Made in Wyoming Chamber Music announces composition contest

Made in Wyoming Chamber Music is pleased to announce a composition contest for residents of Cheyenne and Laramie County. The contest has two divisions: student and adult. The student category includes junior and senior high students. The adult division includes college students and other adults.

There will be two winners in each division, and a fifty dollar prize will be awarded to each of the four winning composers. The winning compositions will be performed at the open rehearsal for the Made in Wyoming concert, Saturday, May 11, 2013 as well as the concert on Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Compositions submitted are to be between four and six minutes in length, and are to be for woodwind quintet (flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, French horn). Compositions must have been never performed, recorded, or distributed in public. Made in Wyoming reserves the right for first public performance, but copyright remains with the composers. Decisions of the judges will be final.

Compositions must be typeset with a program such as Finale or Sibelius. Submissions include a copy of the score and parts identified by title only, and without the name of the composer appearing on any of the music, as well as an mp3 digital recording of the composition identified only by the title of the composition.

Composers should include the following information on a separate piece of paper: their name, the title of their composition and its length, which division they are entering (and where they attend school, with their music teacher’s name if they are entering the student division), and contact information (address, contact telephone, email address).

Submissions may be mailed to: P.O. Box 15776, Cheyenne WY 82003, or emailed to: WyomingChamberMusic@yahoo.com. For more information, please write to the email address.

Deadline for receipt of entries is Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. In the case of mailed entries, this is a postmark deadline.

Casper College Percussion Ensemble stages "soundscapes" Nov. 15 to celebrate John Cage's centennial

As part of John Cage’s worldwide centennial celebration the Casper College Percussion Ensemble will present works by the American composer on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Aley Fine Arts Center on campus.

“The audience will have the freedom to wander through the space of the Aley Fine Arts Center and experience performances of Cage’s works in a unique and multi-layered soundscape. The works will be performed at different points during the evening, often overlapping,” said Neeraj Mehta, DMA, percussion instructor and director of the percussion ensemble.

In addition to the percussion ensemble, the event will also feature Jerome Fleg, woodwind instructor on clarinet; Kristen Lenth, vocal instructor, vocals; Holly Wendt, English instructor, spoken word; and the students of Larry Burger, sound design instructor, electronic music.

Works to be performed include “Double Music,” Living Room Music,” “A Flower,” “In a Landscape,” “Dream,” “Radio Music,” “4’33”,” “Sonata for Clarinet,” and “A Lecture on Nothing.”

The performance is free and open to the public. The Aley Fine Arts Center is located on the Casper College campus.

Call for entries: Verismo Trio/WY Music Teacher's Association commissioning project

Verismo Trio announces a commissioning project sponsored by Wyoming Music Teacher's Association.

Award
· $2000 composer’s fee
· Premiere performance at Wyoming Music Teacher Association’s Annual Conference in June 2013
 · Recording of a live performance

Guidelines
Composers of all ages and nationalities may apply.
Required instrumentation:
· Flute (may double on piccolo)
· Saxophone: either soprano, alto , or tenor (soprano or alto preferred) or multiples in any combination
· Piano Length: 10-15 minutes
Score: Each composer must submit a legible score of professional quality with individual parts for flute and saxophone. No marks identifying the composer should appear anywhere on the score. A supporting recording (CD only) is helpful but not required. MIDI realizations are acceptable.
Number of entries: Composers may submit as many entries as they like following these guidelines for each composition.
Returning materials: If you would like your score and recording returned, please enclose a self-addressed envelope with correct US postage.

Judging
All compositions will be judged by a committee comprised of Verismo Trio, the president of Wyoming Music Teacher’s Association, and one outside musician in a reading session with Verismo Trio.

Registration fee
Thanks to this generous donation from Wyoming Music Teacher’s Association, there is no registration fee.

Restrictions
You may not submit a work that has already been professionally recorded for commercial release.

Deadline for receipt of entries: postmarked by February 1, 2013. Please do not send materials registered or certified mail, or any mail service that requires a signature. They will not be returned to you.

Mail your entries to:
Verismo Trio Commissioning Project
c/o Nicole Riner
Dept. 3037
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071

For further information or questions, contact Nicole at nicole.riner@gmail.com.

