Write it Now: Announcing Five New Commissions!

Luke Blackburn, Corey Chang, Binna Kim, Sid Richardson and Nicholas Tran selected for Write it Now, Boston Musica Viva’s commissioning initiative in response to COVID-19

BOSTON — As the arts sector—like so much of the world today—continues to suffer from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Boston Musica Viva is proud to announce one way we can make a difference during this challenging time. Thanks to the support of generous BMV donors, we have selected five composers for commissions as part of our new initiative, Write it Now.

Luke Blackburn, Corey Chang, Binna Kim, Sid Richardson and Nicholas Tran were selected from nearly 50 composers from across New England who applied because of hardships suffered as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Each composer has been granted a $5,000 commission to write a new chamber ensemble work for a future professional premiere.

“Even though we can’t return to the concert hall yet,” said BMV Executive Director Robert Pape, “we wanted to continue fulfilling our mission of supporting new music and the composers who write it. When our sector can welcome audiences back safely, we will be ready with a slate of music that embodies this unprecedented time in our lives.”

Boston Musica Viva launched Write it Now late last year, and welcomed composers to apply for a commission based on their abilities, and how they had been impacted by the pandemic. The chosen composers will each write a 12- to 18-minute new work for BMV’s core ensemble instrumentation of flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin and cello. In addition to their fee, Boston Musica Viva is spreading the benefit of this project around with additional funding to help other ensembles bring these world premieres to life on stage in the future.

Applicants supplied Write it Now with samples of their previous compositional work, as well as a statement about how COVID-19 has changed their lives ranging from lost commissions and performance opportunities to the general job and income insecurity issues that have troubled so many people. Many composers also noted how isolation, anxiety and time for reflection have changed their perspectives on music. Their materials were independently reviewed by a panel of judges: BMV core ensemble members Gabriela Diaz and Robert Schulz, and composers TJ Anderson, Richard Cornell and Dalit Warshaw. Boston Musica Viva and the selected composers will work together in coming months to determine when and where their works will be premiered, following the guidance of public health officials.

ABOUT THE COMPOSERS

Luke Blackburn | Waltham, MA

Luke Blackburn is an American composer, bassoonist, and environmentalist. As a composer, Blackburn’s work brings elements of the natural world into the concert space and takes concert music to the great outdoors and other non-traditional venues. Musically, Blackburn develops a story based on his own research, observations, and experiences with the natural world, often representing his many memories growing up in the swamps of Ocala, Florida. Inspired by the flora and fauna of our vast planet, he is currently developing a documentary-style composition series he calls Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures. Each multi-movement suite within the collection considers “an afternoon in the life of,” studying various creatures or plants associated with the environment where the concert is to be premiered, in order to promote awareness of endangered species, preserving our ecosystems, or simply introduce the audience to the natural world in which we reside.

Corey Chang | Woodbridge, CT

Corey Chang, described as “a major composer...of his generation” by The Millbrook Independent, holds awards from ASCAP and The Golden Key Music Festival, as he continues to rise as a figure in the 21st century music scene. In high school, he became the youngest composer in New Haven's Young Composer’s Projects, where three of his works were performed by members of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Since then, his works have been performed by top contemporary ensembles, such as the Euclid Quartet and The Da Capo Chamber Players, as well as by current artists of the American Modern Ensemble and the JACK Quartet, among others. As a pianist, Chang has been recognized through awards from competitions, such as the Greater New Haven Concerto Competition and The Renee B Fisher Piano Competition. His own performances of his works have included “Evening Light,” in Vienna’s Ehrbar Hall at The Prayner Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts, “Three Piano Preludes,” at Juilliard’s Paul Hall, and “Field of Shards” as a commission by the Hudson Valley Music Circle and the Albany Symphony Orchestra’s American Music Festival in recognition of Joan Tower’s 80th birthday. Chang holds dual degrees in Composition and Mathematics from Bard College. He is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Composition at The Juilliard School, studying under the tutelage of Robert Beaser, where he is a Blueprint Composition Fellow, a Morse Teaching Fellow and an online composition mentor for Opportunity Music Project. In addition, Chang also maintains a private studio for composition, piano and theory.

