|
|
Welcome to the January 2015 Edition of the IAMIC Newsletter. It has been only three months since our Annual Meeting in Wrocław, Poland, but as you will read there are many exciting new initiatives from our members. There’s a new video interview series with French composers, in-depth statistics on amateur music-making in Germany, new music education software from the United Kingdom, and some community building strategies from the United States. There is also a new choral catalogue from Ireland and new recording projects from Poland and Wales. In addition, there are also some interesting music developments taking place in the home countries of our members that have been reported on here (including important awards for composers from Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand).
If you do not see any news from your country here, that means that you never submitted anything to us. We would like this newsletter to reflect the activity of all IAMIC members, so please help us make this happen by updating us with what is happening at your office and in your part of the world. (All newsletter materials should be sent to Yanna Papadopoulou via email at office@iamic.net.)
Thank you,
Frank J. Oteri, New Music USA – Chair, IAMIC Communications Group
Jonathan Grimes, Contemporary Music Centre (Ireland)
Eva Plankova, Music Centre Slovakia
Izabela Zymer, Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
Signý Leifsdóttir, Iceland Music Information Centre (IAMIC Board Liaison)
Yanna Papadopoulou, IAMIC Office Coordinator / Greek MIC
—FJO
Some Words About the 2014 IAMIC Annual Meeting and General Assembly
IAMIC held its 2014 IAMIC Annual Meeting from 3 to 8 October 2014 in Wrocław, the largest city in Western Poland and the capital of the region of Silesia. In addition, IAMIC hosted a one-day conference and concert on the theme of “Tradition and New Music” which took place at Książ Castle in Wałbrzych, a Silesian town 82.4km southwest of Wrocław. The 2014 IAMIC events overlapped with the 2014 World Music Days Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) which continued through 12 October. Although both convenings were very tightly scheduled, there were some valuable occasions for interactions between IAMIC and ISCM delegates as well as opportunities to attend some of the ISCM concerts—including operas by Péter Eötvös and Krzysztof Penderecki that were staged in the historic 1841 Wrocław Opera House as well as a mesmerizing sound installation created by Christof Schläger and Marjon Smit which involved 100 ship horns that were carried on two ships that journeyed across the scenic Włostowic Embankment.
The IAMIC Conference, “Tradition and New Music,” was inspired by the 200th anniversary of the birth of Polish composer and folklorist Oskar Kolberg (1814-1890), an early collector of folk songs throughout Poland as well as in some neighboring regions. Professor Piotr Dahlig, head of Ethnomusicology at the University of Warsaw’s Institute of Musicology set the tone for the day’s events with a presentation about Kolberg and his pioneering ethnographic activities. Matěj Kratochvil and Juraj Bubnáš presented surveys of Czech and Slovak works, respectively, that were inspired by folklore whereas Latvian Music Information Centre director Ināra Jakubone focused on how the composer Pēteris Plakidis’s personal style developed as a result of his immersion into traditional music. Lyn Davies and Dave Flynn, who are leading authorities on the folk music of Wales and Ireland respectively discussed how their national folk traditions have been re-interpreted in contemporary music practice. Composer and musicologist Martin Scheuregger offered a selection of British music spanning half a century which offered widely divergent interpretations of folk-based materials whereas SOUNZ director Julie Sperring showed how indigenous Maori music and the music that European settlers to New Zealand brought with them have forged together to create a new music tradition in contemporary New Zealand. Finally, New Music USA’s composer advocate and NewMusicBox senior editor Frank J. Oteri attempted to prove that in 21st century America, anything and everything could be considered folk music and that the erosion of barriers between musical genres has resulted in an extremely pluralistic contemporary music scene. In the concert that followed, Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej (New Music Orchestra) conducted by Szymon Bywalec performed folk-inspired works by composers from five countries: Cyprus (Drepani by Savvas Savva), Slovakia (Jana Kmit'ova’s Metamerie featuring Michal Paľko as soloist on the fujara, a large fipple flute traditionally played by shepherds), Portugal (Cândido Lima’s Momentos-Memorias II, a double concerto for classical guitar and Portuguese guitar which were performed by Miguel and Philippe Raposo respectively), Iceland (Gunnar Andreas Kristinsson’s Arma Virumque Cano), and Poland (Zygmunt Krauze’s seminal 1973 Aus aller Welt stammende).
