Artist Initiative

I achieved exactly what I set out to do with this grant: 1) I commissioned three new works for solo clarinet which I then performed on concerts in St Paul, Duluth, and St Cloud; and 2) I recorded all three pieces for eventual release on a CD. All of these activities happened right on schedule, with performances taking place in March 2013 and recording in April 2013. I would evaluate the achievement very highly because A) the quality of the music that the composers wrote for me was uniformly excellent, and B) I was able to deliver exciting interpretations of these new pieces which were refined over the course of three performances, and which were then documented through a studio recording. I am confident that these actions will go a long way to helping me achieve my ultimate goal of establishing myself as a major commissioner of new music for the clarinet. 2: All of the composers I commissioned are Minnesota-based. The concert program contained both the new works and also two other pieces by Minnesota composers. I performed all of these pieces in venues across the state: St Paul, Duluth, and St Cloud. Audiences were able to both hear the pieces and engage with myself and the composers, all of whom were in attendance at each performance. The concerts in Duluth and St Cloud were on university campuses, and at both places I gave talks to the students about working with composers, commissioning new works, and how to go about securing the funding for new commissions. I evaluate these achievements highly for several reasons: First, the concert attendance was high, especially for my first performance in St Paul, where I had around 60 attendees in Studio Z. This is a very respectable audience size for a concert of new music. Secondly, audience feedback was very positive due to the high quality of both the new compositions and my performances.