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I would suspect that unconsciously at least we are all influencing each other.

Call for Latin American Music: 60x60 Latin Music Mix (SPANISH/PORTUGUESE TRANSLATIONS BELOW) 60x60 Latin Mix (No entry fee) (SUBMIT http://www.musicavatar.org/)PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE CALL WITH COLLEAGUES, STUDENTS, SOCIAL MEDIA Opportunity Type: 60x60 Entry Fee: NoneOpen To: All Composers living in Latin America, Composers of Latin American heritage, and/or works that are clearly inspired by Latin American culture/music.Deadline: Nov 1, 2014 Receipt Type: Digital Submission: Must be completed online by deadline 60x60 Latin MixOpportunity Type: 60x60 Entry Fee: 0.00 Open To: The call is open to all Composers living in Latin America, Composers of Latin American heritage, and/or works that are clearly inspired by Latin American culture/music. Deadline: 11-01-14 Receipt Type: Digital Submission: Must be completed online by deadline Vox Novus's 60x60 is calling for one-minute recorded works with durations of 60 seconds or less. Curator/Macrocomposer Sabrina Pena Young will select and organize 60 compositions to be played continuously in a one-hour live concert. About the 60x60 Latin Mix: The 60x60 Latin mix will show recent works of Composers living in Latin America, Composers of Latin American heritage, and/or works that are clearly inspired by Latin American culture/music. 60x60 is a project of "signature works" and short works created specifically for the 60x60 project. Excerpts of larger works are strongly discouraged. Works generated from procedures (i.e. mathematical matrices, organizational systems, or computer programs) remixed works, or themes and motives recomposed from other of the composer's own work are acceptable. In addition to the 60x60 Latin Mix, Vox Novus is calling for submissions for several other themed mixes including: the International mix, the Wave Farm mix, Death Mix and others. Details for other mix submissions can be found at: http://www.60x60.com/submission The call is open to all Composers living in Latin America, Composers of Latin American heritage, and/or works that are clearly inspired by Latin American culture/music. There is no admission fee. Submission deadline for all 60x60 opportunities is 11-01-14. All submissions must be uploaded online at: http://www.60x60.com/submission Audio submissions must be in either AIFF or WAV file format. Special conditions for the 60x60 Latin Mix All works submitted to 60x60 mixes will be considered for this year's 60x60 International Mix. The composer needs to write a brief sentence about why the piece should be a part of the Latin mix. Questions about 60x60 can be sent to support@voxnovus.com Works selected for the 2014 60x60 project will be announced on the Vox Novus newsletter NM421: www.NM421.com in January 2015 60x60 is a one-hour-long show made by sequencing 60 pre-recorded pieces by 60 different artists, each piece a minute in length or shorter. 60x60 has been presented in many performance formats including TV shows, radio shows, multimedia and multidisciplinary events, as well as published several albums of works. Since 2003, 60x60 has received thousands of submissions from over 30 countries. Highlighting the work of a great many artists and composers, 60x60 testifies to the vibrancy of contemporary composition by presenting a diverse array of styles, aesthetics, and techniques being used today http://www.60x60.com. -------- PORTUGUESE TRANSLATION 60x60 Latin Mix Oportunidade 60X60 Preço de inscrição: 0.00 Para quem: a convocatória esta oberta a todos os compositores que vivem na América Latina, possuem origem latino-americana, ou que sejam inspirados pela cultura e música latino-americana. Envio: envio digital pela Internet (online). Vox Novus's 60x60 consiste em obras até um minuto de duração. A Curadora (diretora, organizadora)/compositora Sabrina Pena Young fará uma seleção de 60 obras a serem tocadas de forma contínua num concerto ao vivo com a duração de uma hora. Sobre o 60x60 Latin Mix: A 60x60 Latin mix mostrará novas obras de compositores que vivem na America latina, ou que possuem origem latino-americana, e também obras da cultura/musica de inspiração latino-americana. 