Why we do Fresh Inc Festival

I haven’t blogged in awhile because I have been at Fresh Inc Festival. For two glorious weeks each June, Fifth House Ensemble, composer Dan Visconti (also a member of 5HE), and I gather at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside with the goal of providing composers and musicians with intensive training in the music business while also engaging in lots of music-making. This year, we invited 15 composers and 29 musicians (ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students) to join us.

Performance at the Miwaukee Art Museum.
All photos by SnoStudios Photography.

Why do we hold Fresh Inc Festival? As many composers and musicians learn over the course of their lives, there are only a few lucky souls whose careers are formed almost exclusively by winning competitions or landing a major orchestra gig. Most of us eventually figure out that we must take control of our own destinies and make opportunities happen. There are plenty of ways to do this – establish one’s own ensemble or musical organization, formulate consortium commissions, create collaborative relationships with other artists and perform in nonstandard venues – but the majority of us don’t receive entrepreneurial training in music school to prepare us for such types of employment. A few universities are tackling this problem with innovative classes and programs, but for those students who don’t receive this training elsewhere, there is Fresh Inc Festival.

Skype session with Sittercity.com
founder Genevieve Thiers.

Created in 2012 by 5HE's executive director/flutist Melissa Snoza and former member Adam Marks, our two-week festival contains several key components:

• Workshops on the business of a music career.  We annually offer sessions on starting organizations, handling budgeting and sales, creating educational outreach programs, writing cover letters, developing interview skills, writing commission contracts, and organizing consortium commissions, as well as effective coaching and rehearsal techniques for both composers and musicians.
• Guest experts who share their specialties with us. This year, we had fourteen speakers including film composer Hummie Mann, video game composer Austin Wintory, Theodore Presser Company's Vice President Daniel Dorff, and James Buckhouse, Director of Corporate Design at Twitter.
• Composer forums that cover a wide variety topics including copyright, text permissions, mechanical licensing, promotional techniques, online resources, building websites, and running a successful Kickstarter campaign.  Additionally, all composers give presentations on their own music.
• Freshly composed works written by our composers and premiered by ensembles consisting of a mix of student musicians and 5HE members.
• Lessons for composers and musicians with members of 5HE, Dan, and myself.
• Performances in an assortment of venues, including the architecturally stunning Milwaukee Art Museum, Kenosha Public Library, Kenosha Art Museum, Constellation (in Chicago), and the Bedford Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.  We also performed at Roosevelt University as part of Make Music Chicago.
• New Venture Challenge – this is an activity in which all participants form fictional music organizations. In addition to formulating mission statements and activities for their businesses, groups put together a fictional creative experience design linked to one of our actual festival events.  The groups assemble psychographic profiles for their target audiences, build budgets, work out marketing strategies, and devise a funding plan to cover the expenses of the event.

Millie, the Fresh Inc mascot, poses
with Melissa Snoza and participants.

This year’s festival had a new feature – four returning “2.0” students. These alumni came back with specific projects in mind: Andrew O’Conner put together a CD project that would involve composers writing an assortment of new works for the double bass; Alex Cooke learned the logistics of running a festival; Danielle Simandl, who is the executive director of the Superior String Alliance in Michigan, focused on further developing her skills pertinent to her organization; and Rachael Claire Eid-Reis created plans to establish the Invisible Change Organization that will give voice to Chicago’s homeless via her singer-songwriter skills. Teaching business skills is one thing; applying these skills to a project that you’re passionate about takes what we do at Fresh Inc Festival to a completely new and exciting level.

I want to know that what I do with my life is meaningful. The work that I do at Fresh Inc Festival gives me a tremendous sense of fulfillment and joy.  Each year, I am greatly moved and inspired by the enthusiasm that all of the faculty and participants infuse into all of our activities. Collectively, we transform the festival into something more powerful than what we can each do individually – we learn from each other, we share our ideas and figure out what steps are needed to make these happen, and we make connections that will far outlast the festival itself. The members of Fifth House Ensemble and I are preparing the next generation of music entrepreneurs to take music in new, as-of-yet unimaginable directions. With each class that goes through our festival, I grow more and more excited to see how they put what they’ve learned into practice and change our world.

