Random Access Music

First, on behalf of all the RAM composers, we’d like to thank everyone who attended our first concert series of the 2009-2010 season. Jessica Mathaes and Colette Valentine performed our works with great attention to detail and unparalleled artisty. The audience got a chance to spend time with both of the performers and with all the composers after both concerts.

We’d also like to remind everyone of our second collaborating ensemble for the 2009-2010 season: the Anubis Saxophone Quartet. We will present a concert with 5 world premieres, and the work of the winner of our second annual call for scores. The concert is scheduled for Saturday, May 22, 2010 at the historic Saint Peter’s Church in Chelsea, 346 West 20th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). We will also present a Queens performance of the concert during the same weekend. Details concerning that concert will be posted shortly.

Please join the Random Access Music composers’ collective for our first concerts of 2010! We’re excited to be working with violinist Jessica Mathaes, concertmaster of the Austin Symphony.

Jessica will be accompanied by pianist Colette Valentine, and they will perform 6 works by the composer-members of Random Access Music, including 4 world premieres. While Jessica keeps busy as the youngest-ever concertmaster of the Austin Symphony, she is also developing her solo career. Jessica has recently released a CD with another of her accompanists, Rodney Waters on Centaur Records called Suites & Sweets, which includes music by Cowell, Stravinsky, Korngold, de Falla, Ravel, and Massenet. Suites and Sweets will be on sale at the concerts for $20.

 Jessica and Colette will perform the concert twice:

Friday, February 12, 2010 8:00pm                         
Waltz-Astoria
23-14 Ditmars Blvd.
Queens, NY 11105
(N/W train to Ditmars Blvd, walk 1 block to Ditmars Blvd., turn west (left) and walk 7 blocks to Waltz-Astoria)
Tickets: $15 table charge (drinks, desserts, and light snacks)
and
Saturday, February 13, 2010 8:00pm
TenRi Cultural Institute
43-A W. 13th Street (near 6th Ave.)
Manhattan
Tickets: $20 adults; $15 seniors/students     
Purchase Tickets online

The concert will include music by Andrew McKenna Lee, David Fetherolf, Erin Rogers, Jonathan Pieslak, Stefan Weisman, and B. Allen Schulz.
The concert in Queens is made possible, in part, with funds from the decentralization program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Queens Council on the Arts. Both Concerts are funded, in part, with support from the Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.

RANDOM ACCESS MUSIC - Call for Scores

Receipt deadline: February 15, 2010

We are excited to announce our second annual call for scores. The members of RAM are looking for adventurous new music regardless of style.  One winning composition will be performed at RAM’s 2010 spring concert by the Anubis Saxophone Quartet (www.anubisquartet.com) at the historic St. Peter’s Church in Chelsea.

Please submit a solo or chamber ensemble work 6-12 minutes in length, scored for saxophone quartet, trio, duo or solo in any combination of soprano, alto, tenor or baritone saxophones. Works that substitute other instruments for saxophones will not be accepted, however works requiring electronics are eligible, provided any technology required (beyond playback) be supplied and operated by the composer or the composer’s representative.

Submission materials:

        • one score

        • CD recording (encouraged but not required)

        • composer’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (on a separate sheet)

Key materials must be submitted ANONYMOUSLY. Only the title of the piece and instrumentation may appear on the score and CD. Due to cost and time considerations, we will NOT accept online or digital submissions. Please provide a hard copy of your score. So that your submission remains anonymous in the judging process, please also send a sealed envelope containing your full name, address, phone number and email address with your materials. On the outside of that envelope write the name of your work ONLY. If you would like materials returned, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. All submissions must be received on or by February 15, 2010.

Mail materials to:

Jonathan Pieslak

CCNY Music Department

Shepard Hall, Rm. 72

160 Convent Avenue

New York, NY 10031

For more information, please contact: info@ram-nyc.org. For tips and advice about the process, please visit our call for scores page.

Please consider making a donation to support the creation and performance of new music! All donations to Random Access Music are tax-deductible. To donate, click on the “donate” button in the pagelist bar above this post. It’s easy. You don’t have to have a paypal account to donate. Just follow the instructions!

We’re pleased to announce our second collaborating ensemble for the 2009-2010 season: the Anubis Saxophone Quartet. We will present a concert with 6 world premieres, including the winner of our second annual call for scores. The concert is scheduled for Saturday, May 22, 2010 at the historic Saint Peter’s Church in Chelsea, 346 West 20th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues).

 
 The Anubis Saxophone Quartet is Sean Patayanikorn, Allison Balcetis, Ryan Muncy, and David Wegehaupt. Anubis is a new-generation modular saxophone ensemble committed to the creation, progression, and performance of new art music. The quartet establishes a symbolic connection between Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Underworld, and the volatile yet sensual world of sound, color, and transformation which is vital to contemporary music. Since they were formed in 2007, the group has quickly gained regard as one of North America’s major contemporary saxophone ensembles, having been guest artists at Bowling Green State University and at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conference in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition to a Chicago debut performance at Nichols Concert Hall of the Music Institute of Chicago, engagements during the previous concert season included the presentation of new works in Bangkok, Thailand at the World Saxophone Congress, and a performance at the NASA Region IX conference in Edmonton, Alberta. The quartet has premiered works by Mikel Kuehn, Philippe Laval, Claudio Gabriele, Thierry Alla and Vincent Bouchot.

