tives to his work as one of EarShot’s mentor composers: while he is now ACO’s creative advisor, his own career as a composer was jump-started from a reading by the ACO when he was younger. “I know from personal experience that an orchestral reading can be quite overwhelming for a composer,” says Bermel. “I’ve tried to provide support, feedback, and perspective to EarShot participants during the half-thrilling,
For More Information Interested in being a part of EarShot? Visit the website at http://www.earshotnetwork. org/ or contact Project Manager Cindi Hubbard at cindihubbard@gmail.com for detailed information about the program. There are no age or geographical restrictions, but composers should be at the early stages of their professional careers; composers based in the region where the readings are taking place will receive special consideration. Readings are open to U.S. citizens and non-citizens either lawfully and permanently residing in the United States or studying here full-time. Submitted works should be no longer than fifteen minutes (although movements from longer works will be considered) and scored for standard orchestral forces (up to triple winds and brass, timpani, two additional percussion, one harp, and strings), with no soloists, voices, or electronics. If a work is selected, its composer must provide a professional set of parts that conform to the guidelines established by the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association. Beyond these ground rules, there are no other limitations. “EarShot has no guidelines for stylistic or aesthetic considerations,” says mentor composer Derek Bermel. “Scores submitted and considered have involved improvisation, graphic notation, aleatoric concepts, and more.”
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Nashville Symphony EarShot
How exciting to play the wonderful music being composed by our newest generation of composers. I see a bright future for orchestral music in the 21st century. And I was also very pleased at the enthusiastic response from our audience! –Julia Tanner, assistant principal cello, Nashville Symphony
At the Pioneer Valley Symphony’s 2010 EarShot readings, mentor composer Lewis Spratlan (left) confers with composer Ching-Mei Lin, Pioneer Valley Music Director Paul Phillips, and composer Wah-Hei Ng.
half-traumatizing process. EarShot helps composers to experience their works from three perspectives: composer, performer, and listener. First, and most important, composers hear their piece with their own ears. Second, they meet and consult with the performers, receiving valuable technical feedback and advice on instrumentation. Third, mentor composers function as an educated audience, initiating discussions about philosophical and aesthetic issues raised by the works.” “We want to encourage those behaviors,” Geller maintains. “It isn’t that an orchestra should play certain American composers because they have our stamp of approval, like we thought they were the next great composers. We’re just trying to create demand. The orchestras might even start using EarShot as a resource to identify composers they might want to take to the next level. In the old days, if an orchestra was interested in a new American composer, the way they would find out about it was pretty simple. There was a small handful of publishers that you would go to, and you would say, ‘Hey, who did you just put in your roster? Who’s coming up? Will he write for us?’ But of course now a lot of composers are self-published. You can’t necessarily go to the publishers. So maybe EarShot becomes a place to start. Not because ACO or the League or ACF or MTC said, ‘These
are the composers to watch.’ But because through a grassroots community effort amongst orchestras, these are composers we’re identifying.” Rising Visibility
The first orchestra to sign on to EarShot was the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, which did a series of readings with four composers—Jean Ahn, Christian Baldini, Patricio Da Silva, and Andreia Pinto-Correia—in May 2009. The Colorado Symphony followed in July of that year with readings of works by Yotam Haber, Angel Lam, Jeremy Podgursky, and Tim Sullivan. Then in April 2010, less than a month before the floods that wreaked havoc on their city and caused extensive damage to their new concert hall, the Nashville Symphony read works by Chiayu Hsu, Ryan Gallagher, Michael Rickelton, and Daniel Temkin. “We were delighted to take part in the EarShot New Music Readings,” remembers Nashville Symphony President and CEO Alan D. Valentine. “It was both fascinating and rewarding to watch the creative process unfold, and everyone who took part came away from the experience feeling as though they’d learned a lot. It was especially exciting for the Nashville Symphony to host this event because we have an extraordinary commitment to the creation, performance, and promotion of new American symphony
WINTER 2011