Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute culminates in Future Classics concert of new works, conducted by Osmo Vänskä, Nov. 21

November 21 performance features music by seven emerging composers

Composers spend week in Orchestra’s award-winning professional training program

(October 22, 2009) -- The Minnesota Orchestra continues its acclaimed yearly showcase of emerging composers with its fourth annual Future Classics concert, which features performances of seven new works under the baton of Music Director Osmo Vänskä. The concert, held on Saturday, November 21, is the culminating event of this year’s Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, a program founded in 2001 that has earned national recognition. All seven composers will be present to introduce their music at the concert, which will be hosted by Alison Young of Minnesota Public Radio.

“This full evening of exciting music by some of today’s most talented young composers will be one of the season’s memorable events,” says composer Aaron Jay Kernis, who is founder and director of the Composer Institute. “We are thrilled that for the fourth consecutive season, Osmo Vänskä will conduct all of the scores, working closely with the composers in orchestral rehearsals and private one-on-one sessions.”

The concert, held at Orchestra Hall, takes place on Saturday, November 21, at 8 p.m. Tickets are priced at $20 to $40 for adults, while admission for students and youth is $12. For tickets, call Minnesota Orchestra Ticket Services at (612) 371-5656 or visit the Orchestra’s website, minnesotaorchestra.org.

Career breakthroughs for seven emerging talents
The program’s seven featured composers hail from locations throughout the U.S. and abroad, and their works represent a variety of musical styles. Collectively, their backgrounds include studies at some of the nation’s top music schools, including the Yale School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, New England Conservatory and Juilliard School. Three of their works receive premieres at the concert, while the others receive their first major orchestra performance.

Hong Kong native Angel Lam of New Haven, Connecticut, contributes the program opener, In Search of Seasons, a personal reflection on the changing of seasons in the Northeastern U.S. Incendio by Spencer Topel of Hanover, New Hampshire, draws its inspiration from the physical dynamics of fire. Aerodynamics, by Roger Zare of Sarasota, Florida, takes the listener on an energetic flight full of ebbing and flowing musical gestures. Spanish-born Fernando Buide builds his Antiphones on the musical tradition of distinct instrumental groups performing in dialogue. Dessin No. 1 by Kathryn Salfelder of Boston, Massachusetts, was inspired by the creative intuition of the primary character in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s children’s novel Le Petit Prince. Carl Schimmel of Grinnell, Iowa, has crafted a series of six short musical poems in his Woolgatherer’s Chapbook. The program concludes with Shadows of the Infinite by Geoff Knorr of Baltimore, Maryland, a musical representation of the majesty, awe and mystery of the “infinite.”

Music Director Osmo Vänskä’s commitment lends additional prestige to event
Osmo Vänskä expanded the Composer Institute in 2006 to include an evening concert showcasing the composers and works selected for the week-long program. In addition to rehearsing and conducting the entire Future Classics concert, he meets individually with all seven composers for private instruction sessions during the Institute.

“The Composer Institute is very important for the Orchestra, for me, for new music and for our audiences,” says Vänskä. “Sometimes we forget that every piece was once new, and I think it’s our responsibility to take care of today’s music.”

Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute enters ninth year
The Orchestra’s annual Composer Institute, co-presented with the American Composers Forum in cooperation with the American Music Center, is an acclaimed professional training program for emerging symphonic composers that includes six days of seminars, rehearsals, tutoring sessions and other events. Directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis, the Institute is now in its ninth season.

“The American Composers Forum is committed to nurturing the talent of living composers, and through the Composer Institute, we help ensure that the future of new orchestral music is vibrant and strong,” says American Composers Forum President John Nuechterlein.

The Composer Institute is an outgrowth of the Orchestra’s “Perfect Pitch” program, an annual series of new music reading sessions for Minnesota composers launched during the 1995-96 season in collaboration with the American Composers Forum. “Perfect Pitch” was reformulated in 2001 as the Composer Institute, as the program’s focus broadened and national participation was invited.

Many of the 86 composers who have taken part in “Perfect Pitch” and the Composer Institute in previous years have gone on to receive major commissions, prizes, grants and other opportunities, and several participants have had works played by the Orchestra at subsequent concerts.

“I never could have foreseen the impact the Composer Institute would have on my career and on the way I approach composition,” says Missy Mazzoli, a 2006 Institute participant whose Future Classics piece, These Worlds in Us, was reprised by the Orchestra at June 2008 subscription concerts. “Osmo Vänskä’s insistence that I ‘write my own music’ rings in my ears every time I sit down to compose.”

The Institute’s seminars add another dimension to the weeklong experience. “We offer information and interaction that composers usually don’t get as part of their conservatory education,” says Kernis. “What do you need to know about copyrights? How do you secure royalties? And that new pedaling in the harp part you’ve added—is it playable? We bring composers directly in contact with professionals who can guide them in these areas and bring them to the next levels in their careers, while providing the all too rare experience to hear their music come alive in the hands of a great orchestra.”

