To: NewMusicBox Advisory Committee From: Frank J. Oteri, Editor NewMusicBox Re: a summary of Content in the First Four Years of NewMusicBox

May 5, 2003

New music on radio

Intellectual property

Publishing

Service and support organizations

Major Awards

Grants

What is the most performed/listened to American repertoire?

American composers in music history reference books

The state of music criticism

Record labels

How we listen

Music theory

Microtonality

Minimalism (this won an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award)

Serialism

Indeterminacy

Spatial music

Approaches to time

Rock's intersection with concert music

Asian music influences

Anachronistic music

What is a maverick?

Film composers

Music notation software
A total of 6 NewMusicBox issues thus far have focused on lifestyle-biographical details of composers and the impact it has had on their music:
Immigrant composers

Émigré composers

Multi-tasking composers

Does age affect composers?

Music and politics

Composer residencies

Amount of new music played by orchestras

The role of conductors

Orchestras and electronic music technology: Orchestra Tech

Orchestras and electronic music technology: Orchestra Tech

"Virtual" music
So far, there have only 3 vocal music-centered issues:
Opera vs. Music Theatre

The contemporary art song

Choral music
And only 3 jazz issues:
Jazz venues

Improvisation vs. composition in jazz

Gender and the jazz canon
In addition, there have been 2 issues about smaller ensembles
Composer-led performance groups

String quartets and other chamber ensembles who focus on new music

Concert hall acoustics

Teaching of music composition

New music exposure at conservatories
And, finally, 1 dance issue

*

Additionally, the following topics have been explored either in "Views" Columns by Greg Sandow, Dean Suzuki and occasional guest writers or in more in-depth news items:

Are we blinded by prestige?

Creating more informal new music events

Does music need to historically progress

Drum machines

Experimental instruments

Film soundtrack recordings

Forming relationships between composers and ensembles

Is new music thriving?

Judging new music

The lack of a center in today's new music scene

The lack of contemporary music on public TV

The lack of improvisatory skills among classically-trained musicians

Making a big statement in music

Music in the Time of War

The need for comic relief in new music

The need for more collaboration

The need to interact with artists in other disciplines

The need for new venues for new music

The Other Minds Festival

Radio's decline

Commissioning music for radio

Reassessing Boulez and his impact on musical life

Reassessing Schoenberg and his legacy

Record labels devoted to new music

Rock's influence on new music

Sacred music

Simplicity vs. Complexity

Teaching composition

Text-sound composition

The West Coast Experimental Tradition

What is good opera writing?

What is the next big thing in music?

What is kitsch? (this won an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award)

Why orchestras don't play new music

Writing new music for indigenous vernacular American instruments

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There have been 5 Guest Editors of NewMusicBox thus far although the role of the Guest Editor has evolved and expanded since its original conception and manifestation on the site. (Legend ! = AMC member; !? = lapsed AMC member; !$ = AMC donor)
William Duckworth !

Tania León !

Tod Machover ! (AMC Board Member at the time)

Lara Pellegrinelli

Kathy Saltzman Romey
*
The following people have been spotlighted in NewMusicBox
1. MOST PROMINENT SPOTLIGHT: "IN THE FIRST PERSON"

In one-on-one conversations (36 to date, approx 75% of "In The First Person" content)

John Adams

Robert Ashley

Milton Babbitt

Henry Brant

Elliott Carter

George Crumb

John Eaton

Richard Einhorn

Philip Glass

Jaron Lanier

Paul Lansky

Tania León

Tod Machover (then an AMC board member)

Ingram Marshall

Meredith Monk (now an AMC board member)

Pauline Oliveros

Leo Ornstein

George Perle*

Terry Riley

Frederic Rzewski

Natasha Sinha

Carl Stone (then an AMC board member)

Lewis Spratlan

Christian Wolff
Jazz artists:

Don Byron

Abbey Lincoln
Other non-primarily concert-music composers:

Elliot Goldenthal

Gary Lucas

Virgil Moorefield*

Joan Jeanrenaud

Michael Tilson Thomas (also a composer)

Dawn Upshaw

Tom and Arnold Broido (publishers)

Edward T. Cone (theorist, also a composer)

Merce Cunningham (choreographer, commissioner)

Betty Freeman (patron and photographer)

H. Wiley Hitchcock (musicologist)

Zarin Mehta (administrator)

Foster Reed (record producer)

