Creative   •   June 1, 2021

Learning how to fulfill commissions is a necessary skill for composers! In this article I’ll cover what I’ve learned so far on the subject, both through my experience with my compositions, as well as with the thirty compositions our student composers have written in the past three years through the Tarrant County College Chamber Music Composition Program.

In the past a student myself, I always found it tough to write a work, get it performed, and also capture a high quality recording. So, after approaching Mid Cities Brass:

We teamed up to provide composers with the opportunity to exercise skills to fulfill commissions. In my previous article from last year, the 2020 Chamber Music Composition Program at Tarrant County College I cover the projects from 2018 and 2019, in which MCB premiered fourteen works, with two live concerts, and two studio recording sessions. This past year in 2020 was obviously quite different, with the world shut down and all instruction moved online. But nonetheless, I’m really proud to say our program – thanks to our supportive administration and everyone involved, shifted to the online modality beautifully! In addition to streaming an online concert of premieres:

We also hired the fantastic Mudge Productions to capture video this past year! Here’s a few of the resulting creations: 

The Beginning of a Project

Through working with MCB and otherwise, I think most of the time, the best place to start a conversation about a new work is actually not with the writing, but with the initial conversation that takes place with the performing ensemble. The most important thing I have found is to LISTEN, and use good communication skills. Prior to conversing, I usually make up a list questions for the perfomer(s) such as:

Use a Contract!

Contracts are a positive thing.  A contract protects both sides, and often clarifies logistics such as payment due dates, completion deadlines and length of exclusive performance rights. If you don’t have a good contract, please reach out to me and I’d be happy to share a template with you!

Engaging on Social Media

As you go along in the beginning stages, take the time to tell your social media communities about what you’re doing. Use every chance you can to create discussion, promote others and their work (especially your commissioners).

The Writing Process

Obviously an important part of the commissioning process is to write a work of high quality! I have multiple articles addressing the subject, but the one I’ll mention here is Listening to Artistic Music, Score Study, and Composition Planning, which has three embedded video lessons in addition to the text. The article discusses my journey in learning to listen to instrumental concert music well, to study scores and program notes, and then consider the structure and proportion of a new work before writing.

Notation Guidelines

Program Notes

Post-production

And – done!

Now a whole set of different work begins. Once you have something you are really proud of – a good piece of music, and you have formatted the parts and score into a professional format, obtained a good recording, and hopefully created a video of some sort, it’s time to start promotional efforts and making it available online. As an example, here’s the excerpt video to promote Mid Cities Brass’ program from last year, titled Iter Multorum. Iter Multorum is Latin for “The Journey of Many” and  follows the journey that we are all on because of COVID-19. From the confusing and chaotic beginning, to the isolation of quarantine, all the way to the end of the disease…whenever that will be. 

Important dates for 2021 TCC Summer Chamber Music Composition Program

Tuesday, June 1st – First day of TCC Summer