think it would be a waste of money if there was no name recognition. I know someone in the Cincinnati Symphony, so I have a contact there. I have similar relationships with other orchestras here and in the UK, but the Cincinnati Symphony is local, and the recording engineer I have in mind has recorded them on several occasions. I know several people in Symphoria (formerly the Syracuse Symphony), but there wouldn't be much name recognition there. That might be the cheap option, though, unless I went overseas. If we did the Nørgård, I could probably use the New Music Orchestra of Poland, since the soloist is touring with them soon.  They are a sinfonietta, so they would be suitable for the chamber orchestra disc, if that was the way I ultimately went. I don't really want to go with the Vienna Modern Masters or something like that, or with a university orchestra. (I know a couple of people who might read this have some experience with them.) Having an all-American cast would open up more grant money.

4. Conductor. Yes, I could do it, but I think having a full-time professional conductor would result in better use of rehearsal time. I have an idea whom I want, but he isn't American. I have to think about it. If we do Sym No. 3, maybe I could convince the dedicatee to come out of retirement for it. (He might even read this blog.) Soloists, I'm pretty set on.

5. Pipe dream. I would rather think of this as "Blue Sky" thinking. We are probably talking a 6-figure investment, and I probably won't achieve that much in a crowd-funding campaign. If I can get half of that, I might be able to get a grant body to match it.

OK, so I need your input at this point. Let me know your thoughts, either here or on Facebook, or by email.

4 comments:

  1. I think there might be more grant money available if you go with a student for the conductor. I have a friend that just won a grant to commission and conduct a piece. It would likely mean being tied to working with a university orchestra though, which is not ideal, but partnering with someone like that might help momentum.

    If you could get some musicians with name recognition, that might be a more marketable way to go. Then use all your own compositions. I tend to purchase music because I like the musicians/ensemble, rather than because I know the piece or composer. I might be in the minority though, not sure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Maria, that is a budget option, which is geared more toward a demo recording. There are very few university orchestras that will have any kind of sales pull, or be able to perform my music on few rehearsals. I'm not really looking to make any money on it, but having it say Noriko Ogawa and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rumon Gamba will look better on a resume/bio than a student performer and conductor with the CCM Philharmonic. (I probably wouldn't ask Rumon to conduct, but I used to play in an orchestra he conducted. I may ask Noriko, though, depending on funds and repertoire.)

    It all depends on money, really. Yes, I agree about the performer name recognition selling the CD, but if I put a Norgard (played by Jakob) or a(n Augusta Read) Thomas piece on it, there will will certainly be a few sales. Most won't buy it on my name alone. An unrecorded piece by a big composer name might overshadow a minor performer name. There might even be some Danish government money in it for the Norgard.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charles here (not sure how my name will appear in the comments)- I think having a mashup of composers on your CD will help sell it, because then different people will buy it for different composers, which will reach a wider audience. Then just by having the CD, they will get to know your work. Plus, getting other composers involved will probably increase your chances of grant funding, and of crowd-funding. I think maybe you should go half and half on the new pieces vs. old pieces though. People do like to hear things that they already know they like, but they also like to discover new works. I see no reason why you can't do both. Maybe submitting to A LOT of competitions will land you a good recording with a reputable group, although, then you may not get to choose your soloists. I don't even know if this is possible, but maybe you could use some of the grant funding to hire someone to do marketing for you. Self-promotion is slow on its own. Just some thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Entering a lot of competitions is difficult. Most want young composers - under 30 or 26 - or emerging composers. Because of my SNM commission, I don't fit the ACF definition of an emerging composer. I have tried that avenue before, but they probably see my age and summarily discard my entry.

    ReplyDelete