During the GA in Wroclaw, two new members have been accepted to join the IAMIC family: the music export office of Luxembourg, "music:LX" and the "National Library of Norway".
During the IAMIC sessions, delegates were asked a set of questions to help chart a path for the network’s future. As a result of the answers to those questions, groups of delegates met together to discuss a broad range of topics including repertoire exchange, skills swaps between member organizations, audience development, comparing music-related data from members’ countries, gender parity, and creating a more viable online presence for IAMIC and more effective ongoing communication tools for its members. As a result of these discussions, IAMIC now has five active working groups:
1. Online Presence and Communication / Gender parity
2. Office Exchange and Skills Swap
3. Music Observatory
4. Audience Development Research
5. Repertoire Exchange
If you are currently not involved with any of these groups, please get involved. Contact Yanna Papadopoulou at office@iamic.net and tell her which group you would be interested in joining.
—FJO
Classical:NEXT, Rotterdam
The next edition of the international art music meeting Classical:NEXT will take place from 20 to 23 May 2015 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Based right in the centre between the important French, German and English speaking classical music markets, Rotterdam is easy to reach and offers around 4000 hotel beds in walking distance to the new Classical:NEXT main venue, De Doelen, in the harbour city’s centre.
IAMIC will participate in Classical:NEXT Rotterdam with a common stand for its members, offering information and material for IAMIC and member organisations. There will a network session open to public whose title will be announced in the coming weeks.
Moreover, IAMIC Winter/Spring Meeting 2015 will take place during Classical:NEXT Rotterdam and thus IAMIC Members will have the opportunity to participate in both events. More information about IAMIC Winter/Spring Meeting 2015 and IAMIC network session will be announced soon.
IAMIC Member news
Belgium: Flanders Music Information Centre
The Belgian company neoScores, which specialises in digital sheet music, was elected as one of the best tech startups in the world by winning the Foxconn Prize at the Startup Nations Summit 2014. neoScores was the only Belgian company among the 45 nominated young starters and was voted into the finals by a panel of leading investors and managers. Startup Nations is an organisation that supports the world’s most promising innovative companies. (More details are available on the ArtsFlanders website.)
For the first time in the history of the European Festival Awards, there are not only nominations for a whole range of Belgian/Flemish festivals, but also for a Belgian artist: Stromae. He was nominated in 3 categories: Headliner, Newcomer and Anthem of the Year. (More information here.)
 At the final concert of the ISCM World Music Days in Wrocław, Poland, the winner of the 2014 ISCM Young Composer Award was announced. The winner, who will be honored with a commission for a new work to be performed at a future ISCM festival, was Flemish composer Stefan Prins for his work “Piano Hero #1. (Further information is here.)
Ancienne Belgique (AB), the internationally renowned concert venue in Brussels, unveiled a new platform of live music clubs during a press conference on 10 October at the AB Club. The new initiative, called 'Liveurope' gathers 13 top-grade concert halls across 13 countries, with the objective of increasing the programming and promotion of emerging European music artists. (Further details here.)
Finally, the Belgian application of safeguarding the carillon culture preservation, transmission, exchange and awareness raising was added to the UNESCO Register of Best Safeguarding Practices after a very thorough selection process by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. (A complete report is here.)
France: Documentation Centre for Contemporary Music (CDMC)
The composer at work: CDMC filmed interviews
The CDMC (French Documentation Centre for Contemporary Music) collaborated with Université d'Évry to carry out a program of ten filmed interviews which aspire to give the floor to composers representative of the young musical creation. Interviewed by musicologists, they are encouraged to talk about their works, their careers, and their projects, as well as their ideas about music and its current situation in society.
The two most recently published interviews are with Xu Yi and Pierre Jodlowski. The other composers who have been featured thus far are Franck Bedrossian, Jean-Pascal Chaigne, David Hudry, Benjamin de La Fuente, Colin Roche, François Sarhan, Samuel Sighicelli, and Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber. All videos are subtitled in English.
The Composer at Work: Pierre Jodlowski click here to watch interview
The Composer at Work: Xu Yi click here to watch interview
Germany: MIZ - Focusing on Amateur Music Making
14 Million Singers and Instrumentalists in Germany: The German Music Information Centre publishes data of amateur music-making
At least 14 million Germans make music in their free time, or sing in a choir. This is the conclusion drawn by the German Music Information Centre (MIZ), a project of the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat), after the evaluation of studies and surveys conducted by several external institutions as well as our own research results for amateur music-making.
