News - Page 4 of 8 - American Composers Forum

American Composers Forum Partners with Roomful of Teeth in  World Premieres by Mingjia Chen, Mary Kouyoumdjian,and Peter S. Shin at MASS MoCA, August 23

Friday, July 12th, 2019

On Friday, August 23, 2019 at 8pm, the American Composers Forum partners with GRAMMY-winning vocal project Roomful of Teeth in world premieres by Mingjia Chen, Mary Kouyoumdjian, and Peter S. Shin at MASS MoCA. Celebrating Roomful of Teeth’s ten years of re-imagining the potential of the human voice, the program includes both a retrospective of […]

SEVEN COMPOSERS SELECTED FOR 2020 MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA COMPOSER INSTITUTE

Thursday, June 20th, 2019

Composers will travel to Minneapolis for Orchestra’s acclaimed professional training program, directed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts and co-presented with the American Composers Forum Institute runs from January 6 through 10, 2020,culminating in a Minnesota Orchestra concert conducted by Osmo Vänskä Seven emerging composers have been selected as participants for the Minnesota Orchestra’s 17th annual […]

2019 McKnight Composer Fellows and McKnight Visiting Composers Announced

Wednesday, June 12th, 2019

ST. PAUL, MN – 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 […]

Spring ChoralQuest Rolling World Premieres and Travel with Abbie Betinis

Monday, June 3rd, 2019

Our newest ChoralQuest piece Song in My Head by composer Abbie Betinis received its first two rolling world premieres this spring. Betinis is the first ChoralQuest composer to pilot a new hybrid residency model, working directly with Cottage Grove Middle School in Cottage Grove, MN, and virtually with Lakeside School in Seattle, WA, and Sister […]

Educators of the Winners of the NextNotes High School Composition Awards Program Recognized

Thursday, May 30th, 2019

The American Composers Forum, in partnership with MakeMusic®, is proud to acknowledge the influential teachers of the 2019 NextNotes® High School Composition Awards winners. NextNotes is a national program designed to nurture the next generation of creative voices in music composition regardless of musical style. The following winners were selected for their compositional skills and […]

American Composers Forum Announced Winners of the NextNotes® High School Awards

Monday, April 22nd, 2019

Download PDF Press Release Here The American Composers Forum (ACF) is thrilled to announce the winners of the fifth annual NextNotes® High School Composition Awards. NextNotes is a national program designed to nurture the next generation of creative voices in music composition inclusive of all musical styles. Awards encourage and recognize the creative and talented […]

Info Sessions for Bay Area Composer Residency: Dates Added

Tuesday, April 16th, 2019

This summer one San Francisco Bay Area composer will be selected to receive $10,000 for the design, coordination, and production of a residency project that begins after September 1, 2019 and ends by March 1, 2021. Learn more at an upcoming info session, so that you’ll be ready to apply before the June 3 deadline. […]

American Composers Forum Connect Program (ACF | connect) Partners with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians™ (AACM)

Monday, April 1st, 2019

ACF to Award Three Commissions for Composers to Have World Premieres Performed by Great Black Music Ensemble, Part of AACM’s 55th Anniversary Season The American Composers Forum Connect Program (ACF | connect) today announces its partnership with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and the Great Black Music Ensemble for the 2019-20 […]

Minneapolis Guitar Quartet to Perform Works by Winners of the 2019 American Composers Forum Showcase

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

ST. PAUL, MN – Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, hailed by Classical Guitar Magazine as “Flawless, musical and witty, this quartet is able to do anything it sets its mind on,” partners with the American Composers Forum to present three works by the winners of the 2019 ACF Showcase national competition. Composers Clarice Assad (Chicago, IL), Paul Brantley […]

Register for Bay Area Composer Residency Info Sessions

Tuesday, February 12th, 2019

This coming summer, one San Francisco Bay Area composer will be selected to receive $10,000 for the design, coordination, and production of a residency project that begins after September 1, 2019 and ends by March 1, 2021. This is an opportunity for you to design and lead a local project, in which you are the […]

“A Spectrum of Inspiring Music”

Thursday, February 7th, 2019

William J. Lackey, ACF’s VP of Programs, Reflects on the 2019 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute The Minnesota Orchestra in partnership with the American Composers Forum held the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, January 14 – 18, 2019. The Institute is a unique week-long intensive immersion into the world of a major American symphony orchestra. Under the […]

