Consider Commissioning for Your Groups
By Tom Lizotte
Commissioning new music can seem like a daunting task, but the benefits are palpable and the impact on students significant.
If you never have commissioned a work, you ought to consider doing so. The process is relatively easy to navigate. When you see the expression on students’ faces the first time music that was written specifically for them hits the stands, you will know it was worth the effort.
How to get started:
Decide which composer you want to approach. We tend to think of nationallyknown composers first, but there is much homegrown talent here. These writers charge modest commissions and will work with you to tailor the music they write to your band, orchestra or chorus.
Oftentimes they will come in to rehearse the group and / or attend the premiere. This gives the student to work with a composer live and for the composer to share with the students what was going through his / her mind when writing the piece.
Local writers such as Terry White, Craig Skeffington, Brad Ciemchomski, John Cooper and Tom Bourgault have parlayed work done in Maine into national recognition. They know the level of music groups in Maine inside out and that knowledge means their composition or arrangement will fit your group like a glove.
Tom, a former Biddeford High student, just received his doctorate from Rutgers and has written for Biddeford, Cape and Marshwood.
Working with composer / arrangers who understand the level for which they are writing is crucial. A colleague of mine in Massachusetts commissioned Gunther Schuller to write a piece for middle school band. When the piece arrived it was,“ Oh, my.” Despite the fact that it was a great piece, no middle school band anywhere could have performed it.