People Archives - American Composers Forum

Vanessa Rose Appointed as American Composers Forum President and CEO

Tuesday, October 30th, 2018

For Immediate Release: October 30, 2018 Press Contacts: Bonnie Marshall, Vice President of Development 651.251.2822 bmarshall@composersforum.org John Nuechterlein, Current President & CEO 651.251.2811 jnuechterlein@composersforum.org ST. PAUL, MN: American Composers Forum Board Chair Anne LeBaron today announced the appointment of Vanessa Rose as ACF’s new President and CEO, effective January 1, 2019. Rose currently serves as […]

Joel Mellin and the Intersection of Human Sensory Experience

Wednesday, October 10th, 2018

Written by Michael J. Cyrs On Björk’s audiovisual LP Biophilia, the Icelandic singer wore numerous musical hats. Although the most notable takeaway from the record is her masterful voice, it’s often the expertise of her collaborators that drives the songs. Featuring everything from hang drum to full dubstep breakdowns, there seemed to be no musical […]

JFund Awardee Will Healy Doesn’t Sacrifice Virtuosity for Enjoyment

Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

by Michael J. Cyrs Will Healy has been playing piano for most of his life. The evidence is all over his technique, work ethic, and any set of keys he puts his hands on. It’s a tale you hear frequently, but his is a little different. What turns some people away from this lifestyle of […]

Metal Aether by JFund Awardee Lea Bertucci Is One of the Most Compelling Experimental Records of the Year

by Michael J. Cyrs The setting: A concrete WWII-era bunker. The studio: Abandoned corridors of metal and empty space. The instrument: An old silver alto saxophone. These aren’t the average constraints you’d encounter when recording music, but JFund awardee Lea Bertucci isn’t an average composer. “I am more interested in creating architecture and physical spaces […]

Member Spotlight: Celebrating a Kalo Taxidi (Good Journey)

Thursday, August 30th, 2018

Dr. Christos J. Granias remarks early in the conversation, “I’m a glass half full kind of person.” Composer, educator, humorist, and longtime ACF member, Granias has been living with multiple sclerosis (MS) since the 1990’s, and he sees it as part of life’s journey. This month, as Granias focuses his creative talents on raising money […]

Living an Improvised Life: Lynn O’Brien Shares How MECA Helped Her Fulfill a Years-Long Dream

Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

When Lynn O’Brien won a Minnesota Emerging Composer Award (MECA) in 2016, she knew exactly what she’d do with the awarded development funds. MECA is funded by the Jerome Foundation and serves as a complement to the Jerome Fund. It was created to engage and recognize Minnesota music-makers who might not otherwise interact with ACF […]

JFund Awardee Michael Betz on the Dichotomies Between Concept and Composition

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

People like Michael Betz don’t settle for one of two sides of the coin. Just because you choose to focus on melody doesn’t mean rhythm doesn’t get its due. Just because you focus on classical doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate newer genres. And just because someone triggers an electronic sound onstage does not mean someone […]

JFund Awardee Samuel Wells Uses Electronics but Retains Human Element

Tuesday, June 5th, 2018

written by Michael J. Cyrs. Many sounds we hear in everyday life are no longer created the way they used to be. When the train pulls up to pick up the rush hour workers, it’s not an actual bell that we’re hearing. Right when the kicker’s foot hits the football, there’s a man in a […]

Adam Vidiksis Reflects on the First Year of the Steven R. Gerber Residency Program with ACF-Philly and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018

Last year, ACF-Philadelphia partnered with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (COP) for a three-year initiative: The Steven R. Gerber Residency Program. Each year, one composer is selected to work with COP and compose a new piece specifically for the chamber orchestra, all while participating in other residency activities during COP’s full season. The composer selected […]

