> I believe that it was the late Dr. Neil Humfeld, former Trombone
> Professor at the University of Texas at Commerce, who had a
> requirement that all his students giving recitals needed to contribute
> in some way to expanding the repertoire of their instrument. They
> needed to do an arrangement of something currently not available for
> that instrumentation or have a composer write a new piece. He was
> trying to instill in all his students the idea that performers have a
> responsibility to expand the repertoire for their instrument and to
> support the contemporary creators of music. As a performer, conductor,
> educator and composer, I wholeheartedly agree with his philosophy and
> throughout my career have embraced this practice.

> I was exposed to the value of commissioning projects during my
> undergraduate years at Ithaca College where Kappa Gamma Psi, the music
> fraternity to which I belonged, annually commissioned a composer to
> write a piece to be performed by some of the students at its spring
> recital. It was a very exciting time for us, knowing that we were
> contributing to the growth of the literature and working directly with
> the creator of the music.

> When I began teaching public school in Bath, N.Y., I wanted to
> experiment with the idea of commissioning as applied to elementary
> band. In 1967, I decided to approach Elie Siegmeister, whom I met at
> Ithaca College when he was commissioned by Kappa Gamma Psi and with
> whom I later studied. When I first approached him with the idea of
> writing for elementary band, he was intrigued, as he had never before
> been commissioned to write for young performers. We requested a five-
> minute piece for which he would supply score and parts and attend a
> rehearsal and the concert. This meant driving 500 miles round trip
> plus the cost of motel rooms, all for a fee of $250! The resulting
> piece, "Ballad for Band", was an excellent addition to the
> intermediate level band repertoire. The students were inspired to
> perform at an increased level of musicianship and developed a sense of
> understanding for a more modern musical language.

> When I began my career as a university professor, I created a unique
> project as part of my twentieth century music class. Each member of
> the class contributed $10 to a fund used to commission a composer to
> write a piece for the instrumentation of the class. The class was
> involved in selecting the composer, contacting him or her, writing
> grants for additional funds, writing a letter of agreement, and
> rehearsing and performing the piece. My wife and I also commissioned
> and premiered about a dozen works written for us to perform at the
> close of our faculty recitals.

> Today I am mostly involved from the composer and arranger end. How
> many times as performers or conductors have we wished we could contact
> the composer and as him/her what they intended? We can’t do that with
> composers who are no longer living, but we can do that with composers
> who are alive! The process of working closely with composers enables
> us to understand the composer’s intentions and grow in our ability to
> interpret music. In addition, having a composer attend a rehearsal and
> performance and talk to the performers and audience gives everyone
> involved a further understanding of the cycle of music, from creator
> to interpreter to listener.

> Hopefully by now I have interested you in working closely with a
> composer whether by commissioning a new piece, or by giving and
> existing piece its premiere or additional performances. The next
> question you may have is “How to I go about finding a composer to work
> with?” One of the places to start is with composer organizations such
> as:

> American Composers Forumhttp://www.composersforum.org/
> National Association of Composers, USAhttp://www.music-usa.org/nacusa/
> Center for Promotion of Contemporary Composershttp://www.under.org/cpcc/
> American Music Centerhttp://www.amc.net/
> Society of Composershttp://www.societyofcomposers.org/

> These organizations have links to where you can sample the composer’s
> works and find contact information.

> Another way of having performers and composers come in contact with
> each other is for news groups and list serves to fully embrace
> composers as part of their membership. The orchestralist for example
> has this as part of their description, “ORCHESTRALIST is an
> international forum for conductors, composers, players, and their
> colleagues in the orchestra business. Discussion on Orchestralist
> ranges over a variety of topics of interest to orchestra
> professionals. Those encouraged to participate include: (1) conductors
> of professional, college or community orchestras that perform standard
> repertory (including choral-orchestral music and opera); (2) musicians
> who play in such orchestras; (3) composers who write music for such
> orchestras. Also invited to participate are publishers,
> administrators, board members, scholars, patrons, and artists-in-
> training.” Too many lists have a policy of no commercial advertising
> or self-promotion. With the state of the publishing industry
> concentrating only on items that sell well, many composers are making
> their music available via the internet. The prices they charge are
> just trying to cover their expenses and they cannot afford commercial
> advertising rates. Often, news groups serve as the only means of
> informing performers of the availability of their music. It would be
> nice if all news groups welcomed composers in the manner that the
> orchestralist does so that performers and composers can easily
> communicate with each other.

> Lastly, many performers are concerned about the finances of working
> with composers and commissioning works. In an ideal world, all artists
> would be paid what they are worth. But in the real world, composers
> are often more anxious to get a performance of their music than to
> earn a lot of money. To help with linking performers with composers,
> there are several grants available:

> Meet The Composer Met Life Creative Connections Grantshttp://www.meetthecomposer.org/node/10
> American Composer’s Forum Encore Grantshttp://www.composersforum.org/programs_detail.cfm?oid=10956§ion=p...
> Co-op Press Fund Grants for Performershttp://www.cooppress.hostrack.net/grants.html

> I apologize for the length of this post, but I hope that I have
> convinced the performer and conductor members of this group, no matter
> your level of accomplishment, to seek out and work with a composer of
> your choice. You will be creating an invaluable educational experience
> and adding to the repertoire. It is a win-win situation for all
> involved.

> Dr. Sy Brandon
> Professor Emeritus
> Millersville University of PA