Eric Snoza leading a workshop on educational outreach.

Digging into Terra Nostra

(This is an update on my Terra Nostra oratorio project; you can read about its origins in my February 2014 blog post.)

Now that the semester is over and my teaching obligations at Roosevelt University are done until January, I’m digging deep into Terra Nostra, the oratorio I’m composing for the San Francisco Choral Society and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir. These organizations joint-commissioned me to write an oratorio about our planet. The oratorio consists of three parts: Part I represents the creation of the world; Part II depicts the triumphs of humanity and how our planet is being affected; and Part III contemplates finding a balance between mankind and earth so that we can co-exist. For the past year, I’ve researched texts and assembled them into a libretto, as well as worked on clearing texts still in copyright. Now I’m up to the composing stage – what is the best way to begin?

Sketch from "In the beginning"

First up, I took another hard look at the libretto. I’ve known all along that I collected too many texts for the libretto, and that not everything was going to fit into the piece (part of this was intentional - it was highly unlikely that I would be granted clearance for all texts still under copyright, so I wanted some backups on hand). I read through all of the texts again and began imagining how the text might be set, how many minutes each text would take to be sung, and how much time should be allotted to instrumental interludes. Once I did the math, it was time to start cutting out texts; anything that didn’t match the message I am trying to deliver was taken out. Unfortunately, this meant removing texts by the environmentalist John Muir and poet Carl Sandburg. In exchange, I found a wonderful poem by living poet and agrarian Wendell Berry called The Want of Peace, which will work very well at a crucial moment in Part III. Chances are I’ll still need to cut out a little more text along the way, but I hope not too much more – I like the shape that the libretto is taking.

Next, I started sketching ideas for several movements in Parts I and III. As much as I’d like to write the piece from the beginning straight through to the end, composing isn’t a linear process for me. I need to know what motives, gestures, and progressions will be important in Part III while I’m composing Parts I and II, so I can start to foreshadow and develop these over the course of the entire oratorio. This means that I need to compose some of the music in Part III while working on Part I. There is an additional tie-in for Parts I and III: both Parts conclude with identical text from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. I introduce the material in Part I sung by the children and adult choruses, and will develop it with additional text from Leaves of Grass that will be sung by the four soloists.  So whatever I write for Part I needs to have enough potential to grow into something bigger to end the entire oratorio.

My sketching process involves pencil and paper reductions made at a keyboard, which I then start to flesh out as I enter the material into a computer notation program. At this stage, I’m mostly composing piano reductions, as the choirs and soloists will need those scores from which to rehearse.  Eventually, these will be fleshed out for the orchestra at a later point. 

Sketch from "Of thine own child"

Suffice it to say, I’m making headway on the oratorio. But with a project of this size and scope, thank goodness I have eight months to complete the entire piece! The San Francisco Choral Society is rolling out Terra Nostra in three stages. People in Northern California can catch the premiere of Part I this November 15 and 16 at Calvary Presbyterian in San Francisco (please click here for concert information). Part II will premiere in April 2015, and Parts I, II, and III will be performed as a whole in November 2015. Keep posted for more blog post updates as I get further into the piece!

A perfect short residence in Dallas

With Artistic Director Maria Schleuning
and pre-concert presenter Laurie Shulman

This past weekend, I travelled to Dallas, Texas for a three-day residence with Voices of Change. Currently in its 39th year, the ensemble is dedicated to performing new music, as well as music of the recent past. They have commissioned over twenty-five works, given more than seventy-five world premieres, and released five CDs, one of which was a finalist for a 1999 Grammy Award (classical small ensemble category). They regularly bring in composers from around the country, so I was excited when Artistic Director and violinist Maria Schleuning contacted me and said the ensemble would be featuring me and a few of my works on their series.