JFund Awardee Leaha Maria Villareal on Collaborative Relationships

Tuesday, May 1st, 2018

Written by Michael Cyrs. There are perks to playing music as a group. On top of taking cues and performing, you learn fundamental relationship lessons. Remember how you’d sulk about how horrible your college roommate was at doing the dishes, only to realize later on that you hadn’t once cleaned the bathroom the whole time […]

Sarah Cahill, Nicole Mitchell, Jim Staley to Receive Champion of New Music Award

Monday, April 23rd, 2018

The American Composers Forum (ACF) Board of Directors has voted to present its 2018 Champion of New Music award to three outstanding recipients: pianist, writer, producer Sarah Cahill; flutist, composer, educator Nicole Mitchell; and Jim Staley, founder of the iconic new music venue Roulette in Brooklyn, NY, at public ceremonies this year. The Champion of […]

JFund Awardee Joseph C. Phillips and Genre Fluidity

Wednesday, March 7th, 2018

Written by Michael J. Cyrs. “America is a great place. But it’s also not so great. You can have those two happen at the same time, and that’s a beautiful thing,” says 2016 JFund awardee Joseph C. Phillips as he walks his Alaskan Malamute through Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. He doesn’t compose for his Numinous project […]

Stop and Smell the Music: ACF Board Chair Mary Ellen Childs Pairs Sound and Scent

Monday, February 5th, 2018

In 1960, Smell-o-Vision came to the big screen. Accompanying a movie called The Scent of Mystery, moviegoers were treated to 30 different scents throughout the course of the film, triggered by the soundtrack. It came on the heels of 1959’s debut of AromaRama with a movie called Behind the Great Wall. Both attempts to marry […]

From Moby Dick to Salvador Dali, JFund Awardee Brian Petuch Is Narratively Limitless

written by Michael J. Cyrs In 1845, when expressionism was decades away from being an identifiable movement, artist JMW Turner showcased four oil paintings at London’s Royal Academy. Despite the poor reviews, his use of broad strokes to evoke natural light was novel for its time. There’s a pervading suggestion that Herman Melville took these […]

Reimagining the Accessibility of Classical Music: JFund Awardee JP Merz

Wednesday, January 10th, 2018

written by Michael J. Cyrs At many classical music performances, concertgoers place themselves at the whims of the composer, whose music might often communicate: Here’s how I did it, here’s what you’re supposed to feel, and so on. These are demands Wisconsin via Los Angeles composer JP Merz doesn’t want to make. Although he is […]

JFund Awardee Brian Mark: Experience History As It Happens

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017

by Michael Cyrs “I love the art of film music, but I’m not at all into defining labels when it comes to one being a concert or film composer,” explains JFund awardee Brian Mark about some of his recent work. Although he studied film extensively, he’s more of a historical realist. Mark wasn’t yet born […]

Rhythm, Melody, and Dissonance: Trevor Babb’s Guitar

Monday, October 30th, 2017

By Michael Cyrs Close your eyes, turn out the lights, and listen to Trevor Babb’s “Septet.” Each guitar note paints a different color of a landscape in your dream. Dozens of other strings come in, and trees form around a pasture. After 90 seconds, the notes climb up the scale as the sun shines down […]

M. Lamar: Bodylessness and History as Told through Genres

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

JFund Profile by Michael Cyrs “Genre-defying” and “experimental” are words that critics enjoy tossing around, especially when it comes to genre-mixing. However, in music, most genre-mixing is old news, and the terms only gesture at describing a diverse arrangement. Every once in awhile, though, someone earns the terms. M. Lamar’s records are shining examples that […]

Letter from Steven Homestead, New ACF-Los Angeles President

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017

I am humbled and excited to announce that as of September 1st, I begin my term as the next President of the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles. In addition, Alicia Byer begins serving as ACF-LA Secretary and Treasurer. She steps into this leadership position having most recently run ACF-LA’s music education program. We join […]