 According to our research, a total of 9 million people (which is 13 Percent of the German population aged 14 or older) play a musical instrument. About 4 million sing in a choir or a vocal ensemble. Naturally, these numbers overlap, as 32 percent of singers state that they also play an instrument, leading to a total of 12 million amateurs which make music. Additionally, at least 2 million children aged 2 to 13 are regularly singing, playing an instrument, or are musically active in other ways.
Copyright: © Deutscher Chorwettbewerb / Photo: Jan Karow
3.7 million amateur music-makers are organized by associations
Over a fifth of German music amateurs, about 3 million, are active members in associations of instrumental or choral amateur music-making. In addition, there are about 700,000 music enthusiasts who act as supporting members to the development of activities of these associations. In total, the associations register about 3.7 million members; 2.2 million of which (60%) are involved with choral music. Two out of 3 members are drawn towards secular choirs, whereas every third member is part of a sacred choir. The spectrum of the widely differentiated choir scene includes traditional choruses as well as gospel, barbershop, and show choirs, combining elements of the musical and other vocal music with dance and choreography.
Diversity, which more and more can be seen in choirs and vocal ensembles, is also a characteristic of amateur instrumental groups. The roughly 1.5 million members of instrumental associations play in accordion orchestras, symphonic and string orchestras, plucking orchestras, and zither ensembles, as well as in different ecclesiastic groups. However, most of them are involved with marching bands and brass orchestras, with these branches adding up to just about 80 percent in the associations of instrumental amateur music-making.
Acquiring new young talent has become a priority for the associations. Right now, there are a total of 800,000 children, teenagers, and young adults who are involved in some way with amateur music making. While the number of those singing in choral societies adds up to 380,000 (which is 17% percent of all active singers), an additional 420,000 are actively playing an instrument in ensembles organized through the instrumental associations.
Besides those involved in these associations, there are many other amateur musicians as well. In particular, the students of public music schools, organized via the Association of German Public Music Schools (Verband Deutscher Musikschulen, VdM), make for more than one million music amateurs, as well as an annual 95,000 participants of practical music courses at adult education centers. Furthermore, the German Youth Institute calculated that between 340,000 and 450,000 of the 9- to 12-year-olds and between 500,000 and 630,000 of the 13- to 17-year-olds are studying music with private teachers. Data on private music school students of other ages is not yet available, but the number of children and teenagers active in school orchestras, choirs, bands and other ensembles is approximately 820,000 according to the calculations of the MIZ.
New information portal for amateur music-making online
All of the data described above is part of a new focus of the MIZ website, which shows the manifold structure of the German choral and ensemble landscape, societal and cultural development, as well as possibilities of sponsorship and continuing education in the field of amateur music-making. The core of this service is a new essay, supplemented by a variety of illustrations and statistics that allow for further differentiation, for example by age groups or demographic attributes. Furthermore, details about the aims or sample sizes of the single studies are provided. There is also information about the infrastructure of amateur music-making, including an index of about 200 music competitions, music prizes, and scholarships in amateur music for Germany alone. You can find the new focus by following this link:
http://www.miz.org/fokus_laienmusizieren.html (only in German).
Greece: Institute for Research on Music and Acoustics
UMS 'n JIP at IEMA
IEMA organises a concert and colloquium with the experimental music ensemble UMS 'n JIP from Switzerland in the frame of their “Greece Project with commissions to Greek composers”.
The Project by UMS 'n JIP involves the commissioning of works for recorder, voice and electronics in any combination for 2 performers by young and established contemporary Greek composers. The project intends to introduce different contemporary Greek composers' works which are complementary to UMS 'n JIP's own works and/or especially inspiring for them. The Project has been already presented in more than 40 concerts in 6 countries.
 Program
21.1.2015, 8pm IEMA presentation concert & colloquium,
22.1.2015, 10-15pm IEMA, additional meetings with composers interested to work with UMS 'n JIP,
22.1.2015, 8pm Swiss Embassy Athens,
23.1.2015, 7h30pm Onassis Cultural Center.
The project is supported by the Swiss Embassy Athens.