My residence involved several components: rehearsals of my Silver Dagger and The Book of American Poetry, Volume III; an outreach program at a local high school involving a performance of one of my works, followed up with a discussion about how I wrote the piece as well as questions from the students; a very spirited pre-concert discussion with Laurie Shulman, the program annotator and pre-concert presenter for the ensemble; and the concert itself. The performers were comprised of many top musicians in Dallas (several are members of the Dallas Symphony and Dallas Opera Orchestra) and were superb. I also met and worked with mezzo-soprano Claire Shackleton, who had an absolutely lovely voice and a theatrical flair to match; she sang my Book of American Poetry beautifully. Our rehearsals went so smoothly that I was able to make several last-minute adjustments to The Book of American Poetry, something you can only do when musicians have the music down cold!

With mezzo-soprano Claire Shackleton

Voices of Change also hosts a great tie-in event for their concerts called SoundBites. Held at Times Ten Cellars, this free event featured wine tastings while patrons listened to clarinetists Jonathan Jones and Jazmin Yuen perform my Stubborn as Hell. We also treated the audience to a short coaching session in which I shaped the piece with the musicians; this provided the audience with a behind-the-scenes look into how a composer operates. Activities like this are a fantastic way to take some of the mystery out of composing for non-musicians – not too much, but enough so they understand why and how we do what we do.

Voices of Change had another special event: three Texas-based composers who won the ensembles’ Young Composers Competition had their pieces performed by Dallas Symphony musicians in an hour-long workshop. I was on hand and offered constructive feedback, as did the musicians. I was also thrilled to meet Fabian Beltran (the first place winner) at this event, as he will be one of our participating composers at Fresh Inc Festival next month for which I’m on faculty along with Fifth House Ensemble and composer Dan Visconti (keep posted for blogs about Fresh Inc next month).

With composer Jack Waldenmaier
and board members Heather Carlile and Harvey Stiegler

Through it all, southern hospitality abounded. On the night I arrived to Dallas, Voices of Change board member Heather Carlile and her husband Jack Waldenmaier graciously threw a dinner party in my honor and invited several local composers and friends.  Board members, musicians, and staff drove me all over town for rehearsals, dinners, and receptions. When I didn’t have time to get supper between back-to-back events on Sunday, Maria brought me a delicious homemade meal. The townspeople were friendly, as were the drivers: at one point, I mistakenly crossed a street against a green light and into oncoming traffic. When I realized my error, I looked up at the driver who was patiently waiting for me to cross…without honking. Perhaps living and working in a major, bustling city has left me a little more jaded than I realized; nonetheless, I was touched by the hospitality I encountered in all aspects of my trip.

Voices of Change has made a strong commitment to the music of living and recent composers, and their residencies with living composers are wonderfully beneficial for both the residents and musicians of Dallas as well as for their featured composers. Anyone who is fortunate to be an invited guest by Voices of Change is in store for a perfect weekend!

Personalizing a Commission

Most of my commissions are from ensembles and organizations, but every now and then, I am commissioned by an individual to compose a piece for someone in their lives. These commissions are often gifts to a parent, partner, or child; sometimes a commission is in tribute to someone who has passed away. All of the commissioners are looking for something meaningful that will relate to their loved one. As I start each new project, I ask myself: what’s the best way I can personalize this commission for its recipient?

I find the best approach is to learn as much as I can about the person. If the piece is a surprise gift, then I have conversations with the commissioner. What issues are important to the recipient? What are his/her passions? Are there any particular events that have been important in his/her life? Some commissioners prefer meeting in person or talking by phone; others write their thoughts via email. If the recipient knows about the commission, then I greatly prefer to have a conversation with the person.