You can bring the Verismo Trio to your community through the WAC Artists Across Wyoming grant category. Find the trio on the artist roster by going here. Visit the group's Facebook page here.

Application deadline extended: Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts

The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch, an exclusive, independent guest ranch set amid century-old working cattle ranch in south central Wyoming, announced today the launch of the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. Offering writers, visual and performing artists, musicians and composers alike the time and space for artistic exploration through immersion in the extraordinary beauty of the West, the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts is a unique retreat where artists can grow their craft. The pilot program, which will consist of non-juried artists, will run from August to December, 2011. Application deadline for the official program has been extended to October 15, 2011 with juried residencies beginning in January 2012.

The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch is an exclusive, independent guest ranch outside of Saratoga in south central Wyoming's North Platte River Valley. Sitting on 13,000 acres and bordering a million acres of federal wild lands, Brush Creek Ranch's Grand Lodge and collection of new and renovated historic guest cabins and quarters are open to destination weddings, private corporate events and select group and family retreats. Offering an unsurpassed, all-inclusive adventure experience, The Lodge and Spa at Brush Creek Ranch provides a genuine Western spirit of hospitality and a vast array of outdoor activities that, coupled with an inspiring landscape and a dedication to sustainable ranching, come together to create a new icon in luxury Western destinations. The Foundation was created to give artists the opportunity to be inspired by the Ranch’s authentic surroundings.

“There is nowhere quite like Brush Creek Ranch when it comes to true Western beauty,” explained Beth White, owner of Brush Creek Ranch. “The idea for sharing this incredible landscape with aspiring and established artists for inspiration has been a dream of our family’s since the beginning of this journey, and we are so proud to finally open its doors to the world.”

Chosen by a blind jury based on work samples, awarded artists will receive housing, performance or studio space, all meals, travel to and from Laramie airport and access to general facilities.  The artists’ housing features eight individual residences with private bath, closet and work space. Shared facilities include kitchen, library, family room, and laundry facility. Meals include continental breakfast in the dining room, boxed lunch delivered to studios and dinner prepared by the Ranch’s chef communally shared in dining room.

The eight studio spaces are located in restored ranch buildings that combine comfort and refinement. Of the eight spaces, four are visual art studios that are equipped with large transom windows for abundant natural light and full spectrum daylight track lighting for late work. Two of the spaces are quiet studios reserved for writers and the remaining two studios are for composers, one of which was converted from an historic schoolhouse and contains a beautiful Steinway piano.

The Foundation will be lead by director, Kate Christensen. Christensen holds a Masters of Fine Arts, 2D studies with an emphasis in printmaking from Bowling Green State University. She has participated in over 30 exhibitions and exchanges over the last ten years, the most recent of which was in Wyoming.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this unique program and have no doubt that Brush Creek Ranch will provide an unmatched location for creative motivation,” said Christensen. “Wyoming is my home and I find endless inspiration here – I know that other artists will fall in love with the incomparable beauty of Wyoming and Brush Creek Ranch as well.”

The Foundation offers two- to four-week residencies, based on the season. No stipends or fellowships/awards are available at this time. Artists are responsible for their own supplies. There will be ample opportunity on-Ranch for artists who want to share their work, especially during the summer months. For more information and how to apply visit www.brushcreekarts.org.

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.

World premiere of Stephen Paulus concerto Aug. 14-15 at Grand Teton Music Festival

From a Grand Teton Music Festival press release:

Grand Teton Music Festival steps onto the world’s musical stage this week with the unveiling of a brand-new musical work commissioned by -- and written for -- the Festival by Minnesota-based American composer Stephen Paulus.

This world premiere features longtime Festival friend and cellist Lynn Harrell alongside the Festival Orchestra with Music Director Donald Runnicles conducting in the Festival’s acoustic home, Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village. These Festival Orchestra concerts take place at 8 p.m. Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15. Tickets: $25-50 Adults, $10 Students. 307-733-1128 or www.gtmf.org.

Accessible, engaging, and fresh, Mr. Paulus will be in residence the final week of the Festival for events that explore the connection between the modern-day composer and our society, find out what it means to create new classical music, and introduce us to his music, written especially for the Grand Teton Music Festival. What can audiences expect from the commission?

