Anatomy of a Commission panel discussions from the 2024 Chamber Music America Conference
Anatomy of a Commission at CMA 2024: Deirdre Chadwick, Carolina Heredia, and Ari Solotoff
“The commission fee is just the fee to create the work. There’s a lot of other costs: the licensing cost is one, and the engraving cost is one. I think people who haven’t worked a lot with living composers don’t realize that that labor is not part of the composition process – it’s an extra step. It’s labor that someone needs to be paid to do.”
The Anatomy of Commission Discussion Guide is a document for composers and commissioners that can function as a checklist during the initial conversations about creating and funding new works. This panel conversation breaks down the stages of the commissioning process and highlights the importance of these early conversations in an artistic collaboration. The conversation also touches on topics of licensing through performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI.
Anatomy of a Commission at CMA 2024: Ivette Herryman Rodriguez and Lindsay Kesselman
“Something I have learned with commissions, collaborations, and working with fellow musicians is that as a composer, you have to be clear about what you want, but you have to be open to feedback so that the piece is not finished until you have that other side. It doesn’t mean that you don’t know what you’re doing – it means that now you’re part of a larger whole.”
What is the responsibility of performers when it comes to being composer advocates? Soprano Lindsay Kesselman and composer Ivette Herryman Rodriguez delve into the “why” of commissioning and share how they view artistic collaborations as long-term, evolving relationships instead of one-off exchanges.
Anatomy of a Commission at CMA 2024: Jenny Bilfield and Huang Ruo
“The presenter can be a great partner over a long period of time. The burden is not just on the performer and the composer. If you’re a composer or a performer, you have to find a presenter who brings that dynamic sense of ownership as a partner to the equation.”
How do presenting organizations play a role in the commissioning process? Jenny Bilfield from Washington Performing Arts and composer Huang Ruo discuss the importance of presenter-composer relationships and share how they engaged the local D.C. community for a unique presentation of “Angel Island Oratorio.”