60x60 é um projeto de "signature works" (projetos personalizados), obras curtas, criadas especificamente para o projeto 60X60. Nao é recomendável extrair fragmentos de obras longas realizadas previamente. Obras de longa duração não serão admitidas. São permitidos trabalhos criados a partir de processos generativos (ex. Matrizes matemáticas, sistemas ou programas de computação), remixes, e temas inspirados por outros compositores. O 60x60 Latin Mix, Vox Novus oferece ainda a oportunidade de inscrição em outras temáticas (themed mixes) que incluem: the International mix, the Wave Farm mix, Death Mix e outros. Detalhes se podem encontrar na: http://www.60x60.com/submission A data limite e: nov-01-2014 Todos os projetos têm que fazer o upload online na: http://www.60x60.com/submission A submissão Audio tem que ser no formato .AIFF ou .WAV Condições especiais do 60x60 Latin Mix: - As obras enviadas ao 60x60 serão consideradas no 60x60 International Mix deste ano. O compositor tem que descrever com uma pequena frase a razão para a sua peça ser incluída na Latin mix. Perguntas acerca do 60x60 podem ser enviadas para: support@voxnovus.com As obras seleccionadas paro o projeto 60x60 2014 serão publicadas na Vox Novus newsletter NM421: www.NM421.com em Janeiro 2015. 60x60 é um concerto de uma hora de duraçâo com 60 peças de artistas diferentes, pre-gravadas e tocadas sequencialmente. 60X60 tem sido apresentado em formatos diferentes de performance: em TV shows, na radio, eventos multimedia e multidisciplinares. Também ainda realizado publicações das obras em albums. Desde 2003, 60X60 tem recebido milhares de inscrições vindas de 30 países. 60X60 é uma referência na vitalidade da composição contemporânea apresentado uma diversidade de estilos, estéticas e técnicas utilizadas por muitos artistas e compositores actuais. http://www.60x60.com ---------- SPANISH TRANSLATION 60x60 Mezcla latina Tipo de oportunidad: 60x60 Cuota de admisión: 0.00 Abierto a: El llamado está abierto a compositores que vivan en América latina, compositores de ascendencia latina y/o trabajos inspirados en la cultura/música latina. Plazo de entrega: nov-01-2014 Tipo de recibo: Presentación digital: Debe ser completada en línea. Vox Novus 60x60 está pididendo obras grabadas de un minuto o menos de duración. La curadora/macro-compositora Sabrina Pena Young seleccionará y organizará 60 composiciones que serán ejecutadas continuamente en un concierto de una hora de duración. Sobre la Mezcla Latina 60x60: La Mezcla Latina 60x60 mostrará trabajos recientes de compositores que vivan en América latina, compositores de ascendencia latina y/o trabajos inspirados en la cultura/música latina. 60x60 es un proyecto de "obras de autor" y obras cortas creadas específicamente para el proyecto 60x60. No se recomienda extraer fragmentos de obras largas realizadas previamente. Son aceptables obras generadas a partir de procedimientos (matrices matemáticas, sistemas organizacionales o programas informáticos), las obras remezcladas, o los temas y motivos recompuestos a partir de otros trabajos propios del compositor. Además de la Mezcla Latina 60x60, Vox Novus está convocando para varias otras mezclas temáticas: la Mezcla Internacional, la Mezcla Wave farm, La Mezcla Muerte y otras. Los detalles para otras convocatorias puede ser encontrados en: http://www.60x60.com/submission La convocatoria está abierta a compositores que vivan en América latina, compositores de ascendencia latina y/o trabajos inspirados en la cultura/música latina, de cualquier edad o etapa de su carrera. El plazo para presentar obras de 60 segundos (o menos) de duración es nov-01-2014. No hay cuota de admisión. Todas las obras deben ser cargadas en línea en: http://www.voxnovus.com/60x60/submission (el proceso de registro está en inglés) Las obras deben estar en formato AIFF o WAV. Condiciones especiales para la Mezcla Latina 60x60 Todos los trabajos enviados a las Mezclas 60x60 serán consideradas para la Mezcla Internacional 60x60. Los compositores deben escribi una breve nota que explique porque su obra debería estar en la Mezcla Latina. Preguntas sobre 60x60 pueden ser enviadas a jackysch@gmail.com Los trabajos seleccionados serán anunciados en la hoja informativa de Vox Novus NM421: www.NM421.com en Enero 2015. 60x60 es un concierto de una hora de duración conformado por la secuencia de 60 piezas grabadas por 60 compositores diferentes, cada obra de una duración máxima de 60 segundos o menos. 60x60 ha sido presentado en muchos formatos incluyendoTV, radio y eventos multimedia y multidisciplinarios, también ha publicado CD's con las obras seleccionadas. Desde 2003, 60x60 ha recibido miles de obras de mas de 30 paises. Destacando el trabajo de un gran número de artistas y compositores, 60x60 da testimonio de la vitalidad de la composición contemporánea, presentando una gran variedad de estilos, estéticas y técnicas que se utilizan actualmente. http://www.60x60.com.

