Artist Initiative

This outcome was geared towards the composers in this project. Though the performers learned a lot and gained experience playing new music, the composers themselves really learned the most. There was much discussion between the composers and I about how the harpsichord works best, and what kinds of textures to use. Also, as stated later on, composers listening to the concerts became really excited about the sound possibilities of the harpsichord in their own compositions. I measured the success of this outcome by the liveliness of the discussions that I had with the composers, and the eventual resulting compositions. They were all excellent, and completely different from each other. I also measured success by the number of new composers who expressed interest in writing for the harpsichord in the future. I spoke to at least 4 composers who seemed excited and interested in doing this. 2: More Minnesotans were able to engage in or with the works of Minnesota artists through this project. Again, focusing on the composers, these 4 new works were performed 4 times in concert for this project. Many composers don't get their works performed beyond the premiere, but in addition to the premiere concert, I was able to schedule 3 more performances in collaboration with Zeitgeist (more on this below). Additionally, because of the recording, some of my colleagues will perform these works in the future. Three of the four composers are based in Minnesota, and three of the four musicians are also based in Minnesota. In addition to simply having an audience to hear these works, the composers and performers got to interact and give feedback to each other, which is an expecially valuable experience for everyone.