Binna Kim | Boston, MA

South Korean composer Binna Kim has been described as a composer of “fantastic imagination and great depth.” Her inspiration often comes from various forms of art, recent influences include artists Lee Ufan, Sarah Sze, and Doris Salcedo. Kim’s work has been commissioned and performed in the United States, Korea, and Europe by numerous ensembles, including the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New Fromm Players, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, and Flux Quartet. She has been invited to attend major music programs and festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Chelsea Music Festival and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Currently based in Boston, Kim is currently pursuing her D.M.A. at the New England Conservatory, studying with Michael Gandolfi. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Seoul National University and her Master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied with Leonardo Balada. 

Sid Richardson | Cambridge, MA

Composer Sid Richardson writes concert music that imbues modern idioms with emotional grit and cerebral wit. His work explores the intersections of music and literature, drawing inspiration from a wide swath of authors, poets, and playwrights. Richardson leverages preexisting texts, which are used to create a metaphorical resonance with the source material in pieces that weave literary elements into their formal, rhythmic, and harmonic structures. Born and currently based in Boston, Richardson completed his Ph.D. in composition in the Department of Music at Duke University. He also holds degrees from Boston Conservatory and Tufts University. Active as a music educator, he has taught at Wellesley College and MIT, and is currently on the composition faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music. 

Nicholas Tran | Boston, MA 

Nicholas Tran is a first-generation Vietnamese-American composer. His works are inspired by the lives and stories of immigrants and refugees and is a firm believer in using the arts as a means of building community. In 2020, Tran won the National Sawdust New Works Commission, writing for the incomparable JACK Quartet. He has worked with the Mivos Quartet in the past and was recently commissioned by Margins Guitar Collective. Tran holds a BM in Composition from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, studying with Marti Epstein, Curtis Hughes, and Tina Tallon; Tran will be pursuing doctoral studies in composition in the fall.

ABOUT WRITE IT NOW

In 1969 Richard Pittman, our founder and music director, launched Boston Musica Viva because he saw a need for professional-level new music advocacy in New England. For over five decades, he and BMV’s musicians—with the vital help of supporters and friends—have embodied that mission through concerts featuring hundreds of commissions and premieres.

Today, we are faced with a new set of challenges due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And as a result, we are announcing a new initiative to continue fulfilling our mission during this crisis. 

Write it Now is a commissioning project with the goal of keeping new music alive during this challenging time, and maintaining the high quality of excellence Boston Musica Viva has aimed to achieve for over half a century. Selected composers will receive a commission for their new work, and additional funding will be allocated for the professional premiere and archival recording of the performance when audiences can once again gather safely for concerts. 

OPPORTUNITY

Boston Musica Viva will commission three new works of approximately 12 to 18 minutes each written for the standard instrumentation of BMV’s core ensemble: flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin and cello. (Doubling and percussion instrumentation to be mutually agreed upon by awardees and the BMV selection committee.) 

The selected composers will each receive a $5,000 commission fee from Boston Musica Viva.

An additional $3,500 for each new work will be allocated to support the live premieres of the commissions by Boston Musica Viva or other ensembles in Fall 2021 or later. Awarded composers and BMV’s selection committee will work together to assess the best option for a premiere that includes paid musicians, thorough rehearsal time, a professional archival recording of the premiere performance, and a safely convened audience.

The window to enter for a Write it Now commission has closed. Please check back for updates. Selected composers will be announced in February 2021.

GUIDELINES

This opportunity is open to all composers based in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) without bias toward age, gender, race, nationality, religion or political affiliation. (We understand that some composers may be displaced right now due to COVID, and that is OK.)

Awarded composers will be chosen by a selection committee that will evaluate their compositional quality and ability, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their life and work, and, if provided, a short statement on the theme of their proposed composition.

Current Boston Musica Viva board members, committee members, and employees are not eligible. Composers may submit only one application. 

Awardees will be announced by the end of February 2021. Upon announcement, commission contracts will be offered and a fee of $2,500 will be awarded to each composer. An additional fee of $2,500 will be awarded to each composer upon completion of their new works or by 09/30/21, whichever comes later. Award scheduling for commission premiere support will be on a mutually agreed timetable between BMV, the composer, and (if not BMV) the ensemble performing the premiere. All plans will be finalized by 12/31/21 unless delays are caused by the ongoing pandemic. 

Questions? Contact Robert Pape at (617) 354-6910 or rpape@bmv.org.