Congrats, Dawn Upshaw

It was announced this week that Dawn Upshaw is a recipient of MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award". Why? The MacArthur Foundation said that Ms. Upshaw

is breaking down stylistic barriers and forging a new model of a performer who is directly involved in the creation of contemporary music.

Have a look at Ms. Upshaw's repertoire. Among her recordings are "Dawn Upshaw Sings Vernon Duke" and "Osvaldo Gilojov: Ayre". She's comfortable with Bach and Stravinsky, and John Harbison. Obviously, as composers, this is the kind of performer we want to get to know!

So, from a composer, congrats to Dawn Upshaw, and thanks!

On Being a Self-Published Composer

Those of you who have listened to my audio podcast, particularly Episode 15, know I am a self-published composer. I learned the tricks of this trade via Jennifer Higdon, pictured here. If you'd like to know all about this topic, have a look at this link from the online magazine, New Music Box, hosted by the American Music Center.

Browse around. There's good articles about the state of publishing today, and lots of composer weigh in on the advantages and disadvantages of being your own publisher.

Good Questions about New Music

I came across this link about music and technology and wanted to share it. These are some good questions to think about when you are listening to music. If you'd like, skip the technology part and just scroll down to the section marked Analysis (and also see the section on Opinion).

Thanks to Prof. Howard Fredrics of the Brown University Department of Music for putting this together! It's a good jumping off point for discussing music.