Education   •   April 8, 2020

I can’t believe it’s been two years since I wrote my blog entitled The Should-Be Parallel Nature of Creative Process and Entrepreneurship in which I shared my thoughts on how composers might write music while simultaneously managing their business interests as well. So much has happened since then! Shortly after writing the article, Mid Cities Brass (a Brass Quintet based here in north Texas) and I teamed up to offer the first Chamber Music Composition Program in the summer of 2018 in which I worked with student composers on how to put the steps outlined in the article into practice. The Quintet created a cohesive program of new works, and the composers learned the skills to fulfill these mock “commissions”. The joint effort culminated in a ticketed live concert at a local brewery with well over one hundred in attendance, all six new works premiered and many tacos eaten!

We then took the six works into the University of Texas at Arlington studio in May of 2019:

And next teamed up with the Northeast Campus of Tarrant County College to offer the program again during the Summer of 2019. Our 2019 effort began where it all started – with a masterclass for the composers on the subjects of creative process and entrepreneurship! We then had a Q and A with the Quintet, as well as a couple of hours of brass instrument and Brass Quintet demonstrations.

All in all, we had eight composers participate in the 2019 program, and we also added an additional Composition Instructor – Dr. Uriah Rinzel, who in addition to serving at TCC also teaches at Texas Christian University and Dallas Baptist University. Dr. Rinzel and I’s composition students had about seven weeks from the beginning of TCC’s Summer I to the delivery due date early in Summer II to complete their compositions. I then hosted another masterclass on the rest of the topics from the aforementioned article, which addressed writing program notes and performance notes, the composer’s role in the recording process as well as a candid discussion on how to make a living as a self-employed musician. The Quintet rehearsed the works, and along with Dr. Rinzel hosted individual open rehearsals for each composer as an opportunity for feedback. The whole Summer culminated in the premiere of all eight works presented at a TCC live concert with a catered reception afterward!

And then…back to the studio! This time with Dr. Rinzel acting as our producer.

This summer 2020, we are excited to offer the Chamber Music Composition Program entirely online through Tarrant County College with Mid Cities Brass, myself and Dr. Uriah Rinzel! As of this writing, COVID-19 is currently a global pandemic, significantly effecting all of our daily lives with most counties in the U.S. under a shelter in place order. Our program this year will therefore be a “pandemic” themed program and will have an option for composers to practice fulfilling a commission, in which the ensemble will provide a specific concept for the work they are to write. New this year – we will also have the option for an electro-acoustic work, as well as the option to write a work with no specifications. Our summer offerings will include:

Participants will be required to enroll in online composition lessons at Tarrant County College for both Summer I and II. The entire program will cost $128 for Tarrant county residents, or $252 for residents of any other Texas county. To apply to the program, please fill out the application form. This form in not an application for Tarrant County College, but once you fill it out, we will contact you and help you through the TCC application and registration process.

Update 4/29/2020: We have had so much composer demand that we have added a second ensemble – the SAGA Saxophone Quartet! They are a professional Quartet including Dr. Andrew J. Allen, Assistant Professor of Music at Georgia College who plays soprano in the group. On alto is Dr. Matthew Tracy, Assistant Professor of Music at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Our very own Dr. Gregory Dewhirst performs on tenor, and is a full time faculty member at Tarrant County College–Southeast. On Baritone Saxophone is Dr. Andy Wright, who serves as Professor of Music at Grayson College.

The Quartet is dedicated to interpreting new works for saxophones and reviving quality music of the past. The Quartet has performed at conferences such as the Saxophone Alliance Biennial, the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, and the U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium. Visit us them on facebook here