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2004 ESSENTIALLY CHORAL COMPOSERS ANNOUNCED

(NOVEMBER 2003) Composers Jesse Ayers (Canton, Ohio), Greg Schaffner (Saint Paul, Minn.), John Turner (New York, N.Y.), Ben Yarmolinsky (New York, N.Y.), and Edward David Zeliff (Upland, Calif.), were selected as participants in the 2004 Essentially Choral Reading Program. The program – co-sponsored by the Forum and the Minneapolis-based VocalEssence ensemble with funding from the Jerome Foundation – provides an opportunity for emerging composers from across the country to develop their skills in writing for choral ensemble with instrumental accompaniment. There were a total of 35 entries from 18 states and Canada.

In January, selected composers will have their works read by the Ensemble Singers, the 26-voice VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, and professional orchestral musicians. In conjunction with the reading session, composers will attend a rehearsal with the Ensemble Singers and a mentoring session with both VocalEssence Artistic Director Philip Brunelle and internationally recognized composer Sven-David Sandström. The session will take place on Saturday, January 10, 2004 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (rehearsal) and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. (reading) at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. Philip Brunelle will conduct the session. After the reading, the composers will benefit from mentoring sessions with Philip Brunelle and Sven-David Sandström.

"Because of the expense of working with such a large force of professional musicians, few composers will ever have the opportunity to hear their compositions performed during the process of writing the music. Essentially Choral gives these composers a chance to discover what works best – and what needs to be changed – in a supportive environment," says Faith Rynders, VocalEssence director of education and community partnerships.

The session is free and open to the public, so please feel free to attend.

For more information, contact David Wolff, 651-251-2833 or dwolff@composersforum.org.

A FORUM WITH THE FORUM

(NOVEMBER 2003) On November 11, almost 70 local composers gathered at Open Book in Minneapolis to talk about ways the Forum can better support them. Attendees were able to join new President John Nuechterlein and Minnesota Chapter Director David Wolff to talk with the Forum and to network with other creators. This was a much needed first step as we begin to work with each other toward building a sense of community with better and more diverse services to local composers. The reception was planned after a recent ACF survey showed there are nearly 600 composers in the Twin Cities metro area.

COMPOSER-TO-COMPOSER WITH GEORGE CRUMB

(OCTOBER 2003) In cooperation with the MacPhail Center for Music, the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and The Schubert Club, the Forum co-presented a Q&A forum featuring Pulitzer Prize and Grammy® award winning composer George Crumb at MacPhail on October 9. Crumb was in town to appear at the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota's concert of his music, including his landmark work Black Angels for String Quartet. Crumb took questions for over an hour, allowing composers, students and listeners of new music a behind-the-scenes look at composition, the state of new music and a preview of one of his new works.

WELCOME CHRISTMAS! 2003 CAROL WINNERS ANNOUNCED

(OCTOBER 2003) Two composers have been selected as the winners of the Sixth Annual Welcome Christmas! Carol Contest, co-sponsored by the Forum and Philip Brunelle’s Minneapolis-based VocalEssence ensemble. This year, the contest sought new carols for chorus with solo instrument accompaniment, and Thomas Fielding (Bloomington, Ind.) and Alan Higbee (Beechwood, Ohio) were selected from a total of 74 entries from 28 states. Fielding’s carol, "Behold the Dark and Bitter Night," is a setting of his own text and is scored for chorus accompanied by solo harp; Higbee’s carol, "In the Bleak Midwinter" sets a poem by Christina Rossetti, accompanied by solo oboe.

"Imagine what it was like when ‘Deck the Hall’ was first heard! Or the magical evening in the Austrian Alps when ‘Silent Night’ was first sung," says Philip Brunelle, artistic director of VocalEssence. "The carol competition was begun with the same idea because carols are a living, breathing part of our holiday experience. Every year we look for that unique carol that will touch everyone and make us happy to be celebrating another Christmas season."