Composer Abbie Betinis to write new ChoralQuest work in residence with MN, WA, and PA middle-level choirs

Friday, February 1st, 2019

Download PDF of Press Release American Composers Forum (ACF) has selected Abbie Betinis as the 2019 ChoralQuest® composer. ChoralQuest, now in its ninth year, is a commissioning program designed to enhance mid-level choral repertoire with new works by notable composers. An award-winning composer, Betinis is known for her audacious vocal music often inspired by language, […]

“My Brain Is a Definite Patchwork”: JFund Awardee Shelley Washington

Monday, January 7th, 2019

Written by Michael Cyrs. On their 2015 album Dysnomia, Dawn of Midi created something for jazz, classical, and DIY fans alike. Simply arranged, the album never reaches outside its toolbox of piano, drums, and double bass. What makes it one of the most memorable jazz records of the decade, however, lies in its patchwork rhythms. […]

Composers Selected for 2018 Minnesota Emerging Composer Award (MECA)

Tuesday, December 18th, 2018

ST. PAUL, MN – The AmericanComposers Forum is pleased to announce the results of the Minnesota Emerging Composer Awards (MECA), supported with funds from the Jerome Foundation. Three area creative musicians 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 […]

JFund Awardee Martin Nevin and the Inexpressible Merits of Solitude

Tuesday, December 11th, 2018

Written by Michael J. Cyrs “Certain things for me are very hard to express with words,” explains JFund awardee and bassist Martin Nevin. His new record, Tenderness is Silent, deals with this problem. Apart from the classic jazz hall sound of the record, titles like “Grasp at Nothing” and “I See It Feelingly” are the […]

January Composer Meet-Ups in the Bay Area

Monday, December 10th, 2018

In keeping with our mission to nurture the creative spirit of composers and communities, ACF is pleased to launch a new Composer Residency for the Bay Area, in partnership with the Center for New Music in San Francisco. More details below. In advance of this new program, ACF staff be in town to host two FREE […]

Composers Selected for 2018 ACF | Create Program

Tuesday, December 4th, 2018

SAINT PAUL, MN – The American Composers Forum is pleased to announce the results of the ACF | Create program (formerly JFund – Jerome Fund for New Music). With funding from the Jerome Foundation, the American Composers Forum now in its 40th year of commissioning and supporting the production of new works by early career composers […]

New ChoralQuest Release: Somos los dueños by Judd Greenstein

Tuesday, November 20th, 2018

We are thrilled to announce our newest addition to ChoralQuest®, our music series for middle-level choir: Somos los dueños by Judd Greenstein. “Judd Greenstein is one of America’s freshest new voices in choral music. What a joy for any young singer to be exposed to his work early in their choral journey. Through an infectious rhythmic ostinato and simple vocal […]

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 […]

Louisa Castner and Victor Zupanc Complete a Remarkable Residency

We are proud to share national recognition for Love Never Forgets, new choral music by Louisa Castner and Victor Zupanc, commissioned through an ACF community residency program in Minnesota. This 18-month project with Giving Voice and MacPhail Center for Music set out to boldly defy conventional wisdom that people with Alzheimer’s can’t learn new things, […]

BandQuest New Release: Pop! by Tawnie Olson

Monday, October 1st, 2018

We are thrilled to announce our newest addition to BandQuest®, our music series for middle-level band: Grade 3 Pop! by Tawnie Olson!   “Pop! is a delightful musical journey for the players and the audience. This artistically constructed exercise in acceleration, tension, crescendo and their oppositional counterparts begins with melodic fragments that gradually combine to reveal the […]

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 […]

Seven Emerging Composers Chosen for 2019 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute

Tuesday, July 10th, 2018

Composers will travel to Minneapolis for Orchestra’s acclaimed professional training program, directed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts and co-presented with the American Composers Forum Institute runs from January 14 to 18, 2019, culminating in a Minnesota Orchestra concert conducted by Osmo Vänskä. Seven emerging composers have been selected as participants in the Minnesota Orchestra’s16th annual […]

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 […]

Kashimana Ahua Chosen as Composer-in-Residence for In Common, Willmar, MN

Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

The American Composers Forum (ACF) is thrilled to announce that Kashimana Ahua has been selected as composer-in-residence for In Common, a year-long community songwriting project in Willmar, funded by the Otto Bremer Trust. Through the creation and performance of new songs, the project aims to bridge cultural differences and share the stories of the diverse […]

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 […]