Asuka Kakitani Conquers the Impossible Task of Representing Nature in Jazz

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

by Michael Cyrs Reality is rarely compartmentalized into the rigid structure of a three-minute pop song. Recalling the full beauty of a painting or a landscape can’t be related without losing the finer details. Longer compositions, it seems, make for music that’s most representative of mother nature. Japanese-born, Minnesota-based composer Asuka Kakitani was on the […]

Steph Chou Makes a Smooth Transition from Jazz Saxophone to Multicultural Bliss on Last Year’s Asymptote

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017

by Michael Cyrs In May of 1995, Taiwan lost a cultural trailblazer. Teresa Teng, then 42 and already a legend in her time, died while on vacation in Thailand. Known for bringing romantic pop songs into Chinese culture in the ’70s, Teng’s music, most notably “The Moon Represents My Heart,” can still be heard all […]

Getting Lost: ACF Board Member J. Anthony Allen Takes on the Arctic

by J. Anthony Allen I spent the month of June on a residency aboard a ship in the Arctic. This was a residency primarily designed for visual artists, but I’ve never been one to turn down an exciting trip, so I decided to use the experience to work on a new String Quartet. Even though […]

Aleksandr Brusentsev’s Quest to Explore Perspectives of Music and Art

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

Written by Michael Cyrs   Even if it’s with someone unquestionably genuine, verbal communication is difficult to recall. Although one may remember the words that were spoken, there were feelings, objects, weather, and countless other subatomic details that were simultaneously present during conversation. The same goes for life events. Say you lost a job or […]

Josh Hernandez-Camen’s Quest for Authenticity in Composition

Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

A profile of a 2016 NextNotes finalist by Michael Cyrs A Google search of Ángel Jochi Hernandez-Camen (or Josh, as he prefers to be called) pulls up a small handful of sites. You’ll find a video of his masterful “Ancient Ruins,” a short bio from your esteemed Forum, and some scattered notes and performances. Go […]

In Service of Classical Music: Brandon Ridenour’s Noble Contributions to the Trumpet

Wednesday, May 10th, 2017

National Composer Contest Awardee Profile There’s a high degree of bias that comes to mind when people think of the trumpet. From that overly macho guy you knew who played it in high school to players of distinction, it’s generally received as an instrument that will not only play the melody, but will physically shove […]

Composing Through Collaboration: Clarice Assad’s Comprehensive Approach to Teaching Music

Tuesday, March 7th, 2017

written by Michael Cyrs The best pieces of art have a three-dimensional feel to them. Whether you’re looking at it ten years after inception, as a companion piece to a film, or simply an album’s artwork, the total picture of the music is essential. Such is the case with the seminal bossa/samba album, 1965’s Getz/Gilberto. […]

Steven Snowden

Wednesday, February 8th, 2017

written by Michael Cyrs “I’m still learning to write music, actually,” says National Composition Contest awardee Steven Snowden. I’m speaking to him over the phone: I’m in Minneapolis, he’s at the prestigious MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, and both of us are surrounded by snow. His area code suggests Missouri, but his current address is […]

Meet New Board Member: Stephen Miles

Friday, November 4th, 2016

ACF’s summer development intern, Henry Dykstal, conducted a series of interviews with our incoming cohort of board members. This month, we’re featuring Stephen Miles. After reading his interview, learn even more about him here. 1. How did music come into your life as something you wanted to pursue as your life’s calling? From the time […]

Clara Latham: Singing about Talking

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

written by Tim Hansen In the 19th century, the Age of Enlightenment, there was a great leap forward in science and medicine; many of the standard practices that make up today’s medical professional’s tool kit originating in the days of Beethoven and Brahms. But scientific progress is not a highway, it’s a jumbled mess of […]

Meet New Board Member: Asha Srinivasan

Sunday, October 9th, 2016

ACF’s 2016 summer development intern, Henry Dykstal, conducted a series of interviews with our incoming cohort of board members. Meet Asha Srinivasan! After reading her interview, learn even more about her here. 1. How did music come into your life as something you wanted to pursue as your life’s calling? Music has always been a […]