There are a few pieces that I’d like to share that highlight aspects of this process:

In Eleanor’s Words and String Quartet No. 3: Gaia

With Nadine and Tom Hamilton and the Biava Quartet

One morning in 2006, longtime Washington D.C. residents Tom and Nadine Hamilton were reading through the New York Times when they found an article about how anyone can commission a piece of music. Tom’s mother Marget was about to celebrate her 90th birthday; upon reading the article, they decided to commission a piece for Marget in honor of this momentous occasion. One thing led to another, and Tom and Nadine eventually got connected to me (it worked out quite well – Tom attended Roosevelt University, where I’m on faculty). Tom, Nadine, and I decided on Eleanor Roosevelt as the focus of the composition because of Marget’s lifelong commitment to social issues. The resulting piece, In Eleanor’s Words for mezzo-soprano and piano, featured six movements, each with text chosen from Mrs. Roosevelt’s My Day newspaper column that ran from 1935-1962. Mezzo-soprano Buffy Baggott and pianist Amy Briggs premiered the piece at Roosevelt University in a private event for the Hamilton family and guests around the time of Marget’s 91st birthday.

In 2007, Tom contacted me again; this time, he wanted a piece for Nadine.  He also intended for the piece be a complete surprise.  I asked Tom to write up a description of Nadine. What I took away from Tom’s essay was a strong-willed, loving wife with a great sense of humor and who embraced life to its fullest, particularly in light of the fact that she was a cancer survivor. I chose Gaia as the topic, as Mother Earth represents these qualities to me. To link Nadine in a more direct manner to the music, I took the “a” and “d” from Nadine’s name and made this into a rising perfect 4th motive that spans the entire quartet. While the Hamiltons weren’t able to make the Biava Quartet’s premiere of String Quartet No. 3: Gaia in Moscow, Idaho in January 2009, they flew out to Chicago for its second performance at the Norton Building Concert Series in Lockport, Illinois later that year.

String Quartet No. 4: Illuminations

With Susan and Nicholas Yasillo and the Cecilia Quartet

Nicholas Yasillo, who runs the Norton Building Concert Series, featured the Biava Quartet in that performance of String Quartet No. 3. Nick liked the idea of a personal commission so much that he commissioned me to compose a piece to celebrate an anniversary with his wife Susan. Nick informed Susan about the commission early in the process, so I asked if they’d both meet me for lunch.  Susan filled me in about her various interests and activities, but when she began describing her fondness for Books of Hours (Medieval prayer books commissioned by wealthy laypeople that contained “illuminated” plates of biblical scenes), her face completely lit up.  By the end of lunch, it was clear to me that the piece needed to be about Books of Hours.  I purchased a $30 replica of Catherine of Cleves’ Book of Hours, which was one of the books Susan has studied, and found five “illuminated” plates that intrigued me. I composed the piece using Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as a model: there is a “book” motif that the audience hears when the quartet starts the piece and is interspersed among musical representations of the five plates. The Cecilia String Quartet premiered String Quartet No. 4: Illuminations for Susan and Nick at the Norton Building Concert Series in September 2011.

Sanctuary

With Barbara Garrop and the Lincoln Trio

The most recent was a commission from my mother, Barbara Garrop. She attended a performance of String Quartet No. 4: Illuminations given by the Avalon Quartet, and loved the idea of a personal commission. She commissioned me to write a piano trio in memory of my father, who passed away a little over thirty years ago. This project proved to be the most challenging.  How do you write a piece to depict someone who has been gone for so long? I can’t ask him about his passions and interests; my own memories of my father are scattered and dim with age. So I gathered together old pictures, letters, and objects that had belonged to him, as well as talked at great length with my mother. I also tried searching the web for additional clues about his life, but as he died right on the cusp of our current computer age, there was very little material online to mark his existence. Ultimately, the piece became about the search itself; the first movement (Without) presents a young child searching everywhere for her lost parent, whom she finds in the second movement (Within) within the sanctuary of her own heart. The Lincoln Trio premiered Sanctuary in November 2013 with lots of family in attendance, including my mother and sister.

As these personal commissions have significant meaning for the commissioners, I carry the commissioners’ involvement further than just the commission itself. I ask all to write the dedication line for the first page of the score. Some of these commissioners get artistic with this: Nick Yasillo quoted a line from a poem of Robert Browning, whereas my mother chose a line from a Shakespeare sonnet. I also occasionally ask the commissioners if they can help with the crafting of the piece’s program note. Susan Yasillo wrote a significant portion of String Quartet No. 4’s program note, with wonderful descriptions of the five illuminated plates as well as the historical background of Books of Hours. Tom Hamilton, who recently commissioned me to write a voice and piano piece when Nadine passed away, wrote a beautiful tribute to his wife that we used as program notes for the premiere performances (to read his tribute, click here to go to my website, then open the header called Dirge without Music). 

