by Cynthia Green Libby
as published in the IAWM Journal, Winter 1998, pp. 15-16.
It all started while I was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. Smitten by the avant-garde, I liked the idea of playing music that no one had ever played before. Thus began my association with composers, and commissioning followed quite naturally.
As a student, one can ask a composition colleague to write a piece for one's instrument, and usually no funds need exchange hands. The composer is often flattered, and a good performance becomes ample compensation. So if you happen to be a student, this is a great way to begin building new repertoire for your instrument.
It is always appropriate, however, to offer at least an honorarium. In that case, one's personal funds may be used, of course. Monique Buzzarté, well-known feeelance trombonist in New York City, has taken this approach. In an e-mail message she sent the following information to me.
Out-of-pocket fees range from $500 to $1,500 for (usually) solo pieces. I do it this way mostly just because I'm a maverick, I guess. I pay upfront and without specifications as to style, and without any commitment to performance or recording....I don't always perform the piece for various reasons-it's not suited to me, I don't care for it....My object is to get composers to write pieces for trombone, nothing more than that.
When a performer wishes to commission a favorite composer of national or international repute, however, the situation becomes more complicated. For a solo plus accompaniment, prices may run from $200 to $1,000 per finished minute (including copying costs). A general guide for mid-range fees is shown in the box below; the information is quoted from Commissioning Music: A Basic Guide (a 1992 brochure distributed by Meet the Composer, John Duffy, director). Most agreements include a method of payment whereby 50% is paid at the outset, and the remainder is given upon completion of the project. According to US and International Copyright Law, the commissioned work is owned by the composer. This means that the composer maintains all rights to its use and derives income from licensing its use in performance, publication and recording. Some performers request exclusive use of the work for a given period. And some contracts require a pre-arranged premiere date. This was the case with the Libby Larsen work I commissioned through the Minnesota Composers' Forum:
Composers' Commissioning Program
The Minnesota Composers Forum
MarketHouse 206
289 East Fifth Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
Telephone (612) 228-1407
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), while primarily a royalties collecting agency, also has a commissioning program. The ASCAP Foundation provides funding for one commission every two years to a concert or orchestral composer in honor of another ASCAP composer. The next world premiere in this program will take place in March 1998 in Seattle. For more information contact:
ASCAP Foundation
1 Lincoln Plaza
New York, NY 10023
Telephone (212) 621-6219
The primary national agency specifically oriented toward providing commissions is:
Meet the Composer, Inc.
2112 Broadway, Suite 505
New York, NY 10023
Telephone (212) 787-3601
This nonprofit organization, founded in 1974, works in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and offers a variety of commissioning programs including "Commissioning Music/USA," "New Music for Schools," "New Residencies," "International Creative Collaborations" and others. If you are employed as a full-time music faculty member of a university, as I am, however, you are ineligible to apply for most of these programs, except as part of a consortium in conjunction with other professional institutions.
In his internet article (http://members.aol.com/robfrank), "Commissioning in the 90's: Consortiums," composer Robert Frank notes:
If several performers...wish to commission the same composer, foundations and agencies are usually more likely to provide matching support.... In an age of mega-mergers and multinational conglomerates, where success is measured on a scale of millions, the arts are following the survival plan of corporate America: pooling of resources.
When a composer's fee is spread among several individual organizations, the cost to each is reduced. This type of commission also guarantees multiple performances of the new work, an additional perk for the composer. Obviously, when more people become involved, a legal contract becomes vitally important, and must contain many more specific criteria. Issues such as who will give the first performance, when and how payments will be made and so forth become the fodder for a good attorney.
Should the National Endowment for the Arts not survive into the 21st century, drastic challenges would confront most artists, equally so the commissioning performer. While consortium grants have made a very positive impact upon the contemporary music scene, a portion of the NEA funds have been specifically earmarked for commissioning early-career composers. What would take the place of this resource?
Approaching a corporation for a donation is not as daunting a task as one might think. First, every major company has hired a public relations person who is paid not only to listen to proposals but to be personable to the donation seeker as well. Just be certain that, in addition to a written proposal, you have two things: an "angle" (i.e.: What is in this for the company?) and a publicity opportunity. Fortunately, sponsoring symphony concerts is a way of life for many businesses like upscale car dealers or various national chains having local offices. A soloist might wish to commission a piece for a special event to take place in the community. Asking a local or regional composer to write a piece would add to the immediacy of the event. "Thinking locally" while acting for posterity is a good rule of thumb. The historical precedent is certainly there for occasional music, or music written for a specific occasion, and has surely been with us since the dawn of composition itself.
National or international music societies often sponsor new music competitions for commissioning. This was the case with the $4,000 commission I received to pay Joan Tower to write a piece for oboe and harpsichord. The commissioning agreement with the International Double Reed Society and the composer simply stipulated the deadline for the project (in effect, the due date for the piece, which was within two years of the date of the proposal. It is important to give major composers at least two years lead time because of their busy schedules.) Again, 50% was sent to her at the outset, with the remainder paid upon receipt of the final published manuscript. State or regional music clubs present a golden opportunity to the commissioning performer or ensemble. Even if a commissioning program is not yet in place, one could be initiated merely by suggesting the idea to the right person, the chairperson or organizational leader.
At the International Women's Brass Conference (IWBC) in St. Louis last summer, composer-in-residence Faye-Ellen Silverman chaired a panel on commissioning and remarked:
In talking with many brass players in connection with the IWBS, I've learned that many performers would like to commission a work but think that the process is too complex and/or too expensive. We've tried to demystify the process.... My approach was to pick [a panel of] performers with different means of finding the funds to commission.... I wanted to make the process seem less intimidating.
And that has been the goal of this article. Any performer can commission a piece of music, whether for oneself or for a larger ensemble. All it takes is finding the right composer for the project and a little chutzpah.
Cynthia Green Libby is an oboist with nearly 20 works dedicated to her, including works by composers such as Joan Tower, Rhian Samuel, Libby Larsen and others. Currently associate professor of oboe and music theory at Southwest Missouri State University, she has also served as director of development for various arts organizations in the West. She is a regular contributor to this Journal, and her articles have appeared in Women of Note Quarterly, The Journal of the International Double Reed Society, The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers, as well as the forthcoming New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Her CD, Women Composers for Oboe, is available from Hester Park.