Over the past five years, this annual contest has showcased 10 new carol settings: The 1998 competition for a cappella chorus was won by Joan Griffith and Richard Voorhaar; the 1999 competition for an audience participation carol was won by Robert A.M. Ross and Jonathan Santore; the 2000 competition for carols with harp accompaniment was won by Brian Holmes and Emily Maxson Porter; the 2001 competition for carols accompanied by string orchestra was won by Clive Muncaster and Sergey Khvoshchinsky; and the 2002 competition for carols accompanied by percussion was won by Mary Lynn Place Badarak and Paul Lohman.

The new carols for 2003 will be premiered at the VocalEssence Welcome Christmas! concerts at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis on Dec. 7 and 14 at 4 p.m., and at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, Minn., on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, call 612.624.2345 or visit VocalEssence at www.vocalessence.org. These concerts will be recorded for regional broadcast on the network stations of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), and distributed nationally by Public Radio International. For information on regional and national radio broadcasts, visit the MPR website: www.mpr.org.

COMPOSER-TO-COMPOSER WITH MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA

(AUGUST 2003) We’re pleased to announce the launch of Composer-To-Composer with Minnesota Orchestra for their 2003-04 concert season! The program will allow Forum members and friends to attend open rehearsals of visiting composers’ works and then participate in informal roundtable discussions with the guest composer. The program is an opportunity for composers to introduce themselves to visiting colleagues and to learn from one another.

COST: Students & ACF Members : Free; Non-members: $5
Please meet us at the Orchestra Hall Stage Door 15 minutes prior to each event’s scheduled time.
RSVP required to David Wolff at (651) 251-2833 or dwolff@composersforum.org.

JOHN CORIGLIANO • Wednesday, October 22
1:35-3:35 p.m. Open Rehearsal; 4:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussion
world premiere – Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan, with Hila Plitmann, soprano
More Concert Info and Purchase Concert Tickets

STEPHEN PAULUS • Wednesday, November 12
1:35-3:35 p.m. Open Rehearsal; approx. 4:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussion
world premiere – Concerto for Two Trumpets and Orchestra, with Doc Severinsen and Manuel Laureano, trumpet
More Concert Info and Purchase Concert Tickets

PETER LIEBERSON • Wednesday, November 26
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Open Rehearsal; 1:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussion
(*in addition to Peter Lieberson, the round table will involve conductor and composer Oliver Knussen)
world premiere – Leviathan, Piano Concerto, with Peter Serkin, piano
More Concert Info and Purchase Concert Tickets

AARON JAY KERNIS • Wednesday, February 4
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Open Rehearsal; 1:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussion
Color Wheel, for Orchestra
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NICHOLAS MAW • Wednesday, March 3
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Open Rehearsal; 1:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussion [note new time]
Violin Concerto, with Tasmin Little, violin
More Concert Info and Purchase Concert Tickets

All Composer-To-Composer events take place at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis.

FIRST ROUND OF ENCORE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

(AUGUST 2003) Earlier this year the Minnesota Chapter launched Encore, a new program that covers rehearsal and presentation costs for repeat performances of recent works by Forum composers. At present, composers and performers who have not previously worked together may apply jointly for Encore funding, with the stipulation that one party is Minnesota-based. Composers or performers living outside the state are eligible to apply if they can connect with a Minnesota-based partner. Congratulations to all grant recipients!

Encore is made possible by a generous gift from an anonymous donor. For more information, visit us at www.composersforum.org/encore or contact David Wolff at (651) 251-2833 or dwolff@composersforum.org.

To date, the following Encore grants have been awarded:
• The St. Paul-based a cappella vocal group Dare to Breathe received funding to perform "Chant for Clear Water" by composer R. Murray Schafer of Ontario, Canada. The work was taken on the road, with performances in May 2003 at high school auditoriums in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The ensemble was particularly excited by the opportunity to bring Schafer’s compelling music to small communities, where chances to hear contemporary music are rare.

• Composer Fred Sturm of Appleton, Wisc., received a world premiere of his "Picasso Cubed" by Minneapolis’ JAZZAX Saxophone Quartet on July 12, 2003, at the World Saxophone Congress. Held at the University of Minnesota, the Congress allowed hundreds of people to hear this tribute to saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. Subsequent performances will include concerts at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisc., MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, and a live concert recording at UW-River Falls. There are also plans to include the piece at educational concerts during the 2003-04 academic year at regional public schools.

