The Composers Concordance is a presenting organization for contemporary music, primarily American. We strive to give opportunities to composers to have their works heard in a concert hall or a club setting. We encourage composers to be in attendance and each gives a short introduction to his or her work before it is presented. This interaction with the audience is continued at post-concert receptions where we continue our audience and community outreach.
Our vision is to give exposure to composers who otherwise would remain unheard, and we have a 24 year history of featuring women and minority composers as part of our natural mix. We arrange performers from a core group we have worked with over the years, but also are open to featuring performers who are recommended by composers and who are interested in championing their work. We have found this leads to repeat performances.
Composers are given professional recordings of the performances and these have been used in several cases to help garner additional performances of the works.
Unlike many contemporary music presenters, we have an interest in a wide variety of styles of new music. We have found that mixing these styles leads to the greatest absorption and comprehension by audience members. Our mission is to keep our programming fresh in this way, both by varying style and also instrumentation.
In the past several years we have moved one of our three yearly concerts out of the traditional concert hall and into a club venue. To assist with this, we have our younger associate directors Gene Pritsker and Bill Rhoads curate these programs. They have usually taken on a more "popular" style than our concert-hall programs and they have also featured short premieres. Part of the interest in these concerts is that composers write something entirely new and by having short works, we give several composers opportunities and also gain stylistic variety.
Our overriding vision is to see contemporary music, composers and new works as a rightful and respected part of society and we realize this involves an educational component. To accomplish this aim, we have partnered with a new music magazine, the New Music Connoisseur, which strives to introduce new music to the general public. This magazine is distributed at our events and some of the magazine content is inspired by our concert activities.
"...a reputable, responsible and professional
organization
dedicated to encouraging new blood"
John Duffy, Former President and Founder,
Meet the Composer
A New York-based, non-profit, composer-oriented music presenting organization devoted to a wide spectrum of contemporary music.
The Composers Concordance is working closely as a combined unit with the New Music Connoisseur magazine. This magazine brings coverage of new music events in New York and other locations, with commentary on composers and audience building.
New York State Council
on the Arts (1986-89 and continuously since 1994)
Composers Concordance is incorporated and tax-exempt. Contributions are fully tax-deductible and may be sent to :
COMPOSERS CONCORDANCE
P.O. Box 3620548
New York, NY 10129-0548
Please make your check payable to COMPOSERS CONCORDANCE, INC.
For further information phone/fax: 212-564-4899.