For many living composers, the response to this question might be something like: "Short answer, 'no' with an 'if,' long answer, 'yes' with a 'but.'" But before we start assigning labels, let's discuss what terms like "tonal" and "atonal" really mean. "Atonal music" in its narrowest usage refers to those works of composers Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), Anton Webern (1883-1945), and Alban Berg (1885-1935), composed in or after the second decade of the Twentieth Century, and pre-dating all three composers' adoption of the twelve-tone technique. Berg once attributed the coinage of the term "atonal" to the words of a newspaper critique, and the term itself has long since carried certain pejorative connotations. Another, somewhat broader definition, includes both these works and works of music composed using the twelve-tone technique. This technique was pioneered by Schoenberg and others in the 1920's, and was soon adopted by Webern, Berg, and later numerous composers of serious music in Europe and throughout the world of Western music composition. A third, broader still definition, includes all music in which tonal centers are sufficiently ambiguous. Under this definition, many works by Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Copland, Bartók, Shostakovich, and others are sometimes described as "atonal." This third definition is perhaps the most widely used, but also the most problematic. The term is not commonly applied, for example to noise music; nor music for unpitched percussion instruments; music composed using elements of chance and aleatory techniques; experimental music; microtonal music; or other forms of musical expression falling outside the dominion of Western art music of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. Its usefulness as an aesthetic term must therefore be seriously called into question. What is "tonal music"? The term as used today broadly refers to music composed with tonal centers, or one or more focal pitches considered "stable" with regard to the others. Often this also means the use of familiar harmonic patterns, or "harmonic progressions," typical of the music of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The term as used today, though, perhaps only exists usefully as an antithesis to "atonal music"; as conventionally defined it does not include non-Western musics, nor Western music composed before the Mature Baroque, and its application in folk music traditions or popular styles is highly suspect. The one thing that all of these various definitions have in common is their emphasis on composer intent. "Atonal" and "tonal" do not necessarily represent meaningful expressions of listener experience, in my opinion, which I believe should be a part of any meaningful discourse about music. Instead, I advocate the adjudication of any musical expression on its own terms, in its own proper context, and with the use of descriptive terms such as "plaintive," "haunting," "lyrical," "energetic," etc. Needless to say, any discussion of music on these terms will be subjective to a greater or lesser extent; but the search for absolute, objective truths in a pursuit as rich as music will always lead to a dead end. A quote from the author George Orwell, originally written with regard to various conflicting philosophies of government in the Twentieth Century, seems uncannily appropriate if the words "tonal" and "atonal" are substituted for the terms "democracy" and "fascism": Leave a comment below and click here to continue the discussion!

Theme and Variations Piano Composition Contest Due Date: Nov. 15th, 2013 Winner will have their work recorded by me (I have a Steinway Grand at my disposal :thumbsup:). I'm might have a chance to premier it as well next summer, but I'll need to confirm this at a later date. Guidelines: 1. The piece needs to be in theme and variations form. 2. The theme is yours to choose but it must have NO repeated sections (Beethoven's c minor variations WoO 80 is a good example of what I'm looking for). I'd prefer a theme that is short and sweet (under 24 bars). It could be an original theme or a theme by another composer (as long as there is no copyright infringement of course). 3. The piece should be under 15 minutes. 4. The hardest pieces I've performed include Chopin's 4th Ballade and the Heroic Polonaise op 53, Scriabin's Etude op 8 #12, Beethoven Sonatas and Bach preludes and fugues. If you could keep the difficulty level at or under those pieces that would be appreciated ;) Other things to keep in mind : 5. I would prefer if the piece showcases a variety of styles. Breaks between variations are expected but I encourage you to try and bridge a few together (it's not mandatory). 6. You are welcome to compose in any style(s) you choose (Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, the modes of limited transposition, 12 tone, ect...), it's up to you. 7. Submit the piece at any time before the due date and I'd be happy to give some advice on the piano writing. 8. And most importantly, Have Fun! I really hope this catches people's interest, I look forward to your submissions. Good Luck! :cool:

Hi, I'm Cyrup! Without beating around the.... excuse horrible pun - pixelated bush; I'm the director of a new Machinima series in development, called Legend of the Obsidian Keys (LOK). My crew of 7 and I have basically completely finished filming and creating the first episode... everything except the music/scoring. Unfortunately, we don't have (and can't find) anyone to actually SCORE and create music for the first episode. Bespoke music is the driving force for this creation, as without it the episode would be below average. We need an original soundtrack that will help bring this project to a higher standard, and really push the limits of a successful Machinima. If you're interested in helping out, we need a composer! It should be noted that we can't really offer any payment. The best we can offer is a large percentage in whatever the series earns, and if anything, a small 'token' cost... as well as the credit accompanying the involvement. I've created a video that has more information on this which you can watch here: We also have an incredibly outdated trailer for the series, which you can viewhere. There's also a forum thread (also outdated) that was created for the project, which you can read here. LOK is a Minecraft based Machinima, revolving around the events that surround two protagonists after they discover an active portal leading to another dimension. The series also features an (animation) cross over from the Sandbox game Garry's Mod, which is the basis for the 'real word' or current world the protagonists come from. If you can help, please post below or message me however possible. Thanks!

I doubt that we are all familiar with the great living classical composers of today. But we are all bound to have heard at least several of them and to be familiar with their works. So who gets your vote? I will give my opinion (which I have in my mind at present) after I hear several opinions.

"Vocalise for Nine Voices" - music video Who I am: http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/4224/kotsi1bw.jpg My name is Kostika Çollaku and I'm an independent composer from Thessaloniki, Greece. I am 23 and I compose contemporary classical music. I think it's better to know me through my work so here is a link to my blog were you can listen all my compositions: http://kostikacollaku.blogspot.gr/ What I want to do: I want to shoot a music video to accompany my musical piece 'Vocalise for nine voices'. I want to shoot it in an abandoned factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, that looks like this: http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8445/iedit.jpg A couple things about the piece: Vocalise was composed from June to September of 2012, to be played on Thessaloniki's Concert Hall on 10th November 2012, amongst classic pieces, in the 25th anniversary concert of the “Mixed Choir of Thessaloniki”. The piece lasts 4min. and 12sec. This drawing of Matthieu Barrère summarizes for me everything the piece is about better than I could put it to words: the thing we call "Life", and it's two key reference points, "Birth" and "Death". http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1890/birthdeathlifesimplifie.jpg Immediately after the concert I wanted to make a better recording of the piece but this time with nine voices instead of a full choir and a solo baritone, meaning one person per voice. So I gathered nine very talented opera singers from Thessaloniki and we started rehearsals. My goal was to make a good studio recording and a good video clip. On Sunday, December 23th we accomplished the first part, making a pretty good recording of the piece. You can listen to a sample above. The full piece will be available once we get the second part of the goal. This is where you come in! What I need: I need your support to fund the making of the video: money to rent serious, professional equipment like a good camera, rails, lights etc. The shooting is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 19th, and the video will be ready by the first days of February... with your help. The piece and the video will be freely available on the internet and there will be no proceeds, although you do get some perks of course! The founds needed are a pretty modest sum for a project like this, I think, but we' re content to stick to the absolutely necessary. With Greece stuck in a continuing financial crisis, I think it means a lot to prove that good art can still happen, even under strenuous circumstances, when some see it as a luxury. I do believe realizing this little vision will be a creative stand against the doom and gloom surrounding us. Even more so if you become a part of it. Thank you for your time and your support. Please let me know if you have any questions. Kostika Çollaku Here is the link where you can help the project with a small contribution. http://www.indiegogo.com/vocalisemusicvideo/x/889366

What are the employment opportunities that would be available for composers, especially amateur composers? Have any of you had experience with employment as a composer? What are the chances of an amateur and unknown composer like me - and maybe like you - being employed and making a living (or at least some money) out of composing? Are there freelance assignments? And if so, where should one look?

Hi everybody, I write from Italy and I am the composer of a gothic-neoclassical duo, the Elfenwald (http://www.myspace.com/elfenwald01). I like composing very much and I would be so happy to let musical composition become my work...I know it's very very difficult..it's also very difficult for a band or duo to reach the audience. I studied piano for 10 years with a private-teacher, but I didn't attend the conservatory..since 2010 I started composing for my duo, and I discovered my composing-abilities..I'm not a genius, but I think I have enough abilities as a self-taught person. My dream is to let my duo be well-known and to work as soundtrack-composer. For the first thing I know that it's difficult and that we have to make a lot of promotion...what shall I do for the second question? Yes, surely I have to demonstrate my abilities and improve a lot (and, probably search for short films needing soundtracks), but which would be the way to became a professional composer?Anybody has self-experience to tell? Thank you so much and sorry ifor my imperfect English!!!

