Postmark deadline April 25 for performing arts fellowships

Monday, April 25, is the postmark deadline for the Wyoming Arts Council performing arts fellowships in music composition.

This competition is open to Wyoming performing artists only.

Find a printable application at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Artists/Performing.aspx

Call Michael Shay at the WAC at 307-777-5234 if you have any questions.

Deadline approaching for WAC performing arts fellowships in music composition

The postmark deadline for the 2011 performing arts fellowships in music composition is April 25, 2011. Just 11 days away and counting!

The Wyoming Arts Council welcomes Wyoming composers in all musical genres to submit work for the competition. Application and guidelines are available at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Artists/Performing.aspx

This year's judges:

·                     Forest Greenough, a Fort Collins, Colo., performer and composer in classical music and jazz

·                     Christopher Guillot, a composer, musician and recording engineer from Denver

For more info, contact Michael Shay at the Wyoming Arts Council at 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.

Apply now for Classical Commissioning Program

Chamber Music America, the national service organization for the chamber music profession, invites applications to its Classical Commissioning Program.

The program offers support to U.S.-based classical/contemporary ensembles, presenters and festivals for the commissioning of new chamber works by American composers. CMA defines chamber music as music for small ensembles (2-10 musicians) whose members perform one to a part, generally without a conductor. Compositions may represent a diverse musical spectrum, including contemporary art music, world music, and works that include electronics.

New works created through this program must be performed a minimum of three times in the U.S.

The program provides funding for the composer's fee (from $5,000 to $20,000), the ensemble's rehearsal honorarium ($1,000 per ensemble musician), and copying costs (awards of up to $1,000 each).

Guidelines and application forms, in MS Word and Adobe formats, can be downloaded and printed from the CMA website, www.chamber-music.org. (Applications must be submitted in hard copy.)

Applications must be received no later than Friday, April 8, 2011, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Contact Susan Dadian, Program Director
CMA Classical/Contemporary
(212) 242-2022, ext. 13
sdadian@chamber-music.org

The Classical Commissioning Program is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund.

Jared Rogerson holds CD release party March 11 at the Rock Rabbit in Pinedale

From musician Jared Rogerson:

After much preparation, the new album "Peace, Love and Horses" was released on Tuesday March 8. On Friday, March 11, we will host a CD Release Party at Rock Rabbit in Pinedale, Wyoming. Admission is free and everyone is invited. I will be perfroming live with a 5-piece band followed by special opening guests, Gelene Cox, and Michelle Humber and Nate Curry. CDs will be on sale for $15 the night of the show. We will also will be giving away free CDs, as well. I hope to see you there.

I am so happy about the new recordings, but the key is getting those songs out there for everyone to hear. So, I would also like to announce that I now share a booking agent with western singer/songwriter Brenn Hill. His name is Charlie Parker and he is a great guy. He has been busy trying to fill up my calendar with performances throughout the West in 2011. I am now available to perform as a solo, duo, trio, or band. If you know of dates I ought play at, PLEASE let me or Charlie know. I'm determined to put a lot of miles on and make 2011 the biggest year ever. I really need your help spreading the word.

We recently launched an all new website at www.jaredrogerson.com. Song snipets can be sampled on the home page. I hope you spend some time there and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the new site. If you like what you see, please send the website link to everyone you can think of. And- don't forget to show your support by clicking "like" on my facebook musician page if you haven't already.

Here's Jared's partial traveling schedule:

MARCH 3/11: Record release show at Rock Rabbit
Pinedale, WY

APRIL 4/29 & 4/30: Montana Storytelling Roundup
Cut Bank, MT

JUNE 6/18: Summerfest Arts Fair
Logan, UT

AUGUST 8/6: Concert
Layton, UT
AUGUST 8/10 - 8/13: Madison County Fair & Rodeo
Twin Bridges, MT
OCTOBER 10/7 & 10/8: Nebraska Cowboy Poetry GatheringValentine, NE

NOVEMBER 11/26: Columbia Gorge Cowboy Gathering
Dalles, OR

Jurors announced for WAC 2011 performing arts fellowships

Applications are open for the Wyoming Arts Council 2011 performing arts fellowships in music compositions.

Print applications will be mailed tomorrow to those on the WAC's performing arts lists. A printable application will be posted on the WAC web site by March 11. Go to http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org.

