Composers Forum is a daily web log that allows invited contemporary composers to share their thoughts and ideas on any topic that interests them--from the ethereal, like how new music gets created, music history, theory, performance, other composers, alive or dead, to the mundane, like getting works played and recorded and the joys of teaching. If you're a professional composer and would like to participate, send us an e-mail.
Record companies, artists and publicists are invited to submit CDs to be considered for review. Send to: Jerry Bowles, Editor, Sequenza 21, 340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019
On the broadcast radio front, you may have heard of the Public Radio Talent Contest that's being run by Public Radio Exchange and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Basically it's like American Idol - the first round allows anyone to submit a 2-minute clip of them doing something radio-ish. Then 10 people will get picked to go on to subsequent rounds until there's just one host from each of the three categories (entertainment, talk, music) left. Each of those three winners gets a good chunk of cash and the opportunity to produce a pilot for a national show. Click on the link below to check it out.
I threw my hat into the ring on this one, creating a mini-show complete with a 40-second breakdown of Jefferson Friedman's orchestral work Sacred Heart: Explosion. Besides getting a chance to see what that sounds like, do check out the rest of the site - it's quite interesting to see how many people want to be public radio show hosts and what their final products are like. I figured if nothing else it'd be good to get some new music out there (amongst the various world-pop and rock station DJ's who are trying out).
If you want to vote or even enter (it's easy to do), watch out for their registration page - it asks you to add two numbers together and the first time you answer the question, no matter what answer you give, it will be wrong. Just expect it, answer it again and it will work.
