Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music ... - NewMusicBox

NewMusicBox May 2003
not so much just about dollar signs associated with a commission. I do believe that a commission
serves simply as recognition, and I know that I am thankful for those people who have assisted
in my writing.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: This may be a little crass. But, the organization that you might be
working for decides to do some commissioning. How do you subsequently determine what it is
going to cost? Common sense tells you a longer piece will cost more than a shorter piece. And if
you are doing something for orchestra, that is going to cost more than an SA piece. How do you
get into the specifics—do you charge by the hour? By the project?
LINDA HOESCHLER: Every composer is different, and there are guidelines that composers will
publish that generally hold true for establishing this. My husband and I tend to work personally
with some very established composers, but we have tried some emerging composers, people who
have not yet been discovered who really need an opportunity, and we often do ask them to come
up with an idea and venue, but we have an idea. We ask them what they would like. Sometimes it
is too little, and we say, "We're not comfortable with that." And the Forum will be happy to
guide you. The American Composers Forum, the organization is separate from the commissions,
which is a private thing. But we do a lot of commissioning at the Forum. We run commissioning
programs, and we are happy to work with any of you, help you find a composer, particularly
composers in your area. If you are a first-time commissioner, it might be an easier way to start,
where you can be face-to-face with a composer. They will help you find a person and talk to you
about what they might charge. But most composers have an idea. A beginning composer will
sometimes charge $250 or $500 a minute. A more advanced composer will be $1500 to $2500.
Depending whether it requires orchestra. If you are doing choir with an orchestra, that is a much
more expensive piece. But it just depends. For some composers, there is no negotiation; with
some composers there is. We try at the Forum to protect the composer to make sure they are not
giving away their work for free or for too little, because it is the way that they make a living. And
to give you an idea, there are probably only about twenty composers in the United States writing
classical music who are able to live off their commissions. Most composers have to teach, or do
something else. So it is not even a living wage for many composers here.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: I hope you don't mind a nuts and bolts, simplistic question about the
creative process? Because some of us in this room are emerging composers, or looking forward to
the next commission or the first commission perhaps… I wonder how you order your lives? Is
there a daily discipline?
LIBBY LARSEN: I can't wait to hear how Moses answers this.... We all have a totally different
way of approaching it. I try to have a very tiny domestic life. I know that sounds fun, but I have
a child, and I have a household and a husband. So, and you're smiling… That means a certain kind
of order that I like to maintain if I can. What I try to do is I try to write every single day. If I am
lucky that happens. But I do set aside time every day to write. There are weeks and weeks when
that time is interrupted, but I keep in my mind that this time is my time to think, write, do
Composers’ Dialogue #1, 08/06/2002