The Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers
New Music. New Life.
The CFAMC...
...seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and help build His kingdom by encouraging Christian fellowship among its members in the context of their work and witness as composers of art music. We pray that believers will embrace our musical integrity because of our Christian witness, and that our commitment to musical excellence will allow us to bring our Christian witness to the wider art music world....
To keep up with all the opportunities and goings-on within the CFAMC and its members, bookmark this page and check back often!
News
- National Conference at Houghton College October 25-26, 2013-Submission Deadline is May 17
The 2013-2014 CFAMC National Conference will be held at Houghton College in Houghton, New York, on October 25-26, 2013. David Davies will serve as host for the event. For more information and the Call for Scores and Papers, see the Opportunities section. - State of the Fellowship Address
From our president:The renewing grace that came to me in the aftermath of our conference has taken me by surprise. I expected to discover some signs of life in the Fellowship, but was not sure of how our emerging vision would come across—and found, instead, a people eager for growth, for encouragement, for deeper fellowship, and for God’s grace. It is deeply encouraging to witness the determined commitment we have to God’s purposes for our fellowship, to taste the wide variety of compositional voices we represent, and to be among others with a Christ-centered passion for excellent music-making.
We really do have people from all “walks” of compositional language and Christian maturity: the dense passion of Allen Brings, the erudite effervescence of Walter Saul, the “fifth-iness” of Tom Beverly, David DeVasto’s vast serial architecture, Todd Syswerda’s theatrical grooves…and many more voices. Each of us is one of the Lord’s “works-in-progress,” worth fostering with feedback and encouragement. My heart was warmed by the spirit of encouragement and wonder demonstrated in the feedback at sessions, conversations around and between events, and prayer in small groups.
Over our last meal together (no, not in an upper room, by the way), we voiced a variety of possibilities and ideas for ways CFAMC can work out its threefold vision of fellowship, realization, and faithful presence (see the attached “State of the Fellowship” address for a fuller picture of this). Again, it became clear that the Fellowship is alive and well, and means business! Ask some of those who attended what encouragement (and perhaps challenges) they received through our time together at the conference.
The next conference is seven months away, to be held at Houghton College, October 25-26, 2013. A call for participation is in the works, and will be publicized shortly. Start thinking, planning, and praying now, not only for this event but for the conferences to follow: October 2014 at Biola, and October 2105 at Malone. Members with ideas can share them with someone on the Board or the Advisory Committee (see the Contacts page for contact information), which will help us better serve the Fellowship.
The board is renewed in their enthusiasm to serve all of you. We look forward to what the Lord has in mind for CFAMC, as we grow together into a Fellowship rooted in Christ and seek to live out God’s purposes for us.
In Christ’s love and grace,
Andy
(Sauerwein, President of CFAMC) - The CFAMC Devotionals have once again been updated and are now current on the website. If you haven’t already read them from the list-serve, you can download or view them here.
- The CFAMC Listening Page Archives have also been updated with our latest contributors’ pieces. If you haven’t already heard them from the listserve or our Facebook page, be sure to check them out. As always, amazing variety!
Upcoming Events
- CFAMC member Greg Pascuzzi recently announced a couple upcoming events featuring his music:
Next Friday (April 19) the U.S. Naval Academy Band is doing the first performance of a piece they commissioned, “Intrada on a theme by Mozart”. They’ve kindly invited me to direct traffic (conduct). It’s an excellent and perhaps underrated ensemble and great bunch to work with. It'll be at 8:00PM April 19 at the Academy Chapel in Annapolis. (There’s no admission charge. Parking can be a hassle without a DOD sticker so you’d have to park in town and walk onto the Academy grounds. There might be a shuttle bus from the Stadium). Also on the lineup is P. Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy”... Should be a good concert.
Two things are being done at the ITG (International Trumpet Guild) conference, being held in Grand Rapids in June. One of them, “Dialogues II” for two trumpets and piano is a premiere. Vince and Gabriel DiMartino will be on trumpet and I’ll probably be banging on piano. It’ll incorporate some jazz improv as well as me possibly making up some of the piano part as it ain’t done yet.