Postmark deadline is April 25, 2011.

This year's jurors are:

Forest Greenough

Forest Greenough has been a staple in the Colorado music scene since his arrival from Seattle in 1999. Known as a very diverse performer, Dr. Greenough is a regular member of the Fort Collins Symphony, Principal Bass of the Steamboat Springs Orchestra, and Principal Bass of the Strings in the Mountains Summer Festival. He has also performed in various roles with the Greeley Philharmonic, Cheyenne Symphony, and Boulder Philharmonic, and has toured nationally with artists such as Andrea Bocelli. As a chamber musician, he has received commissions and premiered many new works in many genres. Also an award-winning jazz bassist, Dr. Greenough currently plays regular engagements throughout Colorado.

An accomplished studio musician, Dr. Greenough has performed on numerous recordings across the musical spectrum, from contemporary jazz and classical to pop/rock and metal. He has published compositions in both the jazz and classical realms, and has developed new theories on tension-release systems in American Post-Minimal composition.

He joined the Colorado State University faculty in fall 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition from Eastern Washington University, Master of Music in Double Bass Performance, Master of Music in Theory and Composition, and Doctor of Arts in Theory and Composition with a secondary emphasis in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado.

FMI: http://central.colostate.edu/author/fgreenough/

Christopher Guillot

Christopher Guillot is a skilled composer, producer and engineer. He plays a variety of musical instruments and possesses a truly eclectic musical sensibility. Chris has owned Cherry Sound Studio in Denver for six years where he has helped more than 1,000 artists create their music.

He released an album with two-time Grammy winner Derrick Perkiness in 2007, and is currently working on his next album. He has had a diverse musical past. He grew up in a musical family, and his godfather was the late great Norman Petty, producer for Buddy Holly and Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs.

Chris holds a BSM in Audio Engineering and Music Business from the University of Colorado. Chris developed a highly successful music and music technology education program at The Spot Youth Center in Denver where he helped hundreds of young people learn how to create music and set goals. He now serves as the Art to Action Program Coordinator for flobots.org.

Brazilian chamber music Feb. 2 at UW

Brazilian violist Glesse Collet, along with the Summit Chamber Players, will present a program of Brazilian chamber music Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Fine Arts concert hall.

Tickets, available at the Fine Arts box office, cost $5.50 for students and senior citizens and $7.50 for adults.

The program will include works by some of Brazil's most important composers including Marlos Nobre, Ernani Aquiar, Francisco Mignone, Chiquinha Gonzaga and Henrique Oswald. The Summit Chamber Players members are Sherry Sinift, violin, John Fadial, violin, James Przygocki, viola, Beth Vanderborgh, cello and Theresa Bogard, piano.

Collet has given courses in the main music festivals of Brazil and has also been a soloist. She is one of the founding members of the Quarteto de Brasília (Brasília Quartet), with which she toured to several countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The group recorded eight CDs, having received the Sharp Prize, for the "best classical music CD" in 1993.

Call for entries: ARTCORE New Music Competition

From the Casper Star-Tribune Weekender section:

To find Wyoming artists and expose new work, ARTCORE hosts competitions in playwriting, visual arts and music on a rotating three-year cycle. This year, Wyoming composers have the chance to submit their manuscripts to the New Music Competition for the chance to win $300 and have accomplished Wyoming musicians perform their work.

To enter, follow these rules: Compositions can be for any combination of voice and/or instrument but must be limited to no more than eight performers. The work must not have been performed before, and compositions should be submitted on music manuscript paper in black ink. Performance time is limited to 20 minutes.

Submit three copies of your manuscript -- postmarked by March 15 -- to ARTCORE, P.O. Box 874, Casper, WY 82602. The entry fee is $15 per entry, with checks payable to ARTCORE, and a single composer may submit multiple entries. Manuscripts will not be returned unless you submit a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

A winner will be announced May 30, and performance of the winning work will be arranged for the 2011-2012 season.

The contest is open to Wyoming residents.

For more information, go to artcorewy.com.

