When Gene Angelo Nucal was less than 5 years old, he stumbled upon the instruments that were readily available in his house; piano and strings, primarily. He felt immediately drawn to them and began to experiment. His parents, seeing this, decided they should get him lessons so he would know what he was doing.
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Helen Feng is a recipient of the 2020 NextNotes High School Music Creator Award Helen Feng has perfect pitch. When she was very young, her parents encouraged her to take piano lessons. Initially, Helen admits she was not very fond of piano but she always knew from a very young age that she liked Bach. […]
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Rohan Srinivasan is a recipient of the 2020 NextNotes High School Music Creator Award Rohan Srinivasan is a curious listener and is already an accomplished award winning composer as a junior in HS. He has been a part of the Young Composers Project in Portland where he attends Sunset High School. As part of the […]
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KiMani Bridges is very interested in how things work. In 5th grade she picked up the flute, the instrument her mom played when she was younger, and began her exploration into the workings of that instrument.
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Charlotte Weinstein found an old cello her mother had and she also knew that her mother truly enjoyed the sound of the cello. So she started experimenting with it. It was rough going initially as she tried to figure out proper bowing technique. Eventually that love for experimentation grew into a love for improvisation and composition.
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The American Composers Forum (ACF) today announced the recipients of this year’s McKnight Fellowships for Composers, funded by the McKnight Foundation. These awards, which include $25,000 in unrestricted funds for each recipient, are an investment in the artistic and professional development of the selected artists. The four fellows were chosen from a pool of 54 […]
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On Friday, June 12, CEO Vanessa Rose accepted the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award on behalf of ACF at their conference’s closing event (online). Read her acceptance speech below. Hi everyone, It is my pleasure to join you today and gratefully accept this award on behalf of the American Composers Forum’s Board, staff, […]
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The American Composers Forum (ACF) and New Music USA will jointly receive the League of American Orchestras’ highest honor, the Gold Baton, the League announced today. ACF President and CEO Vanessa Rose and New Music USA President and CEO Vanessa Reed will accept the awards on behalf of their respective organizations at the League’s online […]
Continue ReadingThis one-hour, interactive session with legal experts covers topics for musicians and performing artists including: – Addressing current contracts tied to event dates in the next 6-12 months. – Advice for cancellation and postponement of performance dates. – Structuring future contracts that protect artists from losing income due to unforeseen circumstances like we are experiencing […]
Continue ReadingThe American Composers Forum (ACF), in partnership with MakeMusic®, is proud to acknowledge the influential teachers of the 2020 NextNotes® High School Composition Awards winners. NextNotes is a national program designed to nurture the next generation of creative voices in music inclusive of all styles. The talented young artists convene as a cohort and receive […]
Continue ReadingMatt “Nur-D” Allen shares advice and experience on concert streaming, which services you can use and their different qualities, a few technical options to increase quality, and a few ways to set your concert apart from other streaming events. Notice to ParticipantsBy participating in this webinar you agree to the following: You acknowledge and agree […]
Continue ReadingJames Patrick from Slam Academy led this free intro to music production webinar, which walked participants through how to compose a piece of music within your digital audio workstation, focusing mostly on Ableton Live, an engaging, user-friendly, free software (currently free for 90 days). Notice to ParticipantsBy participating in this webinar you agree to the following: […]
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Visualizing the Visceral: a conversation between multimedia visual artist Yuliya Lanina and composer/vocalist Bora Yoon. This dialogue was curated by SXSW to be presented as a panel on Experiential Storytelling. Unfortunately, SXSW was cancelled due to the Covid-19 Global Pandemic. However, we are able to offer it as part of our Resonance Series.
Continue ReadingKyle King from Slam Academy led this free webinar with practical tips for anyone interested in launching a podcast. It focused on getting professional sounding podcasts with the smallest amount of gear needed: just a smartphone, and a computer with some free tools is all you’ll need to learn along the way. We recommend using Ctrl-F […]
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This month Jen Shyu, dynamic performer, bandleader, and current ACF ChoralQuest® Composer-in-Residence shares her story of growing up in rural Illinois, her 50 state multi-tiered tour, and her project with William Alexander Middle School MS 51 in Brooklyn, New York.