The other is a very brief 90-second “Fanfare for Sárospatak” for trumpet sextet being done of the Festival of Trumpets. That was written for a concert at the Crescendo Summer Institute in Sárospatak, Hungary. It quotes the Mozart “Ave Verum Corpus” as it was the opener for a program that continued with original Mozart choral piece followed by a string orchestra fantasia by Daniel Kellogg on the same theme. (The band piece being done next week is an expanded treatment of that little fanfare, maybe a bit like Copland expanding on his “Common Man” fanfare in the 3rd Symphony but of course on a smaller scale). A third piece was to be done by the Navy Band brass quintet (from DC) but nearly all service band travel has been canceled due to the sequester.”
- Max Lifchitz, from the National Association of Composers, USA, recently announced the upcoming Spring 2013 East Coast Chapter concert on April 22.
The free-admission event will be held on Monday evening April 22 at Christ & St Stephen's Church (120 West 69th St) in Manhattan.
New York area CFAMC members might be interested in attending to support fellow CFAMC member Allen Brings, who is having his Duo for Violin and Cello performed at that concert.
For more information, you can contact Allen. - Have an upcoming event to share with the other CFAMC members?
Opportunities
- CALL FOR SCORES AND PAPERS
for the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC) National Conference, October 25-26, 2013
The CFAMC will hold a national conference on October 25-26, 2013, at the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton College in Houghton, NY.
CFAMC composers in good standing (at the time of submission*) may submit up to two works that fit into one or more of the following categories:
- Works for any combination of the following instruments:
- Piano (solo or 4-hands)
- Organ
- Solo Voice (S,M,T,B)
- Flute
- Clarinet
- Saxophone
- Violin
- Viola
- Cello
- Trumpet
- Horn
- Percussion
- Guitar
- Works for:
- Orchestra
- Symphonic band
- Mixed choir (SATB and divisi)
- Women’s choir (SSAA)
- Clarinet choir
- Electronic medium
NOTE: If your work requires the use of a non-standard orchestral or percussion instrument, please inquire.
- Works for any combination of the following instruments:
- NOTE: Please include the recording along with your proposal.
Submitted works may be of any duration, but preference will be given to works under 12 minutes. Works in which the composer is able to provide the performers may also receive greater preference. All programmed composers will be expected to attend the conference.
Please send:
- Scores (not larger than 11"x17")
- CDs of submitted works (MIDI playback acceptable) with durations clearly indicated (one submission per disc)
- A cover sheet with contact information
- Specifics regarding the availability of one’s own performers
- Program notes
- A brief bio
Include a SASE for score return as desired. Please also indicate which pieces (if any) you would be agreeable to having presented via recording as part of a peer-feedback session in the event that a live performance cannot be arranged.
POSTMARK DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MAY 17th.
Proposals for papers, panels, demonstrations, and workshops are welcome. Please submit a 200-250 word abstract outlining the presentation, and indicating its nature and time required for presenting.
POSTMARK DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS IS MAY 31st.
Materials may be submitted electronically or sent to:
-
David H. Davies
Greatbatch School of Music
Houghton College
One Willard Ave.
Houghton, NY 14744
Decisions will be made by early summer and all those who submitted will be notified by email.
*Those desiring to join the CFAMC may do so online.Call For Scores - 2013 PARMA Student Composer Competition
Summary
PARMA Recordings is pleased to announce the second annual PARMA Student Composer Competition. Ten winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges, and the winners’ pieces will be published in the digitally-distributed 2013 PARMA Anthology Of Music. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected to have their piece performed as part of the 2013 PARMA Music Festival, alongside performances by Richard Stoltzman, the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, and the PARMA Orchestra. All performer, production, and publicity costs will be completely subsidized by PARMA, and the piece will be incorporated into the official Festival program and promotional materials.
For more information and submission forms, see www.parmarecordings.com/composercompetition/
Jesse’s piece starts at about the 1:10:00 (one hour, ten minute) mark. Introductory comments about the piece start at about 1:06:00.
“As many of you know, I have a small CD company called Enharmonic Records. For years, I did very little to promote my releases, which are up to 22 by now, but last year, I finally began to promote my label, and obtained national distribution. The thrust of my releases has been to record worthwhile music by under-recorded composers. Only 2 or 3 of my issues to date have been performer-oriented.
