The 365-Day Composition Project
"We Are All Mozart"
A project to create
new works and change
the perception of the
music of our time.
The Project is over as of 10:24pm, December 31, 2007. More soon here and in the blog.
The 365-day composition project "We Are All Mozart" (WAAM) was an idea I had had for years. I believed that productivity and excellence are not mutually exclusive, nor do they belong to the past alone. I believe that our ability to "be Mozart" (meaning any prolific composer) today is inhibited by lack of demand on our inherent productivity. In other words, the more we do, the better we get at it and the more new ideas we have. Humans are problem solvers, and for composers, it is the blank page that is to be solved.
But just as important to me was to do something intense to keep nonpop visible and to inspire ensembles, listeners and other composers. Kalvos & Damian's New Music Bazaar was my previous project, where David Gunn and I hosted the ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award-winning radio/web program that ran 537 shows from 1995-2005.
WAAM originally demanded a finished composition each day in 2007 -- on commission, not just the act of daily musing on the acoustic navel-value. This full-time work needed to have each piece commissioned for every day, but it hasn't worked out that way, so I made that goal 100 commissions for the year. As of November 17, the goal of 100 commissions has been met, and 75 are complete. Many below have demos, and some of the actual premieres are now posted.
WAAM is an insane idea, even if it is 'only' 100 compositions. Before WAAM's 2007 year, I had created some 730 compositions. (click here for the Big List!) I practiced mightily for 2007, finishing nearly 20 pieces in 2006 (already dwarfed by 75 in 2007).
This may feel like a vanity project or a gimmick. It is neither. Each piece must be wanted, commissioned, paid for. Also, I may fail at this project. I may not be able to dip deeply into the well for fresh ideas every day. So far, as of mid-November, it's worked -- but we shall see. Realizing how many compositions were possible in the past for composers who had the chance to do it, I figured the time is now. And above I wrote, "the more we do, the better we get at it and the more new ideas we have." Since I began WAAM, composers have been in touch, telling me that it has changed their view on composition -- that art and its place in the culture are not diminished if they pushed themselves to write more. And yes, they got better with the practice.
If you are here out of curiosity, welcome. If you are here to commission a work, let me know and we'll talk about next year's 'normal' schedule! (If you're from the media, please contact me.)
Also, two other projects have followed mine, but with very different approach. Daniel Wolf is doing a piece a day for November 2007, and David Morneau is doing a 60-second piece a day for a year. Welcome aboard! Fortunately, my train is coming into the station is six weeks!
My not-so-daily blog -- info you can use, argue with or laugh at! -- is in remission for now (too much to compose), but will return occasionally when I have the time, and then next year.
To learn more: My interview on WKCR New York (89.9 FM) with Anne Cammon is available. The show is "Arts & Answers" with special guest Robert Voisey (who also did the wonderful intro/outro music), and broadcast August 12, 2006. I sounded more like used-car salesman Milton Babbitt than I expected, but it was exciting and even revealing. You can hear it as a broadband stream or via download. Appearing on Anne's show was a great pleasure.
A summary of my September 10, 2006, presentation to the National Extension Tourism Conference is also available in my blog. Read about the presentation, download the PowerPoints, and use the recommendations in your community!
WAAM was brought to the brink by my friends, and composers Noah Creshevsky and Carson Cooman, who pushed me over the edge. I thank my wife, family and friends for their patience and understanding.
Two pages from the score of Mantra Canon, composed in 1986. The 30-minute work is for descant soprano, chorus, orchestra, two pianos, and six percussionists.
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