Iceland: Iceland Music Information Centre
Connecting Iceland and Australia
I recently visited Australia on vacation and as the Managing Director of the Iceland Music Information Centre, I was very keen on visiting our sister organisation in Australia, the Australian Music Centre. I had gotten to know their Managing Director, John Davis, through IAMIC and realized through our discussions that our centre could learn so much from the Australians. In many ways the cores of the centres are the same; in addition to supporting composers, promoting new music and providing information, they archive and sell scores. I had talked many times with John Davis about how they build their archive and I was fascinated by their online platform for selling and providing information.
 John Davis was extremely welcoming; he picked me up in the morning, gave me a short tour around Sydney city central and then welcomed me to his office. We were able to talk all day about different revenue streams, archiving digital material, database structures and so much more. I got the chance to chat with other staff members about scanning, data input and ISMN's. The trip in general was very enjoyable but more importantly I learned so much and am inspired to implement many of the aspects of AMC into IceMIC.
One of the most enjoyable events of the day was meeting Cat Hope, an Australian composer who has worked with the Icelandic group of composers, S.L.Á.T.U.R. Over a very nice lunch, John, Cat, and I discussed how we could better connect Australia and Iceland.
I want to thank John Davis for a great day and IAMIC for introducing us.
—Signý Leifsdóttir
Ireland : Contemporary Music Centre
New Choral Catalogue, Education Project & Salon Concerts
 The Contemporary Music Centre has recently launched a Choral Catalogue for mixed voice repertoire at the City of Derry International Choral Festival. In recent years CMC has experienced an increased engagement by choral conductors (of all forces) with its library of choral works. It is hoped that the catalogue of original choral compositions and arrangements by Irish composers will offer guidance to conductors, choral directors, teachers and singers in the search for new repertoire among the hidden gems of Irish Choral music. This catalogue features a selection of works chosen by Rhona Clarke from CMC’s collection of works for Mixed Choir. (Further details are available on the Contemporary Music Centre’s blog.)
CMC has also been active in an educational project involving a number of commissions for Irish composers to compose works for groups based in County Wicklow (a county bordering on Dublin). The project, New Notes Now, was produced by CMC for the Wicklow County Council under the Per Cent for Art Scheme on behalf of Music Generation Wicklow. Music Generation Wicklow is part of Music Generation, Ireland’s National Music Education Programme initiated by Music Network and co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, and local Music Education Partnerships.
In other news, the Centre has completed another successful season of its long-running Salon series of events this autumn. Curated by composer Ian Wilson, the series aims to encourage newcomers and enthusiasts alike to engage with the music of Irish composers. Each performance takes place in an informal atmosphere with dialogue encouraged between composer, performers, and audience. So far, the series has featured the Belfast-based Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble and members of Concorde.
Luxembourg: music:LX
Luxembourgians Nominated for 2015 International Classical Music Awards
music:LX, the Luxembourg export office for music, is happy to announce that some artists from Luxembourg have been nominated for the “International Nominations Award” published by the ICMA (International Classical Music Awards). In the category Solo instrument, pianist Cathy Krier – a European Concert Hall Organisation rising star for the season 2015/16 – has been nominated for the CD Rameau-Ligeti, released on CAvi music. The album features works by Jean-Philippe Rameau (Suite in G; Pièces de clavecin en concerts, La Dauphine) and György Ligeti (Musica Ricercata). In the category Chamber music, the CD John Cage Works for 2 Keyboards, Vol.2, released on Naxos, has been nominated. The album, which features Luxembourgish pianist Pascal Meyer in duo with Xenia Pestova, contains Cage’s Music for Two and the Three Dances for Two Prepared Pianos. Songs of Irrelevance and Passion, the first CD of the ensemble cantoLX (underFrank Agsteribbe), has been nominated in the category choral music. The CD, released on the label Etcetera, features works by Girolamo Frescobaldi and John Cage. Winners will be announced on January 15, 2015.
cantoLX, photo credit: Mitchell A. Martin
Links:
http://www.icma-info.com/icma-nomination-list-2015-is-available/
http://cathykrier.com/
http://www.pascalmeyer.com/
http://cantolx.com/
Video Cathy Krier: http://vimeo.com/99903836
Audio Pascal Meyer: http://www.pestovameyer.com/cage1_audio.htm
Video cantoLX: https://www.youtube.com/user/cantoLX
New Zealand: SOUNZ
New Recordings of NZ Orchestral Music, the Contemporary Award & the Lilburn Centenary
SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music champions the music of Aotearoa/New Zealand by collecting and curating resources, connecting them with audiences and collaborating with partners towards shared goals.