Telling Stories performs music by UW composers

From a University of Wyoming press release:

New Denver-based music ensemble, Telling Stories will present works by University of Wyoming composers Amber Pollock, Ryan Pendleton, Justin Smith, Joao Machado, Jacob Gunnels and Daniel Galbreath Saturday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. in the UW Fine Arts Center concert hall. The free concert is supported by the Douglas B. Reeves endowment for music composition.

Telling Stories is a fixture in the Denver area musical scene. Their performances, which often mix music and other art forms, have drawn large audiences in and around Denver since 2006.

Westword magazine hails their "casual presentations of chamber works and readings of original essays," calling them a "merry troupe of young virtuosos."

Thomas Blomster conducts Telling Stories. His recent composition, "A Brighton Serenade," is, in his own words, a "summation of my interests" ranging from Frank Zappa to J.S. Bach.

Telling Stories will apply their prodigious skill and dedication to music by UW's top-notch Composition Seminar. These experienced composers have written for several media, but for this concert will present music for various subsets of the traditional "Pierrot" ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion). The pieces are an eclectic group--provocative (Pollock), edgy (Pendleton), humorous (Smith), sophisticated (Machado), assertive (Gunnels), and pensive (Galbreath).

The composers will discuss their works at a reception that will take place following the concert, at a venue to be announced. For more information e-mail Anne Guzzo, guzzo@uwyo.edu .

Photo: Amber Pollock is among the UW student composers who will have their works showcased by the award-winning music ensemble, Telling Stories, Saturday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. in the UW Fine Arts Center concert hall.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer featured at New Frontiers music project at UW

New Frontiers, a Laramie contemporary music project, presents a week of concerts Sept. 20-25, at the University of Wyoming.

The music project features a variety of guest artists including Pulitzer Prize-winner for composition, Jennifer Higdon. She, along with other invited guests, will hold artists in residence status during next week's events. Public concerts are scheduled along with rehearsals with UW music faculty and students.

Higdon is one of the most performed living American composers working today, says Anne Guzzo, New Frontiers director and UW Department of Music assistant professor. Higdon's list of commissioners range from the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Tokyo String Quartet, The President's Own Marine Band (United States Marine Band) and to such artists as Hilary Hahn.

Higdon received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her violin concerto. The committee cited Higdon's work as a "deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity." She also has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters (two awards), the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Meet-the-Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

She received a Grammy Award this year for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her percussion concerto. Higdon is currently the Rock Chair in Composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Other artists in residence include DuoSolo, featuring Michael Kirkendoll and Mary Fukushima Kirkendoll; Canadian composer Emily Doolittle; and Boulder/Denver's innovative Telling Stories, presenting readings and

classical music together.UW faculty and student performers also are involved in the New Frontiers project. New chamber music performed by UW faculty will be presented along with large ensembles such as the UW Wind Symphony directed by Bob Belser; the Collegiate Chorale, directed Nicole Lamartine; and the UW Chamber Orchestra, directed by James Przygocki, featuring faculty soloists Blake McGee, clarinet; and Katrina Zook, mezzo-soprano.

All concerts are open to the public; most events are free. The schedule:

-- Monday, Sept. 20: Micro-Concert: New Chamber Music, 7:30 p.m., performed by UW faculty members, featuring Emily Doolittle. Fine Arts Concert Hall. Tickets are available from the UW Box Office at (307) 766-6666 and are $7 for adults and $5 for students.

-- Wed. Sept. 22: DuoSolo (New Frontiers Artists in residence Michael and Mary Kirkendoll), UW Art Museum in the gallery, 7:30 p.m., featuring Eminent Composer-in-Residence, Jennifer Higdon's Rapid Fire. Free.

-- Thurs. Sept. 23: Innovators: UW Wind Symphony, conducted by Bob Belser 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Concert Hall, . Free.

-- Friday, Sept. 24: Macro-Concert: Chamber Orchestra and Collegiate Choir, 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Concert Hall. Conductors James Pryzgocki and Nicole Lamartine present works by Eminent Composer-in-Residence, Jennifer Higdon. Featuring faculty soloists, Blake McGee, clarinet; and Katrina Zook, mezzo-soprano performing works by Higdon and Guzzo. Free.

-- Sat. Sept. 25: Telling Stories show, Rush Hour, at UW Art Museum in the gallery, 3 p.m. Readings and classical music from Telling Stories, directed by Jennie Dorris. Also, a performance of Higdon's Dash by UW faculty members. Free.