The composers of Random Access Music are excited about working with Anubis. Some mp3s of their work may be listened to below:

Durch by Fabien Levy

Rasch by Franco Donatoni

Rasch II by Franco Donatoni

Chace  by Anonymous, arr. Salvadore Sciarrino

Chose Grave sans Consequence by Philippe Laval

We’re excited to announce that the composers of Random Access Music will be working with two collaborators this up-coming season. Our first collaboration will be with violinist and concertmaster of the Austin Symphony, Jessica Mathaes.

Jessica and her accompanist will come to NYC to perform six new works on Saturday, February 13, 2010. While Jessica keeps busy as the youngest-ever concertmaster of the Austin Symphony, she is also developing her solo career. Jessica has recently released a CD with her accompanist, Rodney Waters on Centaur Records called Suites & Sweets, which includes music by Cowell, Stravinsky, Korngold, de Falla, Ravel, and Massenet.

We’re looking forward to writing new works for Jessica and to working with her next season.

  Continue Reading »

Random Access Music is proud to welcome our newest member, Andrew McKenna Lee. Andrew will be sitting in with us for this year, and will be participating in all of our collaboration concerts this year. We’re looking forward to hearing his music. We’ll be posting Andrew’s bio and other information to the site soon.

We’ll also be announcing our two collaborative ensembles in the next few weeks. Please check next week for all the details.

Random Access Music and the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble will, once again, team up to present a concert of 6 world premieres:

B. Allen Schulz Crazy Cat Lady for solo Flute
Jonathan Pieslak Shards for solo Piano
Erin Rogers  Rise Up Singing for Clarinet and Violoncello
Manly Romero Three Songs for a Wedding for Baritone and Piano
David Fetherolf Septuagenaria for Violin, Violoncello, and Piano
Massimo Lauricella Eco di un tempo perduto for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Violoncello, and Piano

Please join us for one of our two concert dates:

Thursday, April 23, 2009 @ 8:00 p.m.
venue: Waltz-Astoria, 23-14 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, Queens

or

Saturday, April 25, 2009 @ 8:00 p.m.
venue: University of the Streets, 130 E. 7th Street, New York, NY

Tickets will be $20 at the door, or may be purchased online for $15.

Joining the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble will be guest artists Theodore Sipes, Baritone, and Erica Sipes, Piano. The Lost Dog New Music Ensemble is Christine Perea, Flute; Thomas Piercy, Clarinet; Miranda Cuckson, Violin; Emily Brausa, Violoncello; and Laura Barger, Piano.

RAM and the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble will once again collaborate to present a concert of world and US premieres. We’ll be presenting two concerts:

Thursday, April 23, 2009 @ 8:00 p.m.
venue: Waltz-Astoria, 23-14 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, Queens

and

Saturday, April 25, 2009 @ 8:00 p.m.
venue: University of the Streets, 130 E. 7th Street, New York, NY

Lost Dog will be performing new works by B. Allen Schulz, Jonathan Pieslak, David Fetherolf, Manly Romero, Erin Rogers, and the winner of the 2009 RAM call for scores, Massimo Lauricella.

Please join us for one (or both!) of these concerts.

We’re proud to announce the winner of our 2009 call for scores:

Massimo Lauricella (Italy) for his work entitled Eco di un tempo perduto (in memoria di Arnold Schonberg) for Fl., Cl., Vn., Vc., and Piano

Mr. Lauricella will receive a performance of his work by the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble in New York City this April. (We are trying to arrange a second performance at this time. We’ll announce those details as soon as our plans are solidified.)

Out of the 122 composers who submitted works anonymously, we would like to recognize 7 composers (in alphabetical order) whose works the judges deemed to be exceptional:

 
l’appel
by Philippe Bodin (Brooklyn, NY)
 

Peripeteia
by Richard Festinger (Richmond, CA)
 

Confession
by Vera Ivanova (Orange, CA)

Memoir of Dong-Hak
by Hee Yun Kim (Champaign, IL)
 

Concert House
by Alex Kotch (Durham, NC)
 

One More Moment
by Philip Schuessler (Champaign, IL)

Five Elements
by Peiying Yuan (Kansas City)

These 7 composers and Mr. Lauricella were the finalists culled from the entire list of submissions, and their compositions were still anonymous when we selected our winner from this group.

If you’d like to know more about our judging process, we have created a page that explains it in detail, along with some caveats about how to give yourself the best chance to break through a deluge of submissions.

Again, congratulations to Massimo Lauricella.