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Articles
Frank J. Oteri

California Dreaming

By Frank J. Oteri
I’ve always been emotionally and artistically drawn to the West Coast, but I’m not completely convinced that I’m drawn to a specifically “Californian” aesthetic, since I’m doubtful that such generalizations are possible.

Interviews
Frank J. Oteri

Roger Reynolds: The Benefits of Being Outside the Loops

Although Roger Reynolds has been based in California for the last 40 years, his Midwest upbringing and formative experiences in both Europe and Asia have given him a world view that knows no boundaries. Read the interview…

Articles
T. J. Anderson

Hale Smith (1925-2009)

On November 24, 2009, America lost Hale Smith whose works musically intertwined the dialectic between African American identity and European traditions.

Articles
Colin Holter

Composer Chameleon (Orchestra Remix)

By Colin Holter
The Minnesota Orchestra is already sticking its neck out in such an admirable and valiant fashion that it seems unfair to ask them for more, but here’s an idea…

Articles
Frank J. Oteri

Overhead the Albatross Hangs Motionless Upon the Air

By Frank J. Oteri
As a composer I have avoided the orchestra, which is actually pretty easy for most composers to do since the orchestra largely ignores us.

Articles
Spencer Topel

2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: How Can We Keep This Going?

By Spencer Topel
We come together as a society of people who are excited to make “living” musics by bringing time, energy, money, and attention to the importance of our cultural identities encapsulates the importance of looking beyond oneself.

Articles
Molly Sheridan

Sounds Heard: Julia Wolfe—Dark Full Ride: Music in Multiples

By Molly Sheridan
No sonic wallflower, Julia Wolfe really goes for the jugular (or the ear canal equivalent) with her new collection Dark Full Ride: Music in Multiples, and whether you come away having loved or hated the results (I don’t think there is a middle line to walk in this case), you will almost guaranteedly have been gobsmacked.

Articles
Spencer Topel

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: First Rehearsal Butterflies

By Spencer Topel
I have certainly experienced situations where the composer quickly became an orchestral punching bag, but this is the exact opposite.

Articles
Spencer Topel

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: Composer Fine Print

By Spencer Topel
I feel like we have been thrust into a posh boot camp for orchestral composers.

Articles
Spencer Topel

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: Putting the Parts Together

By Spencer Topel
I started to consider what is perhaps the least enjoyable aspect of being a composer: the parts; but isn’t it odd that we take the least pleasure in the part of a composition which communicates directly with our players?

Articles
DanVisconti

Putting the Cart Before the Horse?

By Dan Visconti
I’m just now reading through the novel (published in 2008) that will form the basis for the libretto of the opera I am about to write, and I’m acutely conscious of my own imminent musical setting and having a hard time enjoying the book

Articles
Trevor Hunter

Elsewhere is a Negative Mirror: The Music of Per Bloland

Bloland’s pieces are like Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities: they share many attributes and loose categorizations, but are superficially quite different from one another.

Articles
NewMusicBox Staff

ASCAP/Lotte Lehmann Foundation Art Song Competition Winners Annouced

The competition, named for legendary soprano Lotte Lehmann, was established to encourage and recognize gifted young composers who write for voice.

Articles
Spencer Topel

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: A Top Notch Hotel But There's No Time to Relax

By Spencer Topel
It could be the comfy beds and valet service, but I have to say that everyone invited to the program seems really pleasant.

Articles
Colin Holter

A Word For Our Sponsor

By Colin Holter
It’s impossible for me to relate this revelation to you without sounding like a total shill, but it’s important, so bear with me.

Articles
Spencer Topel

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: Vast Distances

By Spencer Topel
We go to great lengths to hear our music: what drives us to do this?

Articles
Trevor Hunter

Sounds Heard: Bill Dixon—Tapestries for Small Orchestra

by Trevor Hunter
The legendary trumpeter releases a two-disc set of new pieces on Firehouse 12. In short: this is one of the best CDs of the year.

Articles
Frank J. Oteri

A Problematic Diagnosis

by Frank J. Oteri
Although a great deal of music being written right now is by no means unmelodic, there’s still an assumption in certain quarters of the community that contemporary music equals gnarly music.

Articles
Spencer Topel

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Blog: Down to the Orchestral Wire

By Spencer Topel
Various fledgling composers will fantasize about the proverbial “break” that will propel their music, persona, and talents into the stratosphere; but the opportunities come few and far between.

Articles
DanVisconti

Reaching Across the Aisle

By Dan Visconti
I am sure there are many people whose first encounters with contemporary music were not difficult at all, but I was not one of them; that kind of wonder and excitement of new sonic possibilities kicked in only gradually for me, and it was not until I was an older teen that I had really developed a taste for the music of our own time.

Articles
Colin Holter

Classical Music Goes to Washington

By Colin Holter

Presenting classical music in the White House sends a positive
message, and to quibble about the details of that message is perhaps
to miss the point of it. Still, let’s take a look at a few things.

Articles
Mark Nowakowski

Finding Yourself Elsewhere: An American Composer in Krakow

While it is nothing new for an American composer to find himself living overseas, I’ve noticed that most composers (and Americans in general) have a very limited conception of “where the action is” in Europe.

Articles
NewMusicBox Staff

Du Yun Wins DSO Annual Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award

Du Yun has been awarded the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s fourth annual Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Female Composers.

Articles
NewMusicBox Staff

Max Lifchitz Given Zethus Lifetime Achievement Award

Max Lifchitz has been given a Lifetime Achievement Award of $10,000 from the Zethus Fund for Contemporary Music.

Funders

NewMusicBox receives major support from the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts.

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NewMusicBox is funded in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and with support from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Alice M. Ditson Fund of Colombia University, and The Amphion Foundation, Inc. Support for New Music USA and its many programs and activities is provided by foundations, corporations, government agencies, and hundreds of individual contributors.

NewMusicBox receives major support from the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts. NewMusicBox is funded in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and with support from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., Alice M. Ditson Fund of Colombia University, and The Amphion Foundation, Inc. Support for New Music USA and its many programs and activities is provided by foundations, corporations, government agencies, and hundreds of individual contributors.