SOUNZ website: http://sounz.org.nz/
 The NZSO/SOUNZ/RNZC Recordings is a key SOUNZ project, run in partnership with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) and Radio New Zealand Concert (RNZC), producing new recordings of orchestral music, which are then made available as full-length streaming audio free of charge, on SOUNZ Media On Demand and on RNZC website. To date, a total of 41 orchestral works have been recorded, and a further seven have been selected for performance by the NZSO and will be recorded by RNZ over four days in February 2015.
NZSO: http://www.nzso.co.nz/
RNZC: http://www.radionz.co.nz/concert
A new selection of Resound Project Phase 2 studio recordings will be released later this year. Resound is a project funded by NZ On Air and delivered by SOUNZ in partnership with RNZC allowing SOUNZ to record New Zealand music in concert, and re-record selected works for broadcast and to make available for streaming online.
Resound Project: http://sounz.org.nz/content/Resound
NZ On Air: http://www.nzonair.govt.nz/music/
The SOUNZ Contemporary Award, which celebrates excellence in contemporary composition, was presented for the 17th time this year. NZ composer Michael Norris won the 2014 SOUNZ Contemporary Award with Inner Phases for Chinese instrument ensemble and string quartet. “I’m really surprised and elated at winning this award, especially with the incredible pieces written by Leonie [Holmes] and Celeste [Oram] that I was honoured to have as co-finalists. New Zealand is producing such strong, compelling and individual work at the moment, and it’s wonderful to be part of it,” said Michael after accepting the Award.
SOUNZ Contemporary Award: http://sounz.org.nz/distinctions/show/2
Michael Norris: http://sounz.org.nz/contributor/composer/1197
Inner Phases: http://sounz.org.nz/works/show/21948
New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame at the 2014 APRA Silver Scroll Awards. Lilburn (1915-2001), who has been described as the elder statesman of New Zealand music as well as the grandfather of New Zealand music, left behind an extraordinary musical legacy.
2015 is the centenary of Lilburn’s birth and SOUNZ will be celebrating along with NZ musicians and music organisations by promoting events linked to NZ music and Lilburn throughout the year.
Poland: POLMIC — New CD Releases:
The 2014 IAMIC Concert and the Sound Chronicle of the 57th Warsaw Autumn
The latest CD releases from POLMIC, which will be available in January 2015, are devoted to the 57th Warsaw Autumn Festival and a live recording of a special concert that took place during the 2014 Annual Meeting, General Assembly, Conference and Concert of the International Music Information Centres (IAMIC), 3-8 October.
 The majority of IAMIC events took place in Wrocław, a city in the south-west of Poland that is also known by its historical name of Breslau, which was also the location for the 2014 World Music Days, a festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), which provided an excellent context for the IAMIC meeting. But additionally part of the IAMIC Annual Meeting was a one-day conference entitled “Tradition and New Music” held in Książ (formerly Schloss Fürstenstein), a location near Wrocław internationally famous for its spectacular castle with a beautiful park and dark dungeons – a unique pearl of Lower Silesia. The Conference was linked to the Oskar Kolberg anniversary celebrations through the theme of traditions in contemporary (new) music. The Conference in Książ castle ended with a concert, strictly connected with the theme of the Conference. The IAMIC Concert was held as a fringe event of the 2014 World Music Days. Its programme consisted of contemporary works written for a chamber orchestra with a folk instrument or compositions intensely influenced by the folk music of different countries. It offered a very interesting survey of how contemporary composers from different countries (Cyprus, Slovakia, Portugal, Iceland and Poland) maintain the dialogue with traditional music. The CD (polmic 115) contains in their entirely each of the five pieces from these five different countries that were featured on that concert. Although it is not for sale, the 2014 IAMIC Concert CD may be obtained free of charge from POLMIC.
(If you would like to receive a copy of it, please contact Izabela Zymer, e-mail: zymer@polmic.pl.)