The 2009 Composer Institute’s seminar presenters include American Composers Forum President John Nuechterlein, Frank J. Oteri of the American Music Center, attorney James Kendrick, conductor Mark Russell Smith, composers Alex Shapiro and Abbie Betinis, Danielle Vinup of Paulus Publications, public speaking coach Shawn Judge and five Orchestra musicians. Most sessions are open to members of the American Composers Forum, and registration information is available at composersforum.org. A complete schedule of the week’s events can be found below.
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Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
OSMO VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS FUTURE CLASSICS

Saturday, November 21, 2009, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Alison Young, host

Angel Lam In Search of Seasons
Spencer Topel Incendio [World premiere]
Roger Zare Aerodynamics [World premiere]
Fernando Buide Antiphones
Kathryn Salfelder Dessin No. 1
Carl Schimmel Woolgatherer’s Chapbook [World premiere]
Geoff Knorr Shadows of the Infinite

Tickets: $20-$40 Adults, $12 Youth (6-17) and Students

Music Up Close: Post-concert Q&A with the composers, Music Director Osmo Vänskä and Aaron Jay Kernis
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Individual tickets are available for purchase through Minnesota Orchestra Ticket Services at 11th and Marquette in Minneapolis, online at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling (612) 371-5656 or (800) 292-4141. For groups of 10 or more, call (612) 371-5662 or (800) 292-4141, ext. 662. Prices listed do not include a $5.75 per order processing fee for web, phone, fax or mail orders. The $5.75 processing fee is waived for all purchases made in person at the Orchestra Hall Box Office. Ticket prices include a $3.50 facility fee. No refunds. Some fees and restrictions may apply to ticket exchanges. All sales are final. All programs, artists, dates and times subject to change.

The 2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute is generously sponsored by The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Amphion Foundation, The ASCAP Foundation Joseph and Rosalie Meyer Fund, the BMI Foundation, Gerald B. and Catherine L. Fischer, the Jack and Linda Hoeschler Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation, The Hella Mears and Bill Hueg Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation, F. Bruce and Diana Lewis, the National Endowment for the Arts, David and Judy Ranheim, and the Sewell Charitable Fund.

Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2009-10 season.

The Star Tribune is the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partner for the 2009-10 season.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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2009 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Schedule

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
4:30-6 p.m. Composer Institute Introduction—Aaron Jay Kernis provides welcome and introduction*
7-10 p.m. Composer-to-Composer I*

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
9-10 a.m. American Composers Forum and American Music Center Introduction*
10-11:30 a.m. Composer Meetings with Osmo Vänskä*
1-4 p.m. Public Speaking Seminar—Shawn Judge, public speaking instructor
4:30-6 p.m. Upper Strings Seminar—Roger Frisch, associate concertmaster, Minnesota Orchestra; and Thomas Turner, principal viola, Minnesota Orchestra
6:15-7 p.m. Harp Seminar—Kathy Kienzle, principal harp, Minnesota Orchestra
8:30 p.m. Composer-to-Composer II*

Thursday, November 19, 2009
9-10:15 a.m. Every Composer’s Business I: Copyrights, Licensing, Commissioning Contracts—James Kendrick, president, Schott Music Corp./European American Music Corp.; and Frank J. Oteri, American Music Center
10:30 a.m.-12 noon Every Composer’s Business II: Publishing Contracts, Negotiating; Legal Q&A Session— James Kendrick and Frank J. Oteri
1:30-3:30 p.m. Percussion Seminar—Brian Mount, principal percussion, Minnesota Orchestra; and Kevin Watkins, percussion, Minnesota Orchestra
4-5:30 p.m. Conducting Seminar—Mark Russell Smith, artistic director of orchestral studies, University of Minnesota School of Music

Friday, November 20, 2009
9:15-9:45 a.m. Composers speak about Future Classics works
10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Future Classics Rehearsal—led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä
12:30-1:15 p.m. Session with composition students from Perpich Center for Arts Education*
1:35-3:35 p.m. Future Classics Rehearsal—led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä
3:35-4:15 p.m. Session with composition students from MacPhail Center for Music*
4:30-6:30 p.m. E-Marketing and Self Publishing Seminar—Alex Shapiro and Abbie Betinis, composers; Danielle Vinup, general manager, Paulus Publications

Saturday, November 21, 2009
9:15-9:45 a.m. Composers speak about Future Classics works
10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Future Classics Rehearsal—led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä
1:30-6 p.m. Feedback and Mentoring Sessions with Osmo Vänskä and Aaron Jay Kernis*
8 p.m. Future Classics Concert—Osmo Vänskä, conductor; Alison Young, host

Sunday, November 22, 2009
9:30-11:30 a.m. Mentoring Sessions with Aaron Jay Kernis*
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Composer Institute Wrap-Up Session*

All Composer Institute events are held at Orchestra Hall. Schedule is subject to change.
* Event is open to Future Classics composers only.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Public Relations
(612) 371-5628 • gpappas@mnorch.org

Sandi Brown, Public Relations Coordinator
(612) 371-5641 • sbrown@mnorch.org