The American Composers Forum is partnering with GALA Choruses Inc. (an international organization serving the GLBT choral movement) to launch a pilot Community Partners program. This program provides grants of $5,000 to two GALA-member choruses to commission a composer to write a piece for each of them.
The choruses selected to participate in this project are the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (Boston, MA) and Una Voce: The Florida Men’s Chorale (St. Petersburg, FL). These choruses were chosen on the potential of the project each proposed to broaden their artistic vision and expand their audiences by engaging new voices and exploring new outreach initiatives.
The Choruses and Commission Details
The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus is one of New England’s largest and most successful community-based choruses. Now it its 26th season, the 175-voice ensemble is celebrated for its outstanding musicianship, creative programming, and groundbreaking community outreach. One example of that is BGMC’s history of working with high school choirs and performing benefit concerts to support the network of Gay Straight Alliances that exist in high schools throughout Massachusetts. The piece BGMC will commission will be written specifically for performances in these concerts. It will be a work of moderate difficulty, 8-to-10 minutes in length, scored for TTBB chorus with piano accompaniment and will include a flexible “second chorus” section accessible to student singers that can be efficiently combined with BGMC in minimal rehearsal time. The text will be mutually agreed upon by BGMC and the composer, and is expected to reflect positively on themes of inclusivity and diversity.
Since its debut in December 2002, audiences have heard Una Voce perform in Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL, Fort Worth, TX, Montreal, Canada, and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Future performances include a tour to Paris, France in 2010, as well as their annual concert season in the Tampa Bay, FL area. Una Voce’s Community Partners project will be to commission a composer to write a piece combining their TTBB ensemble and the Symphonic Chorus of the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (an arts magnet high school in St. Petersburg) for a 2010 concert to benefit The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. They envision a work of moderate difficulty, 8-to-10 minutes in length, scored for SATB chorus with piano accompaniment. The composer will also be asked to supply a TTBB version of the work that Una Voce can perform by themselves. The text will be mutually agreed upon by Una Voce and the composer, and is expected to convey an uplifting, positive message of hope and humanity.
The deadline for composers to apply for either (or both) of these commissions is May 30, 2008 (postmark).
For program guidelines and application materials, please visit www.composersforum.org/cp-gala.
For more information about this program contact:
Craig Carnahan ccarnahan@composersforum.org
(p) 651.251.2833
(f) 651.291.7978
332 Minnesota Street
Suite E-145
St. Paul, MN 55101
USA
