Zoom Tips for Private Music Instructors
Unfortunately, many of us are back to feeling unsafe when it comes to in-person learning, due to the increase in the Delta variant. Here are some tips for private music teachers who are transitioning back to Zoom learning.
Wanted: Orchestral Scores by Composers Not Named Beethoven
As I comb the internet for pieces to use in the introductory orchestration course I will teach for the second time this fall, I am reminded of a familiar frustration: it is easy to find scores by white men, and much harder to find scores by anyone else.
Do You Hear What I See?
A visual that inspires the composer or improviser is sure to also inspire audiences to a fuller and more moving experience. The Kentler International Drawing Center is driving this connection home with its now-touring exhibition Music as Image and Metaphor.
Upon Arrival: Experiencing My First Live Concert in Over 15 Months
I never thought I would feel so grateful for the small sounds of people coexisting with me, yet there I was, bobbing my head along, feeling pure contentment and gratitude for sharing this space with all of these strangers.
The Art of Being True: Liberalism in Music & Stream of Consciousness
In our 5th installment of excerpts from the M³ anthology, Lesley Mok explains how conservatories co-opt the politics of “anti-racism” and Romarna Campbell describes the multiple identities contained for her in the word “skin.”
The Art of Being True: Remembering Philly Joe & Your Backstory Is the Real Story
In our latest installment of excerpts from the M³ anthology, Sumi Tonooka remember Philly Joe Jones — “the last band leader that any parent would want to see their teenage daughter go out on the road with!” — and Jen Shyu contemplates parenthood: “Don’t wait for your ‘clock’ to start ticking. You might not hear it.”
Native Experimentalists
It’s crucial that the perspective of Native America be witnessed through the work of artistic practices.
2021 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Awards Announced
The ASCAP Foundation has announced the 21 recipients and 17 honorable mentions of the 2021 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, which encourage talented young creators of concert music ranging in age from 13 to 30.
The Art of Being True: Aretes of the New Cyrene & Reminder to Self
[Ed. Note: Beginning on April 30 and continuing on consecutive Fridays until the next round of concerts of M³ (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians) taking place on June 12 and 13, 2021 under the auspices of the National Jazz Museum (and which have received funding from New Music USA), NewMusicBox is publishing excerpts from each of… Read more »
The Art of Being True: Sonic Creation & Motherhood in Music
In our 2nd installment from the anthology of writings by the members of M³, Erica Lindsay states that the goal of sonic creation is to “express what is beyond your own understanding” and Sara Serpa decries the difficulties of balancing an artistic career with parenthood.
The Art of Being True: To Speak in Memory & The Sun Itself
To celebrate today’s publication of The Art of Being True, an anthology of writings by the members of M³, and in anticipation of their upcoming concerts on June 12 and 13, we will be publishing excerpts from each of the 12 participants’ contributions, 2 per week, every Friday between now and June 12.
Underscoring How Human and Relatable Immigrants Actually Are
While people who looked and sounded like us were being taken from their homes, we presented a song cycle underscoring how human and relatable immigrants actually were.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Funding New Music in the '90s
This three-decade-old episode of an attempt to diversify the world of contemporary composition––amidst a landscape of increasing arts austerity, loud Congressional battles over avant-garde art, and public backlash from prominent composers––has much to offer today’s attempts at fostering inclusion.
New Music USA Submissions for the 2021 ISCM World New Music Days
New Music USA has submitted six works for consideration in the call for scores for the 2021 International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World New Music Days which, pandemic willing, is scheduled to take place in Shanghai and Nanning from September 17-25, 2021. Each of these six works is by a composer who was chosen to participate in New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices program.
Road From Heiligenstadt: A Composer's Perspective on Surviving COVID
On April 4, 2020, I was diagnosed with COVID-19. I began exhibiting symptoms on March 26, and started my self-isolation at home before moving elsewhere, to maintain the health of my husband and son after they tested negative. Composers are generally quite comfortable with self isolation, even to the point of seeking it out, and so I decided to take the Romantic view: I had just been granted an unexpected artist residency!
Looking Out For Each Other with The Real Music Wages Database
Inspired by similar crowd-sourced spreadsheets for dancers, baristas, museum workers, and adjunct professors, we created the Real Music Wages Database to help freelance music workers navigate what can be a very confusing financial landscape and give us tools to negotiate wages for ourselves, particularly in situations when we don’t have a union or an agent working on our behalf.
![From a [Switch ~ Ensemble] Livestream](https://newmusicusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/15-SwitchEnsembleLivestreamBANNER-e1621527511587-400x200.jpg)
Livestream Community Survey: What We Learned from the Field
[Switch~ Ensemble] led a Community Survey about the habits, preferences, and interests of concert-goers for livestreams. We are pleased to provide a summary of the responses, as well as recommendations based on our analysis of the data.
Composer Commission Pay in the United States
How much should composers get paid for commissions? As composers ourselves, we recently set out to find the answer. We were motivated not only by our curiosity, but also by our desire to know what is fair and equitable.
Stand In The Gap
If we want the art we make to heal our community’s loneliness and pain and bring us back together again, then it has to be about more than creating a pristine product to be consumed.
New Music Ushers In The Inauguration of the Next President and Vice President of the USA
Lots of new music will usher in a new American administration on January 20, 2021. Newly commissioned works by Kimberly Archer and Peter Boyer, classics by Aaron Copland, Julie Giroux, and Joan Tower, and a 46-song Spotify playlist spanning music from The Staple Sisters to Bruce Springsteen to Kendrick Lamar.
Confronting Our Complicity: Music Theory and White Supremacy
Despite the fact that the majority of our students do not listen to Western art music regularly, nearly all of the core curriculum is based on it. Let’s open their ears, eyes, and minds to voices and people that have been marginalized, to the stories that surround and support the notes, to the unheard music.
Black Mystery School Pianists
Mystery School posits an alternative touch—something that does not directly fall within the mainstream’s easily digestible paradigm of being able to play the instrument, even though the practitioners of the Mystery School are obviously highly skilled virtuosos whose touch, language, and articulation are extremely hard to copy.
Unprecedented Time
There is no doubt that we are in unprecedented times. Living through a global pandemic has tested and revealed so much about who we are as a people and what we possess as a culture. But art will push on regardless of the circumstances, and I find it to be a transcendent privilege as well as a dire responsibility to stay focused on ways to continue innovating the arts without hesitation or compromise.
Multiple Voices: Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³)
M³ (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians) is a revolutionary new program which its founders Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa describe as “a think tank for new ways to connect, collaborate, support, create, and empower womxn musicians worldwide including BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and musicians of all abilities across generations.” To celebrate the first two concerts born from this initiative on Dec 6 and 12, we asked the 12 participating musicians to share their thoughts about how M³ has impacted their creative process.
