Posted on May 22, 2014 by Alexandra Gardner - Articles
We are nearly finished with the NewMusicBox @ 15 Anniversary Celebration! This is a look back at some of the most interesting content of 2013 in a “yearbook award” format. Befitting this season of graduations, no?
Most Likely To Succeed:
Caroline Shaw Wins 2013 Pulitzer Prize
Class Clown:
On Lying To My Students
Most Independent:
Matana Roberts: Creative Defiance
Most Popular * :
The Power List: Why Women Aren’t Equals In New Music Leadership and Innovation
Saddest Moment:
A tie, between Aaron Kernis Resigns From Minnesota Orchestra and Lou Reed Got Married And He Didn’t Invite Me
Best Title:
Morton Subotnick: The Mad Scientist in the Laboratory of The Ecstatic Moment
Valedictorian:
How We Learn Now: Education Week
Most Likely To Redefine Perceptions:
I’m a Trans Composer. What the Hell Does That Mean?
Most Political:
It Isn’t Over Because The Fat Lady Wasn’t Singing
Most Likely To Become A Cruise Director:
Guided By Sound: Crissy Broadcast Debuts in San Francisco
Lowell High School Orchestra, led by San Francisco Contemporary Music Players violinist Roy Malan
Best Historical Reenactment:
Sounds Heard: The Art of David Tudor (1963-1992)
Most Well-Traveled:
From Darmstadt To The Shopping Mall
* This post actually received so much traffic that it broke the Box for a short time. We couldn’t be prouder!
Most Likely to click the Donate Button: Everyone who reads NewMusicBox!
Additional NewMusicBox @ 15 Posts
Posted on May 21, 2014 by Alexandra Gardner - Articles
1. Get creative with JLA, Ken Ueno, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Sxip Shirey. Go on!
2. You could even just ring a bell….
3. Because you never know who might be listening.
4. No time for that? Consider talking to Kristin Kuster about it before you make up your mind.
5. In any case, it might not be a bad idea to try ditching notation software as an exercise for the future.
6. Not every musician uses it, after all. Zoe Keating doesn’t!
7. Paul Mathews takes us on a spin through The Cycle of Get.
8. While Dan Visconti plays games.
9. Turns out Isaac Schankler is really good at bending the truth.
10. RIP the woman composer. Wait, what? There are so many of them!
11. Actual RIP Elliott Carter and William Duckworth.
12. Did you know that you can still download our first NewMusicBox Mix?
13. It might actually change your life.
If this were a true baker’s dozen you would only get one piece of this amazing content for free. Instead, we offer all of our in-depth content free of charge, every single day of the year. The only way this works is if members of this community believe in our work and support us financially. Help us celebrate 15 years of publishing by making your gift today.
Additional NewMusicBox @ 15 Posts
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Alexandra Gardner - Articles
When you donate to New Music USA you are directly supporting the strength and vitality of the new music community. Celebrate the 15th anniversary of NewMusicBox by making your gift today.
1. This charming video was created by our January 2011 cover profile composer Mikel Rouse. He made it completely on his iPhone!
2. Speaking of video, NewMusicBox began streaming HD video via Vimeo.
3. We featured violinists:
4. And violists:
5. And electric guitarists:
6. Oh, and we featured some composers, too.
7. Also in the technological advances department, Schott launched a new digital publishing platform.
8. In memoriam: We continue to treasure the memory and music of Milton Babbitt, as well as that of the much-loved Peter Lieberson.
9. 2011 seemed to be the year, at least in this space, that some of our bloggers really dove into discussions of self-promotion. I mean, very, very into it!
10. My personal favorite concert experience of 2011 was hearing Mantra perform Michael Gordon’s Timber.
11. And let’s talk about choice post-concert negative comments!
12. Last, but most definitely not least–the big merger between the American Music Center and Meet The Composer, creating New Music USA became official!
Additional NewMusicBox @ 15 Posts
Posted on May 19, 2014 by Alexandra Gardner - Articles
A favorite album from 2010:
A favorite article from that year: Can’t Get You Out Of My Head: Melody and the Brain.
*
2010 was significant for me personally since I officially began working at The Box that year. Although I had written for NewMusicBox a couple of times in the recent past (Molly is the most excellent and highly persuasive of editors), it was great to be amongst friends, and to have the opportunity to edit articles, wander around behind the scenes of Counterstream Radio, and write on a regular basis about a variety of topics—both serious and not so much—of my own choosing. It’s a pretty darn excellent gig.
At that time, Molly, Frank, and I would go out to tape interviews as a team (now that we have streamlined our equipment a bit, we either travel solo or in pairs in the name of efficiency), and the first one I got to tag along on was a talk with the inspiring Bunita Marcus, who also happens to have the most lovely composing space I’ve seen. There was another really great one with Henry Threadgill in one of New York City’s oldest cafes, as well as a memorable one which involved a field trip to Yale to talk with Chris Theofanidis.
2010 saw some exciting high-profile acceptance for jazz creators, talk of digital piracy, and an incredibly open and honest account of soldiering through an awkward moment.
I love it when composers are honored in huge ways and are willing to talk to us about it themselves; it happens more often than you might expect. Sometimes an artist decides to mix things up, make major life changes and get super real about it, too. When all is said and done though, there’s nothing quite like a composer with a really great sense of humor.
Additional NewMusicBox @ 15 PostsThe 5 Stages of Donating:
1. Denial – That big purple donate button doesn’t really exist.
2. Anger – Why are there so many non-profits out there asking for my money?!
3. Bargaining – They don’t really need my money anyway. All the programs will exist whether I donate or not. Right? RIGHT?!
4. Depression – There’s so little support for artists in this country.
5. Acceptance – New Music USA is one of the few organizations that works to increase opportunities for artists and grow the audience for new American music. If I can, I need to support them financially so that they can keep doing what they do for the field.
