I believe that there will always be large venues, large orchestras, commensurately large budgets, and large scale works written for them. The nature of such opportunities may well be the dream to which many composers aspire. However, I would like to nurture leaner works, where the taught presence of the composer remains visible, the instrumentation more transparent than lush. And, pragmatically speaking, works that can be performed at much less expense, and played in more intimate settings.
Works created for these awards are to be written for mixed chamber ensembles, utilizing between 5 and 9 instruments, to be determined by the composer. Works must be a minimum length of 18- 22 minutes. Some composers may desire to extend to 20 - 25 minutes. These commissions do not envision mixed media components but may be referenced as optional performance elements. Exotic performance requirements that significantly restrict the possibility of future performances are discouraged.
What unifies the ten works will come invisible, from within the composers themselves: Composers are asked to commit to reflection upon the human condition, to bear witness. Each person’s ‘yogic’ stretch is different. Gratuity is hard to mask. Works that arise centered from one’s core achieve greatest power of expression and best ground experimentation and innovation.
As with other JFNMC commissions, the symbiotic engagement between composer and presenter / performers is essential. The performers’ ensemble must have a history of dedication to the presentation of new music and a deep commitment to preparation of new works yielding excellent performances of an evolved understanding of the piece.
Within twelve months of the premiere performance two additional performances at different locations are required. These may either be by the initial performers, or by another group (eg: US / Europe; East Coast / West Coast). After the premiere, this performance is to be made available via internet streaming within six months.
A big question rests not on celebration of familiarity and lauded accomplishments. Rather, it
must challenge and provoke, freeing Lilliputian bonds, rewarding invigoration and growth.
Is Humanism a driving force within composers of music in the 21st Century? Is the human
condition, the recognition of the other, a thread that connects, a natural resource, still recognized, or has cerebral purity banned narrative inference by erasing frames of reference?
Project TenFourteen questions today’s default reflex that tilts heavily away from engagement
with the human condition; where closed esoteric constructs survive unto themselves; where
homage to others’ success has become a stultifying path to academic recognition and peer
approval.
This provocation juxtaposes a humanist dynamic demonstrated by a sampling of a broad range of contemporary composers for whom compassionate recognition of their shared participation in the human condition remains essential, vital, and profound.
Project TenFourteen seeks to stimulate reflection and curiosity on such questions in both
composers and listeners , across broad spectrums of expression, devices and desires,
technologies, cultures and conditions, that we as sentient human beings share.
The heart cannot be ignored. Where no blood circulates nor water quenches, life shrivels.
Chou Wen-chung, born in China and educated in the United States, is one of his adopted country’s most distinguished musical artists. In addition to a rich career as a composer he has spent most of his professional life as the custodian and editor of the works of Edgard Varèse. He taught composition at Columbia University from 1964 to 1991, where he initiated the required course in twentieth century music and the graduate course in Chinese Music. He transformed Columbia’s Electronic Music Center to the present Computer Music Center. For many years he has spearheaded cultural projects throughout East and Southeast Asia. He lives in New York City.
George Crumb is one of the most frequently performed composers in today’s musical world. He received the 1968 Pulitzer Prize in Music and the 2001 Grammy Award, among numerous honors and awards. His music often juxtaposes contrasting musical styles: from music of the western art-music tradition, to hymns and folk music, to non-Western music. He retired from the University of Pennsylvania after over 30 years on the music faculty. He lives in Pennsylvania.
Lei Liang was born in China but educated from high school on in the United States. As a composer, he has received commissions from numerous international foundations, ensembles, and artists for a wide variety of musical forms. His music has been performed around the world in concert halls, theaters, and on radio and TV programs. His scholarship centers on the preservation of traditional Asian music. He is currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego.
http://www.lei-liang.com/fullbio/news.html
Koji Nakano was born in Japan and educated in Boston, The Hague, and San Diego. He has been recognized as one of the major voices among Asian composers of his generation. His work strives to merge Western and Eastern musical traditions. Co-founder of the Asian Young Musicians' Connection, he commissions compositions from emerging Asian composers alongside worldwide professional musicians for annual concerts in Asia and North America. For the last year he has been a Visiting Professor of Composition at Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan. Starting in 2012, Nakano will become a full-time faculty member in composition at Burapha University, Thailand, where he has been Composer in Residence for the Annual Music and Performing Arts Festival.
Gabriela Ortiz is one of the foremost composers in Mexico today. Her compositions combine high art, folk music, and jazz, and are written for various chamber ensembles, orchestras, movies, and videoperas. The works have been performed frequently in Mexico, the United States, and Europe. She currently teaches composition at the Mexican University in Mexico City and at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.
Elena Ruehr was composer-in-residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project from 2000-2005, where she premiered several orchestra works and an opera. In 2008 she was a fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute, where she wrote a cantata recently premiered in Washington and New York. She currently teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Laurie San Martin is a composer, teacher, occasional clarinetist and conductor. She writes for chamber ensembles, orchestras, and incidental music for theater, dance and video. Her works have been performed by a number of accomplished ensembles. She is currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of California, Davis.
http://lauriesanmartin.com/wordpress/
Ken Ueno is a composer, vocalist, improviser, and cross-disciplinary artist. His compositions and vocal performances have been heard extensively in the United States and Europe. As a vocalist he specializes in extended techniques including overtones and Tuvan throat singing. He collaborates extensively with visual artists, architects, and video artists. He is a winner of the Rome Prize and the Berlin Prize. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Du Yun, a native of Shanghai who was educated in China and the United States, is a composer, pianist, and singer. Her compositions include notated music and improvisatory music for Chinese zither, piano, laptop and her own voice. She performs widely in the United States, China, Canada, and Europe. She currently resides in New York City and serves on the composition faculty at the State University of New York-Purchase.
http://iceorg.org/about/artist/yun.html
Agata Zubel, born in Wroclaw, Poland, is a vocalist and composer. As a vocalist she has premiered and recorded numerous contemporary works. As a composer she has written symphonies, operas, string quartets, and vocal works. Her works have been presented throughout Europe and the United States. She currently teaches at the Academy of Music in Wroclaw.