“Stephen has a gloriously lyrical and colorful style which speaks to orchestra and audience immediately. After being enormously impressed by his Violin Concerto that we featured at the Festival a couple of seasons ago I was eager to bring Stephen together with Lynn Harrell in order to create a new Cello Concerto,” explains Music Director Donald Runnicles.

Mr. Harrell also expressed great enthusiasm for Paulus’s new music, exclaiming, “Playing this new concerto is like a revitalization of my musical existence!”

The world premiere of this new work is not only an exciting way for the Grand Teton Music Festival to close its 2009 summer season, but it also makes a bold statement about the Festival’s vision for the future.

Music Director Donald Runnicles eloquently put this achievement into context: “It is important and exciting for the Grand Teton Music Festival to not only bring to life the masterworks of our tradition, but also to play a role in the creation of new music for future audiences.”

For tickets and information, call 307-733-1128 or visit http://www.gtmf.org/

WAC fellowship musician in concert March 11

Theresa Bogard, a 2009 Wyoming Arts Council performing arts fellowship winner, will perform a solo concert on Wednesday, March 11, 7:30 p.m., in the Fine Arts Center concert hall at UW in Laramie. Her theme is "Music by Women Composers." Tickets are $5 for students and seniors and $7 for others.

Her recital will include pieces by Margaret Bonds, Clara Schumann, Julie Perry, Joan Tower, Emma Lou Diemer, Denise Garcia and Louise Talma. She will perform the same program later this semester in Tennessee, South Korea, China and Casper.

Tickets are available at the Fine Arts box office, by calling (307) 766-6666 or online at www.uwyo.edu/FineArts.

WAC announces choral music grant program

The Wyoming Arts Council announces the American Masterpiece Commissioning Choral Music Grant Program which provides up to $3,000 to support and encourage the commissioning of new choral music from American Master Composers.

Wyoming non-profit organizations and tax exempt educational institutions may apply for up to one-half of the costs to commission a new choral work by an American Master composer. Grant funds received must be matched with cash and/or in-kind donations by the grant applicant.

Applications will be accepted immediately for Choral Commission projects that will take place through November 1, 2009. The grant program encourages Wyoming choral music groups to commission new works that they will perform. The groups may contract with American Master composers of their choice.

All American Master choral performance music, including music commissioned through the American Masterpiece Commissioning Choral Music Grant Program will be managed by the Choral Music Library within Laramie County School District #1. Commissioned composers of new and unpublished work must provide the Music Library with one copy of the work and permission for future copies to be made for Library use. If published, the new work will be purchased and permission must be granted by the composer to make copies for the library.

The grant may pay for composer fees, composer travel, and performance costs. Music may be of any length or style but applicants will need to explain how the composer of their choice is a master artist. Applications must be submitted at least two weeks (14 days) before the project start date. Drafts must be submitted at least five workdays prior to that.

To apply for this grant online, visit http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Grants/Master.asp.

Applicants are urged to call prior to applying because of a limited number of grants available.

For assistance with the Commissioning Choral Music Grant Program call Rita Basom at (307) 777-7473; FAX (307) 777-5499; TDD (307) 777-5964.

New Musical Theatre competition

This from Andrea Press, producer at ANMT, the Academy for New Musical Theatre, in Los Angeles:

We want to link composers, lyricists, playwrights and theatre companies from Wyoming who would like to create brand-new musicals, written specifically as part of a national series of musicals exploring American themes and culture. The goal of the Interstate Musical Theatre Project is for the Academy for New Musical to provide three workshops for each of the projects which qualify, perhaps as many as "fifty states, fifty musicals." The winner will receive a $10,000 prize and a concert reading; all entrants will receive table readings and dramaturgical feedback from ANMT staff, half-way through Act One, at the conclusion of Act One, and upon final draft. These would be brand-new musicals, written specifically as part of a national series of musicals exploring American themes and culture. Participating musicals pay ANMT to provide actors, pianists, rehearsal space, music directors and dramaturgs.
ANMT will finance the final concert reading.

Complete information about the process and the Interstate Musical Theatre Project can be found at http://www.anmt.org/. We're looking for writers and theatres that might represent Wyoming in the Interstate Musical Theatre Project.

FMI apress@anmt.org 818.506.8500 Link: http://www.anmt.org/