“I would like to propose that Enharmonic Records issue one CD per year by a member of CFAMC. This represents about ¼ of our current total number of annual releases. Unlike many companies, I will not charge the person whose music I issue any money whatever (more and more the norm among smaller companies). On the other hand, given the unlikelihood that I would recoup the ca. $2000 in production costs, I will not be able to pay royalties for sales, or mechanical rights for the music that I issue.
“Here are more details of my proposal:
- Interested CFAMC members would submit a proposal for a project, including recordings of the music to be issued, to me for a CD devoted exclusively to the member’s music.
- Lengths of works are completely up to the composer. Normally, though, I will consider only complete works, rather than one movement from a work. I will give equal consideration to one long work, or a number of shorter ones. The only stipulation is that the total timing of the CD will come out to between 55 & 80 minutes.
- I would use recordings of performances to which the member has rights of issuance (i.e., the performers have given/would give consent for such use without payment of royalties to them). These recordings should be good quality, both in sonics and in performance quality.
- I will provide 30 copies (at no charge) of the published CD to the CFAMC member whose music is recorded, to distribute to the performers, or family/friends.
- Further copies could be purchased from me at my cost ($3.00/CD), and copies would be available to other CFAMC members for ½ the regular retail price.
- The composer will supply all program notes for the music, biographical information of him/herself and any performers desired, in electronic form, for a booklet length of 8 pages (including cover and back page, which will be in color), and a color photo in digital form for use on the cover. The design for cover, booklet, tray card, and label will be done by Enharmonic’s regular designer.
- I will select each year’s project from the proposals that I receive from however many members wish to submit one. My selection each year will be based primarily on salability factors that I know from my 35 years in the record business (certain genres of classical music sell better than others), and my impression of the quality of the music, recording and performance(s). Given the fact that I have wide tastes in types/styles of music, and the fact that virtually everything that I’ve heard by our membership on the Listening Pages and elsewhere has impressed me greatly, I would expect that I’ll have an embarrassment of riches offered to me. I will likely have enough projects to keep me going for several years, but if God blesses the project, I’m willing to put any monies received through the sales of these CDs into future projects. Consequently, it is possible that I can eventually do more than one such project per year.
- I can guarantee that any CDs released will be reviewed in magazines such as Fanfare and American Record Guide (I review for the former publication), although I cannot guarantee what the reviewer will say, obviously. Further, the CD in question will receive national distribution through Albany Music Distribution. I am currently working on international distribution, as well.
- There is no real deadline for this project. I’ll probably see what arrives by April 1st, and assuming that a few members will submit something by then, make my 2012 choice. However, it’s also likely that I’ll receive more than one proposal that I’ll want to follow through with, which means that I may make a tentative choice for 2013’s issue as well. However, my offer is open-ended, so that any CFAMC member will be able submit any proposal for any project at any time. If it comes after I’ve made my decision for a given year (I will announce my decision to the organization, once I’ve made it), I will save it for consideration for the next year’s project. Thus, there will be essentially about a year for me to collect ideas for the CFAMC issue for the following year.
- Either live performances or studio recordings are acceptable, as long as the audience is reasonably quite in the former.
- I mentioned earlier that certain genres of music sell better than others, so all things being equal, I’d give priority (in the order listed) to the following categories (this is not my own preference, as I like all genres, but that of the general classical music-buying public):
- Orchestra music
- Solo instrument (or voice) with orchestra
- Chamber music with strings (even a violin & piano work)
- Chamber music without strings
- Opera
- Band music
- Solo piano
- Other instrumental solo works (e.g., unaccompanied clarinet)
- Vocal chamber music (voice with small ensemble, or with piano)
- Choral (either a capella, or accompanied by piano or organ)
- Organ
“Note that any combination of the above genres will be perfectly acceptable, and if you have, for instance, a choral piece in your proposal, it would be “balanced out” in prioritization by the inclusion of an orchestra or string chamber work (for instance).
“I hope some of you will be motivated by the above to send me [David Canfield] your project ideas. One CD/year is not a lot to do, considering the number of such talented composers we have in our midst, but it’s better—I hope—than doing nothing. I would like to issue the first CD in this project in 2012.”
Anyone interested in submitting work for David’s proposal can find his contact information in the Members’ Directory.
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