IAMIC Conference link : http://www.iamic2014.polmic.pl/
 The 57th ‘Warsaw Autumn’ was held in Warsaw between 19th and 27th September 2014. This year’s “Sound Chronicle” consists of 7 CD (polmic 108-114) and, as in the previous years, contains a selection of performances from the most recent edition of the festival. Although traditionally the Chronicle aims to promote, first and foremost, Polish contemporary music, the CDs also contains a selection of compositions by composers from abroad. Similarly to the previous releases, the last CD in the series (CD No. 7) is dedicated to very young composers. It features nine compositions chosen from among works performed during two concerts organised by the Youth Circle of the Polish Composers’ Union as fringe events of the Festival (both compositions performed at those concerts and those to be released on the CD were selected by the board of the Youth Circle).
The Sound Chronicle of the ‘Warsaw Autumn’ has been released after each edition of the Festival since its inception in 1956. Since 1999, it has taken the form of audio CDs. As in the previous years, the Chronicle serves informational, promotional, and educational purposes exclusively and will not be sold. The CDs are presented free of charge to interested people and institutions from Poland and abroad. Everybody interested in obtaining the Chronicle (both the present and past releases, if still available) is requested to contact the Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC (contact Izabela Zymer, e-mail: zymer@polmic.pl). It should be stressed, however, that since the number of copies is limited (500 copies of each CD) and we have witnessed increasing interest of the public, preference will be given to music institutions; the CDs should primarily go to libraries, schools, information centres, and music publishers around the world.
Warsaw Autumn link: http://www.warszawska-jesien.art.pl/wj2014/home
Slovakia : Music Centre Slovakia
Successful follow-up of the Criss Cross Europe
 In the autumn, there was a new edition of the project Criss Cross Europe (a continuation of the former JazzPlaysEurope project), which Music Centre Slovakia participates in. The idea was to create a jazz network with participation from several European countries (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Slovakia). The project intensively encourages meetings between young musicians. For every year each partner nominates one jazz artist. The musicians come together to work and rehearse together for several days (every year in another partners' country) and each musician brings some contributions, e.g. compositions to the common repertory. Each partner is featured in one or more concerts from this group within the festival and its regular programming, providing the musicians an opportunity to have a unique artistic experience.
In 2014, Slovakia became the host country and arranged rehearsals for four participating musicians: Ruben Machtelinckx (guitar, Belgium), Nikolaj Nikitin (saxophone, Slovakia), Charly Vilmart (double bass, France), and Jeff Herr (drums, Luxembourg).
CRISS CROSS EUROPE TOUR 2014 consisted of following five performances:
24.9.2014 Concert at Slovak Radio, Bratislava, Slovakia
11.10.2014 Ormes, France
19.10.2014 Abbayé de Neumünster, Luxembourg
8.11.2014 Jazz For FOR SaAle Festival, Košice, Slovakia
26.11.2014 Ghent, Belgium
For more information on project: http://crisscrosseurope.eu/
UK, England: Sound and Music
Minute of Listening
Minute of Listening is a software application that allows whole classes of schoolchildren to listen to one minute of music or sound, every single day of the school term. Evaluation has shown that the project benefits both the musical and educational development of children through encouraging reflective listening and creative discussion. It is simple to use and can be used by a non-specialist teacher. Teacher resources are also available from the website.
 Sound and Music is now very happy to announce that the application is now fully available and we are looking for international partners to distribute it in different countries. It is possible also to create your own packs of ‘minutes’, and for the application to be translated.
Information about how international distribution will work is available here.
More information about the project, and a short film, can be seen at the project’s website: http://www.minuteoflistening.org/.
Please get in touch with susanna.eastburn@soundandmusic.org if you are interested in partnering with us.
UK, Wales: Tŷ Cerdd
Tŷ Cerdd Records – Discover Welsh Music
 Our first release, The Piano Bagatelles of Daniel Jones and Béla Bartók features two of Daniel Jones’ previously unpublished Bagatelles. Our second release, Hilary Tann’s Seven Poems of Stillness, features performances by cellist Guy Johnston as well as archival recordings of R.S. Thomas reading his own poetry. It was released in June at The Gregynog Festival. Songs of Wales, a collection of performances by the great Welsh tenor Stuart Burrows, was released on August 9 at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llanelli. Tŷ Cerdd has digitally re-mastered important analogue recordings, previously unheard, of Burrows’s work, making it available widely through the label and ensuring its survival.
