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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
Continue Readingby 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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
Continue Readingwritten 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. […]
Continue Readingwritten 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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
Continue Readingwritten by Tim Hansen In the email ping-pong prefacing this article, JFund awardee Sean Harold warned me that his biographies “tended to be heavy on the sarcasm and light on actual detail.” For example, one iteration of his biography began: “Initially trained as a jazz bassist and improviser, Sean Harold turned his attention to concert […]
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