• Three music faculty members from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., were awarded a grant to perform "Can’t Wait," a trio by California composer Martin Rokeach. Flutist Kay Sahlin, pianist Kent McWilliams, and clarinetist JoAnn Polley will include the work in concerts in Owatonna, Edina, and Northfield, Minn., in October 2003, and at St. Olaf’s Summer Music Camp in June 2004. The performers discovered the work when it was played at an August 2002 Society of Composers, Inc., conference and were eager to share it during their concerts for high school musicians.

• The Twin Cities-based Theatrical Music Company plans six performances of New York composer Seymour Barab’s "The Husband, The Wife, The Lover" in October and November, 2003, at Minneapolis’ Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater. Barab’s hour-long opera, which consists of five separate mini-operas, will be performed alongside the work of Samuel Barber in a production called "Seven American Operas in Ninety Minutes." Encore funding enabled this small company to hire four professional singers and a pianist for the run of the show.

• Pianist Craig Randal Johnson of Minneapolis, Minn., will present "Two Sonatas (After Scarlatti)" by Connecticut composer David Macbride in upcoming concerts in New Orleans, Hartford, Conn., and Marshall, Minn., in 2004. Other potential performance cities include New York, Los Angeles, and Hanover, Germany. Johnson will also present the work in educational outreach settings.

COMPOSERS SELECTED FOR DUO AHLERT & SCHWAB READING SESSION

(AUGUST 2003) The chapter would like to congratulate composers Jay Huber (Minneapolis), Tyler Kaiser (Duluth) and Richard Voorhaar (St. Paul) for being selected for the Reading Session and Master Class with Duo Ahlert & Schwab. The Reading Session and Master Class, co-sponsored by Hamline University, will take place on Thursday, September 18 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Sundin Music Hall. The readings will provide the composers with a rehearsal and reading session, as well as a run-through DAT recording, for unlimited non-commercial use, of either all or part of their compositions. Duo Ahlert & Schwab will read works written for guitar & mandolin and solo guitar. The session will be free and open to the public. Contact ACF at (651) 251-2833 for more information.


CITYSONGS AND CANTUS RESIDENCIES COME TO A CLOSE
COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROJECT WRAP-UP

(AUGUST 2003) The chapter recently saw the completion of two Community Partners projects. The first placed Minneapolis composer Denice Rippentrop in partnership with CitySongs, a free after-school choir for third- through eighth-graders drawn from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Rippentrop worked with the students in creating a text for two musical works on themes of unity and hope. The new pieces were performed at CitySongs’ May 18 concert at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

The second project brought together students at St. Paul Central High School, composer Mike McFerron, and Cantus, a professional male vocal chamber ensemble, for the creation of a new musical work based on ancient Egyptian magic rituals. McFerron’s "Journey to Sekhet-Aanru" was premiered by Cantus on April 27 at St. John’s University, and repeated as part of a concert series entitled "Magic, Myth, and Legend."

UPDATE: MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA READING SESSIONS & COMPOSER INSTITUTE

(AUGUST 2003) The Forum received 112 entries to the 2003 Minnesota Orchestra Reading Sessions and Composer Institute. Unfortunately, the events originally set for October have been rescheduled.

"Sadly, due to budget cuts at the Orchestra, the Institute must be substantially reduced for the 2003-04 season," said Institute chairman Aaron Jay Kernis. "While we will be unable to hold many of the educational workshops and seminars that were part of the program in the past, we are very happy to be able to continue to provide orchestral readings for 6-7 composers, to be held on May 3 and 4, 2004 [note these revised dates]. We are hopeful that even in these financially difficult times, with the generosity of the Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Forum and American Music Center, an informative and stimulating program of seminars will be held during those days or just beforehand."

Due to the delay in confirming the dates of these sessions, the judging process has been slowed. The Forum will be informing applicants of the status of their submissions at some point in the coming months. We hope to resume the program in its full form in the future. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact us at dwolff@composersforum.org or (651) 251-2833.

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