Discussion Panel: Page 36

For my contribution today, I’d like to attempt a few answers to questions that were brought up yesterday by Rob (hausrob): 1. “Would or does the presence of a full-time composer-in-residence with an orchestra have a positive affect on the attitudes of performers towards composers and new music?” Surprisingly, from what I understand of the […]

Molly’s day at the office yesterday resembled my undergraduate orchestration seminar last week, when I was able to bring various local musicians, some of them faculty lecturers who are also members of the San Diego Symphony, to do a reading session of the students’ orchestration assignments. This time-tested model always seems to bring out the […]

I am getting quite excited about the possibility of real player input into programming of new music. I guess this issue must mean a lot to my job happiness, and I never before realized how much. As each new strategy is offered, I immediately wonder how it could be made to work with my own […]

I think the person who has noted the overarching theme of communication has hit it on the head, and I would like to dedicate a little time to that issue. Let’s start with a biggie. “Would or does the presence of a full-time composer-in-residence with an orchestra have a positive affect on the attitudes of […]

When I think of how a strong relationship between a performer and a composer is established, I firmly believe that it is the strength of the piece that will and has to win her/him over. Orchestra players generally are open, but they wait until they rehearse the work to either react positively if the experience […]

So, a funny thing happened when I, wondering what direction to go in with this next post, sat down to write–Angela Cordell, a French horn player with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, walks into my office trailing a line of composers behind her. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Not to […]

Thank you for your responses. I completely agree that audiences should be and are an important element of this discussion. When an audience sees that a new composer will be featured on a program, the general response is fear, and the general interest in the concert diminishes. The gap between romantic music and contemporary music […]

I haven’t seen any serious disagreement with the idea that what orchestra musicians think about new music matters less than what conductors, or artistic administrators, or audiences think, Nonetheless it does matter. So it’s worth exploring what about the music itself affects orchestra musicians’ perceptions. What distinguishes new music that musicians like to play from […]

A new consensus seems to be forming around the potential empowerment of musicians through a more active role in decision-making about programming new works. Barbara’s excellent idea from yesterday – instituting an ongoing selection process for new works that charges the players themselves with making decisions well in advance, thereby engaging them in a way […]

[Moderator’s Note] As his contribution for today, Chris posted several response comments to Day 1’s contributions (including his own): Response Comment to Chris Woehr Response Comment to Roberto Sierra Response Comment to Molly Sheridan Response Comment to Barbara Scowcroft Response Comment to Robert Levine Response Comment to Lisa Bielawa Response Comment to Jennifer Higdon