Hello my name is Alban, I am 37 years old and I live in Paris. I have composed for several years, If you have some time, come on my Web site to listen to my compositions and watch my videos. You are welcome ! Please give me your opinion, it interests me a lot! Thank you link: http://matbox-symphony.com/

What is its role for you as a composer? Do you disregard it, listen to it and find it beneficial, or do you even depend on it to guide you in what to compose and how to compose?

A composer's music usually develops throughout their composing career. How do you characterize such development? Does all composers' music undergo such development? How does it happen? I think such development is clearest in Beethoven whose music is generally divided into three periods. But it is not as clear in Bach for example. What are the characteristics of such development? I think that one such characteristic is that their music becomes more mature and possibly deeper (relying on the case of Beethoven whose last period produced profound masterpieces). What are your thoughts?

Greetings to all fellow composers! For some bizarre and peculiar reason, we are living in an age where people are becoming obsessed with thinking that we have to label every single compositional style that composers write in. I was reading a book by the australian composer Andrew Ford (it was called "Illegal Harmonies") about modern music since 1900 and I was amazed to see that the glossary of musical styles (Impressionism, futurism etc.) went on for about 50 pages! I don't really see the need to label music in this way as the words hardly help anyone just listen to the music and the sounds created.In my opinion, all of these words that we apply to different styles of modern classical music are absolutely meaningless. To show you what I mean I'll use the labels "Impressionism" and "minimalism" as examples. Impressionism is a word used when describing the style of painting that was around in France in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This style was influenced by the effect that light had on certain objects and places; often artists would paint the same object/landscape with different lightings to create very different images (Monet has done some good examples of this). Now, what musicologists and whatever have done with this word is this: they have used it to describe the music by the French composers Debussy, Ravel, Satie and several others. The thing that doesn't make sense is that in order to make the music go with this label means that he music has to take the features of impressionist painting (the effect of light on objects and places) and apply them to the music (which would therefore sound completely different). Even thought Debussy has written music that happens to have titles that you would imagine you'd find on a painting by Monet (e.g 'The Sunken Cathedral') it techincally is NOT genuine impressionism. In the long run, Debussy hated the term anyway. Minimalism is a term that is used to describe the fine arts that has very little or no diversity when it comes to the art elements (colour, shape, form, tone, line, space and texture). Musicologists have taken this word and stupidly applied it to the music of composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams. A lot of the works by these so called "minimalist" composers are bursting with colour and harmonies that you would not expect from an artist like Carl Andre. The only thing that someone would say that is "minimal" about their music is the lack of motific development. If I let a six-year-old listen to the first movement of Glass' first violin concerto or Adams' "A Short Ride In A Fast Machine" and asked them to describe the music they just heard, the word "minimal" would pretty much definitely not occur. In the long run, Glass and Adams (just like Debussy with "impressionism") they hated the term anyway.

So, after stating I don't care much for Bach several times in the shoutbox over the course of a year, I have decided to lay my case for why I dislike Bach. Personal Taste: To start, I will look point to my own subjective tastes. I find Bach's ideas to be highly annoying. In all his work, I can only think of a small handful (3 or 4) ideas which I really admire. The rest seem overtaxed, overused, and highly ridiculous. I don't care for his particular brand of the Baroque aesthetic. Use of Ideas: In being forced to look through Bach's scores many times in my life... I have found that his use and expansion of idea is severely lacking in relation to that of other composers from before, during, and after his time period. Many times, he doesn't necessarily develop as he intentionally repeats his ideas in different registers, etc. I can find more interesting developmental passages in the work of Handel, Buxtehude, and other contemporaries AND even in works far before his time that present a much better picture on how to develop than that which Bach provides. Harmonic Usage: Perhaps the most annoying thing to me is the result of Bach's conservative view of Harmony. Many composers during his time explored harmony to a far greater extent then him. Bach, on the other hand, sticks mainly due to the fact that his music was extremely perfect in voice leading - largely, I feel, the reason his style of voice leading became (and in many ways still is) the system taught today. For those reasons... and many more... I feel Bach is one of the MOST overrated composers of all time.