Continue ReadingJames Patrick from Slam Academy led this free webinar with advice for how to set up an affordable home composition studio. He covered the topics of: Hardware and software; recommended configurations for a musician or music producer/engineer to operate a functional home studio on a budget; interfaces; microphones; mixers; sound treatment, and basic recording techniques. […]
Continue ReadingKyle King from Slam Academy leads this free webinar with practical tips for all musicians. Get advice about technical best practices for using your phone’s microphone and explore creative ways to capture and manipulate sound to simulate instruments and expand your palette of timbres and colors. We recommend using Ctrl-F (PC) or Command-F (Mac) to […]
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Download PDF Press Release here. The American Composers Forum (ACF) is thrilled to announce the winners of the sixth annual NextNotes® High School Music Creator Awards. NextNotes is a national program designed to nurture the next generation of creative voices in music inclusive of all styles. The talented young artists convene as a cohort and […]
Continue ReadingWith the rising public health concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19), the American Composers Forum (ACF) is committed to the health and wellness of our large national community. We are paying close attention to the national and local news about COVID-19 so that we can stay informed and provide a supportive, responsive, and safe environment for […]
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The American Composers Forum is pleased to announce the results of the 2020 Minnesota Emerging Composer Awards (MECA), supported with funds from the Jerome Foundation. Three area music creators have been selected to receive Minnesota Emerging Composer Awards (MECA). Each selected musician will receive $3,000 to pursue a new project that will help them take […]
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ST. PAUL, MN – The American Composers Forum is pleased to announce the 2020 recipients of its ACF | create program (formerly JFund – Jerome Fund for New Music). For 41 years, the Jerome Foundation has supported American Composers Forum’s programs commissioning and supporting the production of new works by early career composers in a […]
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AMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM and I CARE IF YOU LISTEN are launching a ten-month series entitled “Out of Context” to help our collective field open new channels for exploring and understanding cultural appropriation. We realize this is a complex issue. It is rooted in a long history of colonization and oppression and, for many, can feel […]
Continue ReadingTrudy Chan from Black Tea Music discusses various aspects of artist management—what to consider and what to expect when seeking a manager, the difference between a manager and a personal assistant, and how to tell if hiring an artistic manager is right for you. Trudy Chan formed Black Tea Music after gaining decades of experience in […]
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We are pleased to announce that composer Jen Shyu has been selected as our 2019-2020 ChoralQuest® composer. Shyu will work with choir director Mimi Broderick at William Alexander Middle School MS 51 in Brooklyn, NY in a year-long residency beginning this month and culminating in performances on May 13, 15, and 16, 2020. MS 51 […]
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By Kris Kautzman, ACF Manager of Community Partnerships Earlier this year we announced1 that Oakland-based artist Julie Herndon is the recipient of ACF’s first Bay Area Composer Residency award, a $10,000 grant for a local, composer-led community collaboration project. Julie will organize and lead Soundvoice 2020 with the Center for New Music and Code Tenderloin. […]
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Back to school, back to finding the next creative voices in music! The American Composers Forum is calling all musicians to the sixth annual American Composers Forum NextNotes® High School Music Creator Awards. NextNotes is a national program designed to nurture the next generation of creative voices in music – in any style! All-expenses-paid opportunity to work with mentors […]
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ACF to Award Composers Commissions to Have World Premieres Performed by the Great Black Music Ensemble, Part of AACM’s 55th Anniversary Season The American Composers Forum (ACF) and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) today announce the three composers selected as participants for the third annual ACF | connect program, in partnership […]
Continue ReadingEducators, we need your expertise! Our Education team is seeking feedback to make our curricular offerings even better. You can learn about our existing resources here. For many of our BandQuest and ChoralQuest pieces, we offer lessons like: Meet the Composer Full musical elements analysis Warm-ups Listen & Respond Create/Composition Interdisciplinary connections More piece-specific material […]
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ST. PAUL, MN – American Composers Forum (ACF) announced today that Oakland-based artist Julie Herndon has been awarded the organization’s first Bay Area Composer Residency award. Herndon will receive $10,000 to organize and lead Soundvoice, a collaboration with Center for New Music and Code Tenderloin, also based in the Bay Area. During the summer of […]
Continue ReadingComposers Lead Convening of Artists, Administrators, and Advocates to Discuss Racially Inclusive and Equitable Opportunities www.composersforum.org The American Composers Forum today announces the 2019 Racial Equity and Inclusion Forum, a convening of artists, administrators, and advocates to discuss racially inclusive and equitable opportunities for creative musicians happening September 7, 2019 in Saint Paul, MN. Artists […]
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