Healing and Hope Through Song

The application deadline for this program has passed.

Program Description:

A commisioning & commmunity residency duration of project: Februrary, 2010 through Spring, 2011.

We are pleased to announce a new commission and residency opportunity, made possible by a partnership between the American Composers Forum (ACF), Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota (Children's), and the Minnesota Boychoir.

Healing and Hope Through Song is designed to help patients and their families express their feelings and give voice to their stories through poetry and music. Through working in a residency setting at Children's (which has hospital campuses in both St. Paul and Minneapolis), the poet and composer will collaborate to create 4 new choral works, approximately 12 minutes in total duration, which will be premiered by the Minnesota Boychoir in Spring 2011. The poet and composer will work with appropriate staff at Children's to design residency activities and collaborate with participants to develop and create the new pieces

Schedule:

• During the months of February through April, 2010, the poet and composer will facilitate a minimum of 5 but not more than 8 residency activities at Children's, and will attend at least 2 but not more than 4 Minnesota Boychoir rehearsals in preparation for creating the pieces.
• During the months of May through August, 2010, poet and composer will collaborate to write 4 new choral works for the Minnesota Boychoir.
• The completed scores will be delivered to Minnesota Boychoir on-or-before September 15, 2010.
• The Minnesota Boychoir will premiere the pieces in Spring, 2011.
• While scheduling is flexible, the poet and composer will need to be available for all residency activities mutually agreed on with Children's staff, the requisite Minnesota Boychoir rehearsals (including the dress rehearsal preceding the premiere of the pieces), and any promotional activities directly related o this project.

Poet and composer benefits and responsibilities:

Poet and composer will be required to:

• Facilitate at least 5 but not more than 8 residency activities with Children's patients and/or their families.
• Work with Children's staff to develop residency activities tailored to clients' needs.
• Collaborate to compose 4 original works (approx. 12 minutes total) to be performed by the Minnesota Boychoir.
• Work with the Minnesota Boychoir to attend rehearsals and performance of the new works.
• Be available for promotional activities as mutually agreed upon with ACF.
• Maintain regular communication with ACF through email, phone, and/or written reports.

Benefits to the poet and composer include:

• Awards of $3,000 (to the poet) and $6,000 (to the composer), which are inclusive of work performed during the residency, all travel costs to and from the sites, copying costs, and the commission fee.
• Premiere of new compositions at concerts in Spring 2011.
• Program includes a budget for professional recording of the works for archival purposes.

Selection procedure and timeline:

• Selection criteria will include the quality of the applicant's work samples; previous experience working in similar settings; the flexibility necessary to manage the scheduling and artistic demands of the project; an aptitude in both verbal and inter-personal communications; and a genuine desire to be moved, influenced and inspired by these patients and their families.
• Composers are not required to be members of ACF to apply, but are encouraged to join since membership fees support this and other quality programs. Interested parties may join by calling (651) 251-2824 or join online.
• If funded, composers must be current members for the duration of the project in order to receive the award. Membership status will not be considered in the selection process.

• A selection committee comprised of representatives from Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota and the Minnesota Boychoir will review applications and choose a small group of finalists.

• Interviews will be conducted and final decisions will be announced by late January, 2010; the residency period will begin shortly thereafter.

More information on HHTS program partners:

Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is the Upper Midwest region's largest provider of health care to children and the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Children and families representing 99% of the counties in Minnesota and 65% of the counties in Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota come to Children's for care. With hospital campuses in both Minneapolis and St. Paul; specialty and rehabilitation clinics in Woodbury; rehabilitation clinics in Maple Grove and Roseville; and an outpatient surgery, diagnostic, and rehabilitation center in Minnetonka, Children's is the seventh-largest provider of health care for children in the United States. Children's of Minnesota is also the sixth busiest children's emergency department in the nation, the largest high-risk neonatal referral center in the region, and ranked one of the top pediatric hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

The Minnesota Boychoir, founded in 1962, is the oldest boychoir in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area. The Boychoir's reputation for excellence has brought invitations from local and national music conventions, as well as sporting events and touring Broadway companies. The Boychoir has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Prague Philharmonic, Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion on National Public Radio, and a long list of local/national performers. This season, our choirboys will be featured in performances and collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra, Cantus and Zenon Dance Company. The choir's schedule also includes national and international tours. Past tours have thrilled audiences in eleven states and on five continents. Two years ago in celebration of our 45th Anniversary Season, the boys were headliners at the World Voices Australia International Choral Festival at Sydney's famed Opera House, and voyaged to Alaska in June 2009, with performances on board a cruise ship and in ports of call.

Who May Apply:

The application deadline has passed for this program.

For more information contact:

Craig Carnahan
Email Craig
(651) 281-2833

This program is made possible, in part, through a grant from Saint Paul Cultural STAR