Personalizing a commission is a very rewarding experience, not only for the commissioners, but for myself as well. I love being able to give something unique to the recipients of commissions, and hopefully the piece will be something that they’ll want to hear again and again. In the case of Sanctuary, the piece had an unexpected benefit of helping me to gain some closure on the loss of my father, something I hadn’t realized I needed until I started composing the piece.

Composers ♥ Saxophonists

With the Mosaic Quartet after their impromptu
performance of my Flight of Icarus

Amidst the many centuries’ worth of string quartets, piano works, and orchestral symphonies, there is a particular instrument family whose repertoire pales in comparison: the saxophone. Adolph Sax invented the saxophone family in the early 1840s. The saxophone rose to prominence in the 1920s with the advent of jazz; since then, more and more composers (both jazz and classical) are adding to the repertoire.  Still, the saxophone repertoire as we currently know it is young when measured against repertoire already written for other instrumental genres.  

This should make composers salivate. Not only is there a smaller body of repertoire for saxophonists to peruse, they also typically welcome new works. This was clearly evident to me when I attended the 2014 North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana in late March. University of Illinois saxophone faculty members Debra Richtmeyer and J. Michael Holmes put together a three-and-a-half day extravaganza that presented more than 350 saxophonists (!) as well as a wide range of musicians (pianists, clarinetists, percussionists, singers, harpists, etc.) and composers, with performances featuring a little of everything imaginable: solo saxophone works, duos for saxophone plus another instrument, saxophone and electronics, saxophone quartets and octets, and large saxophone ensembles. Everyone had opportunities to shine, from college-age students and mid-career professionals to the most established musicians in the field. I flipped through the convention program book and counted an astounding 80 world premieres of new works over the course of the convention. A few were arrangements of pre-existing pieces, but the majority were completely new compositions. Dominating the rest of the programmed repertoire was music by living or recent composers as well. New music is alive and kicking among saxophonists, and composers everywhere should take note!

I was there to peddle my new saxophone quartet Flight of Icarus, commissioned by the Capitol Quartet. I suspect a lot of composers were there to promote their works too. And why not? How often can you find hundreds of saxophones in a single geographic location, hear them play their hearts out, and meet them face-to-face? Genre-specific conventions like NASA are a composer’s heaven, and I strongly advocate for attending any conventions that a composer can, whether they have a piece scheduled for performance or not. I also find it advantageous to wander freely throughout the conference instead of renting a table in the exhibition area. If you’re manning a table, you are dependent on performers finding you (and you’ll need to pay to be an exhibitor), whereas if you roam, you can hear performances, introduce yourself to performers, and hand out business cards, scores, and CDs. As it turned out, my roaming method paid off: Mosaic Quartet, a student group from Arizona State University at Tempe, had been working on my Flight of Icarus. One of the quartet members spotted me at the conference and asked if I’d listen to the group play my piece. A few hours later, Mosaic Quartet gave an impromptu performance of my piece in one of the rehearsal spaces, which we followed up with a coaching session. This was a wonderful bonus for both the quartet members as well as myself, and perfectly played into a day of networking and music-making.

Besides NASA, many other musical organizations hold conventions as well. A quick web search turned up conventions offered by the National Flute Association, International Society of Bassists, Midwest Band Clinic, American Choral Directors Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Chorus America, International Double Reed Society, and the League of American Orchestras (I bet there's more). Additionally, Chamber Music America is an excellent service organization for chamber ensembles of all shapes and sizes; they have an annual conference every January in New York City that highlights both ensembles and living composers. Composers, check out what conferences are coming to your town or close by, see what repertoire you have that is suitable for the conference, register, and get ready to unabashedly promote yourself!