Composition Studio

Yesterday was the 2nd meeting of serveral of the MSU composition studio.To recap what's been going on, I'll discuss the first meeting: (credited by comp.music.msu.edu)One of the discussion topics for studio classes this semester will be audience engagement and outreach in new music. New music concert attendance is “pathetic.” Fifteen years ago, Dr. Sullivan claims, he had as many as 80 people coming to new music concerts and participating in subsequent discussions. In contrast to this, participants in Porto were open to experimental creative projects.- My response to this is the following:YES! I concur that the attendence for premiere concerts has diminished for some time and we must find a new approach to catching the audiences interest. I remember how last year, MSU Alumnai Evan Bushman used facebook as a advertising strategy. The only problem is that although we've had a large number of people at the beginning of the concert, the attendence of the audience reduces to as little as 10 people as the concert went on. Dr. Sullivan suggested that if each composer brought 5 people to the premieres concert, it would increase the attendance since they'll not leave during the concert.Now, in yesterday's studio meeting, there was a big discussion regarding the third Premieres Concert on 12/7/2010.We would like to work on doing something special with this particular concert to bring in a larger and more diverse audience. Some suggestions:

• Use special media, collaborating with artists from Art, Theater, or Comm. Arts departments.
• “24-hour concert” of pieces created in only 24 hours.
• Writing for a specific ensemble or instrumental studio.
• Repeating the concert at another venue:
  • RCAH Auditorium
  • SCENE Metrospace
  • Basement 414 in Lansing
• Use a particular theme. Poetry and music? Dance?
• Poetry
  • several pieces inspired by the same poem
  • performances of poems with music
  • improvised poems with improvised music

By collaborating poets with composers, it would not only create a unique experience, but it would bring in more people from different venues.