Cheryl Young (executive director, MacDowell Colony)

In group discussion (8 to date, approx 2 per year)

Composers of "concert music":

Dominick Argento

Chen Yi

Moses Hogan

David Lang

Libby Larsen

Tod Machover (then an AMC board member)

Stephen Paulus

David Stock

Julia Wolfe

Ben Allison

Michael Blake

Ron Horton

Frank Kimbrough

Ted Nash

John Kennedy (conductor also composer, then AMC board president)

Gil Rose (conductor)

Dale Warland (conductor)

Colette Dominguez (concert presenter)

Beverley Ervine (radio producer)

Maxine Greene (educator)

Hollis Headrick (educator)

Linda Hoeschler (commissioner, former administrator ACF)

Barbara Jepson (music critic)

Russell Johnson (acoustical designer)

Polly Kahn (educator)

Chris Kohtz (radio producer)

Ray Kurzweil (inventor)

Boyce Lancaster (radio host)

William Littler (music critic)

Robert J. Lurtsema (radio host, deceased)

Lois Reitzes (radio host/producer)

Limor Tomer (concert presenter)

Libby Larsen

Steve Reich
Jazz artists:

Dave Liebman

Thomas Hampson (baritone)

Paul Kellogg (opera manager)

2. OTHER FOCUSED COVERAGE: SOLICITED COMMENTARY

("Hymn & Fuguing Tune" or Additional Views Columns %)

Mark Adamo

John Luther Adams (AMC Board, fmr President)

Samuel Adler

Daniel Asia

Dominick Argento

Milton Babbitt

Leonardo Balada

Dennis Bathory-Kitsz

Jack Beeson

Eve Beglarian

Derek Bermel

Easley Blackwood

Victoria Bond

Martin Boykan

Henry Brant

Martin Bresnick

Elizabeth Brown

Dennis Busch

Wendy Mae Chambers

Chen Yi

Paul Chihara

David Cleary

Gloria Coates

Joshua Cohen

John Corigliano x2

Cindy Cox

Richard Danielpour

James Dashow

Michael Daugherty

Randall Davidson (AMC Board Member)

Tina Davidson

Stephania De Kenessey

Thomas De Lio

Miguel Del Aguila

David Del Tredici

Don Dilworth

Lori Dobbins

Daniel Dorff

David Doty

Paul Dresher

Arnold Dreyblatt

William Duckworth

John Duffy x2

Thomas Duffy

Jason Eckhardt

Donald Erb

Margaret Fairlie-Kennedy

Daniel Felsenfeld %

Andrew Frank

Orlando Jacinto Garcia %

Kay Gardner

Peter Garland

David Gompper

Annie Gosfield

Daron Hagen

Patrick Hardish

Jeff Harrington

Donald Harris

Jennifer Higdon

Charlie Hoyt

Andrew Imbrie

Tom Johnson

Aaron Jay Kernis

Jin Hi Kim

Jerome Kitzke

Phil Kline

Guy Klucevsik

Donald Knaack

Amy Knoles

Barbara Kolb

Skip La Plante

Bun Ching Lam

Paul Lansky

Elodie Lauten

Mary Jane Leach

Anne LeBaron

Thomas Oboe Lee

Benjamin Lees

Daniel Lentz

Fred Lerdahl

Alvin Lucier

Keeril Macan

Tod Machover (then AMC board member)

Steve Mackey

Robert Maggio

Donald Martino

Sasha Matson

John McGuire

Cindy McTee

John Melby

Joe Monzo

Paul Moravec

Robert Morris

Jeffrey Mumford

John Musto

Pauline Oliveros

Charlemagne Palestine

Joseph Pehrson

Ronald Perera

George Perle

Wayne Peterson

P.Q. Phan

Milos Raickovich

David Rakowski

Behzad Ranjbaran

Johnny Reinhard

Terry Riley x2

George Rochberg

Ned Rorem

Christopher Rouse

Amy Rubin

Andrew Rudin

Judith Saint Croix

Carla Scaletti

Erik Schaepers

Elliott Schwartz x2

Laura Elise Schwendinger

Amy Scurria

Alice Shields

Marilyn Shrude

Alvin Singleton

Robert Sirico

Laurie Spiegel

Morton Subotnick

Augusta Read Thomas

Frank Ticheli

Michael Torke

Joan Tower

Roger Tréfousse

Nancy Van de Vate

Lois V Vierk

Lenore von Stein %

Melinda Wagner

George Walker

Gwyneth Walker

Stewart Wallace

Dan Welcher

Julia Werntz

Roy Whelden

Barbara White

Olly Wilson

Scott Winship

Theodore Wiprud

Randall Woolf

Charles Wuorinen

Carolyn Yarnell

La Monte Young

Judith Lang Zaimont

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
Jazz artists:

Jamie Baum

Jane Ira Bloom

Monique Buzzarté %

Terri Lyne Carrington

Regina Carter

Katherine Cartwright

Fred Hersch

Jon Jang

Steve Lacy

Oliver Lake

Mary LaRose

Marian MacPartland

Joe Maneri

Amina Claudine Myers

Roswell Rudd

George Russell

Ursel Schlicht

Walter Thompson

David S. Ware

Woody Woods

Nora York

John Zorn

Other non-primarily concert-music composers:

Obo Addy (African fusion)

David Borden (progressive rock)

Kitty Brazelton (punk rock/jazz)

Kim Cascone

Nicolas Collins

Douglas Cuomo (film and TV scores)

Corey Dargel (alternative rock)

Amy Denio (alternative electronic)

Nick Didkovsky (experimental rock)

Paquito D'Rivera (Latin)

Alfred V. Fedak (church music)

Aldo Rafael Forte (military music)

Diamanda Galas (experimental rock)

Neil Haverstick (experimental rock)

Erik Hoversten (alternative rock)

Laura Karpman (film scores)

Ali Akbar Khan (north Indian classical music)

David Krakauer (klezmer)

Language Removal Services (experimental)

Jovino Santos Neto (Brazilian jazz)

Elliott Sharp (experimental rock)

John Shiurba (experimental rock)

Stephen Sondheim (Broadway musicals)

Elizabeth Swados (Off-Broadway musicals)

DJ Tamara

Tony Trischka (bluegrass and new acoustic music)

Pamela Z (experimental electronic)
Performers:

Marin Alsop (conductor)

Matthew Albert (violinist, eighth blackbird)

William Anderson (guitarist, Cygnus)

Cecile Bazelon (widow of composer Irwin Bazelon)

Deborah Borda (administrator)

JoAnne Falletta (conductor)

Chris Younghoon Kim (conductor)

Andrew Litton (conductor)

Laurel Ann Maurer (flutist)

David Alan Miller (conductor)

Marilyn Nonken (pianist)

Larry Ochs (Rova Saxophone Quartet)

Sarah Rothenberg (piano)

Timothy Russell (conductor)

Katherine M. Shao (harpsichordist, American Baroque)

Jonathan Sheffer (conductor, also composer)

Others in the field:

Virginia Bortin (Secretary, Elinor Remick Warren Society)

Thomas Buckner (concert presenter, record producer and funder, also vocalist)

Eugene Carr (former administrator)

Joshua Cody (ensemble director, also composer)

Joseph Dalton (record producer at the time)

Mark A. Fischer (copyright attorney)

Sylvia Goldstein (publishing attorney, then AMC board member)

June Hechinger (funder)

Grethe Barrett Holby (opera producer)

Robert Hurwitz (record producer)

Laura Kuhn (vocalist, musicologist, then AMC board member)

Jessica Lustig (publicist)

Howard Mandel (jazz critic)

Steve Metcalf (music critic)

Gayle Morgan (funding administrator)

David Nicholls (musicologist)

Tim Page (music critic)

Vivian Perlis (musicologist)

Amy Rhodes (manager)

Greg Sandow (music critic, also a composer)

Matthew Sigman (former editor; AMC board member)

Thaddeus Squire (administrator) %

George Steel (presenter)

Dean Stein (former administrator)

James Undercofler (administrator; AMC Board member) %

Walter von Wayditch (son of composer Gabriel von Wayditch)

Diane Wondisford (music theatre producer)

Catherine Wichterman (funding administrator)

James Wierzbicki (music critic, also a composer)

3. Many additional composers, performers and others in the field have been prominently profiled either in News items (obituaries, inner page profiles in awards articles, etc.), Views column profiles or in inner pages of larger articles (e.g. In The Third Person HyperHistories). The work of numerous composers and performers has also been spotlighted in NewMusicBox's monthly Webcasts of which there have been 25 to date. (A detailed history of NewMusicBox's Webcasts will appear in a subsequent memo.)