(An excerpt from the panel session, “Paradigm Shift: The New Conductor/Composer Dynamic,” by Deborah Simpkin King. Presented during the 2013 ACDA National Conference.)
PROJECT : ENCORE™ is an initiative formed for the purpose of promoting post-premiere performances of significant new choral music. It takes the form of a continually-expanding, robustly searchable database of premiered compositions, submitted by either the composer or the premiering conductor, then evaluated by an international panel of renowned conductors of new music. Approximately 2/3 of the works submitted are accepted into the database. Compositions included span all scorings and all difficulty levels. Search functions are expansive. In this exciting time in which the virtual explosion of composer publishing efforts can be overwhelming, PROJECT : ENCORE™ seeks to provide a body of vetted works to which conductors can turn with confidence for quality and freshness in programming, and direct access to working composers. In short, it is a bridge directly connecting composers and conductors through an evaluation process historically born by music publishers.
For composers it is a resource for enhanced visibility and for the PE™ endorsement earned through evaluation and certification of merit by an international panel of prominent conductors.
For conductors it is a robust and deeply nuanced tool for searching out new, critically endorsed choral music.
V1 of the PROJECT : ENCORE™ newsletter, Sing It Again!, was unveiled in the session in Dallas. Composers and conductors alike are encouraged to sign up for this quarterly publication, which seeks to become the 21st-century e-salon (a la Paris, early 20th century), where composers, poets, conductors – our modern-day prophets! – meet and exchange vision and information.
(The ACDA National Conference is just one of the many benefits of membership in the American Choral Directors Association. Join ACDA today.)
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