FMI: Guzzo at (307) 766-5109, e-mail guzzo@uwyo.edu or visit the Web site at http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/music/calendar/index.asp.

Photo: Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Higdon will be artist in residence during the New Frontier events.

Ucross Foundation resident composer Du Yun performs June 10 at Sheridan College

From a press release:

Du Yun, an internationally acclaimed composer who is currently in residence at the Ucross Foundation, will give a presentation on her music at Sheridan College on Thursday, June 10, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. The event will take place in the CTEL Auditorium and is open to the public at no charge.

Born in Shanghai, China, and now living in New York City, Du Yun was awarded a Ucross Fellowship as part of a new collaboration between the Ucross Foundation and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Female Composers. Du Yun was named the winner of this year’s award, which includes a commissioned piece that will be performed by the Detroit Symphony during the 2010-2011 season. Du Yun was also invited to spend time in residence at Ucross to work on her new commission.

The Elaine Lebenbom Award stands alone, internationally, as the only annual symphony-sponsored award competition exclusively for women composers. It was inspired by composer, teacher, poet, artist and lecturer Elaine Lebenbom, a resident of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, who died in 2002. Du Yun says of winning the award, “I am thrilled to work with the musicians of the DSO. I am indebted to all the people, men and women, before me who have worked hard to pave the way for my generation. Hopefully, I might play a role in this, helping, as other composers, musicians, and organizations have, to build a strong lineage within our time and for future generations of composers whose work is respected beyond their gender, race or creed.”

Du Yun is an alumna of the Shanghai Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory and Harvard University. Since 2006, she has served on the composition faculty at the State University of New York, Purchase. She is currently involved in multiple composition projects, including a work for string quartet, a dance and multimedia project with Moving Theater at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, and a multimedia collaboration with visual artist David Michalek for flutist Clair Chase.

Highlights of recent seasons include premieres and performances of her compositions in Switzerland, Finland, Canada, Norway, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, The Netherlands, and China. Her scores for the silent films of Alice Guy-Blache were recently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and she has written a score for visual artist Shahzia Sikander’s film Interstitial, which will tour India, Laos, Pakistan and Japan in early 2011.

Du Yun is one of ten individuals who have been composers-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation this year. The Foundation provides work space, living accommodations and the gift of uninterrupted time to selected artists, writers and composers who are chosen in a competitive process by an outside jury of experts. Since opening its doors in 1983, Ucross has supported over 1,400 individuals with residencies. Eight to nine artists, writers and composers are in residence at any one time, with approximately 90 individuals supported each year.

FMI: www.ucrossfoundation.org

Showcase of student composers' work

From a UW press release:

UW student composers will showcase their original works during two concerts in the Fine Arts Center concert hall. The first concert is Tuesday, Dec. 1, and the second concert is Thursday, Dec. 3. Both concerts are free and run from 1:10-2 p.m.

Following Thursday's concert there will be a reception with refreshments and opportunities to discuss the music with the composers.

Each concert will feature different works. Michael Amend will premiere a cantata version of his mini-opera, "Compromise." A string duet for violin and cello written by Michael Parkins will be performed by UW faculty members John Fadial and Beth Vanderborgh. Kenneth Jimenez' sonata for trumpet and piano will be performed by Scott Meredith and Rubia Santos.

Other composers represented are Daniel Galbreath, Jacob Gunnels, Max Harrington, Dennis Hillebrand, David Koch, Alex Minier, Ferdinand Niepel, Ryan Pendleton, Amber Pollock, Justin C. Smith and John Wilhelm.

For more information, call Anne Guzzo at (307) 766-5109, or e-mail her at guzzo@uwyo.edu.

Photo: John Wilhelm is among the students who will perform original works.

Deadline Oct. 1: Millay Colony for the Arts

The Millay Colony, located on the former property of Edna St. Vincent Millay in Austerlitz, N.Y., offers one-month residencies between April and November, 2010, to six visual artists, composers, and writers in all genres. Residents are provided with room, board, and studio space, as well as access to the sprawling estate. To apply, send an artist statement, a brief biographical statement, work samples, and a $35 processing fee made out to the Millay Colony for the Arts. Deadline is Oct. 1.