In partnership with Taliesin Theatre, we are pleased to announce the release of John Metcalf’s opera based on Dylan Thomas's famous radio play Under Milk Wood.
It is possible to listen to samples here and purchase here or through i Tunes.
United States: New Music USA
Building a Community for New Music in the United States
The Patron Investors Network
New Music USA is in the process of establishing a Patron Investors Network (PIN). The network will comprise individuals with means who are passionate supporters of new music and who are eager to connect with one another to support the community in ways that can be facilitated by New Music USA. In January 2015, the PIN Steering Committee will be introduced to the entire New Music USA staff to get a better sense of our daily work. On the following day there will be a public press conference that will be attended by members of the new network; it will feature testimonials and brief performances by some of New Music USA’s recent grant recipients. In May, New Music USA will host a three-day mini-festival that will include a public NewMusicBox interview and a fundraiser.
Some Updates from our Grantmaking programs
In order to be responsive to feedback from our constituency, which expressed concern that smaller projects were not as competitive as larger ones in our project grants, we have put a greater emphasis on applicants requesting smaller amounts for our third round of grants (which had an application deadline of October 1, 2014). We define a small request as $3000 or less. There were a total of 1,242 projects requesting support. This is an increase from last round’s 1,168. Our average response over three rounds thus far comes to 1,342 projects. Of those applications, 31% were for smaller requests. Given the continued high volume of requests, we utilize the same process from the previous rounds by initially screening each project for completeness, eligibility, and competitiveness. From this screening process, we reduced the pool to 1,106 projects, which moved forward to an artistic review utilizing 31 panelists. Panelists provided numerical scores as well as comments. Based on an average that is algorithmically adjusted (for behavior and expertise) and our adjustments and analysis for strategic targets, we were able to move 200 projects forward to the next stage of the review process which will conclude in January 2015.
 In addition, New Music USA, in partnership with the American Symphony Orchestra League, offers composers residence opportunities with orchestras around the country through the Music Alive Program. The purpose of Music Alive’s New Partnerships is to establish new relationships between composers and orchestras and to catalyze fresh opportunities for both. Activity will involve a one-week residency surrounding the performance of an existing work. We received 219 composer submissions and 44 orchestra submissions for the program. Through a two-panel process, a total of 12 composer-orchestra pairings have been made. Once each pair was matched the composers and orchestras were put in touch and asked to develop a rough work plan for the residency. Those work plans are now being collected. Residency activity will take place over the 2015-16 season.
NewMusicBox Strategy for 2015
 We are currently in the process of developing a strategic approach for NewMusicBox that relates to New Music USA’s community building goals. Its current audience is made up mainly of practitioners. We have been wrestling with questions of service to that audience, service to a new non-practitioner audience, and growth opportunities on both sides. How much overlap can there be between content that interests practitioners and that which interests non-practitioners? Is energizing the practitioner audience and expanding/deepening our connections with it a good central goal? Can energized practitioners help us reach new non-practitioner audiences? We’ve already begun investing our creative energies into obvious areas for growth, such as using social media channels to tell a more dynamic story. We're curating more items of interest from across the community than ever before. Collages of images showcase editorial content. Short video clips promote our deep conversations with music makers. Users are responding with increased engagement with our social channels and higher on-site readership numbers. We want to present stories with more visual dynamism, through various web publishing and media tools and find ways to package our content that will make it more highly sharable, more easily consumable, and more broadly relevant, while maintaining its sophistication. Meanwhile, NewMusicBox continues a brisk schedule of almost daily posts. Some highlights of the past 2 months include: in-depth conversations with Laurie Spiegel, Paul Dresher, and Susan Alcorn; a broad ranging history of the banjo; a survey of jazz musicians of Caribbean heritage; and a series on introducing music appreciation to inmates at a maximum security prison.
IAMIC Board
President: Susanna Eastburn (Sound and Music)
Vice President: Ed Harsh (New Music USA)
Secretary: Michalis Karakatsanis (Cyprus Music Information Center)
Treasurer: Kostas Moschos (Greek Music Information Centre)
Urs Schnell (Fondation SUISA pour la musique)
Signý Leifsdóttir (Iceland Music Information Centre)
Gwyn L. Williams (Ty Cerdd: Centre for Welsh Music)
IAMIC is member of:
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
