Composing for the Organ

Thank you so much to those who watched and participated in our webinars and virtual concert today! We had a blast and we will continue to post materials here and on our YouTube channel. Also, keep an eye out for a new call for scores in March. In the meantime, happy organ composing!

Watching the premiere of our concert! With Augustine Sobeng, Natalie Draper, And Brianna Cofield. Setnor School of Music

https://news.syr.edu//composing-for-the-organ-webinars-vi/

We just finished uploading the virtual concert video to YouTube! Use this link to watch the premiere with us on Saturday, September, 12 at 7:30 pm EDT: https://youtu.be/zGSJxMeTFTw.

Hi, friends! We are so excited for this Saturday and looking forward to seeing everyone for the webinars and concert. In order to access the Zoom link for the webinars, you will need to register (registration is free!) through our SU site: http://cc.syr.edu/organ_2020. This helps us to know how many folks we can expect. The virtual concert does not require registration and can be accessed with this link: https://youtu.be/zGSJxMeTFTw Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! And here's the registration page:

Here's a photo from our recording session in Setnor Auditorium last night. MM organ student Augustine Sobeng talks with Sound Recording Technology student (and our project assistant) Brianna Cofield at the Holtkamp organ. Augustine, Alexander Meszler, Jonathan Embry, and Annie Laver recorded works by Paulette Fry, Matthew Slazik, Thomas Metcalf, and Samuel Gaskin for the score reading session that will take place on September 12, 4-5:30pm EDT. Register for the Webinar: Composing for the Organ to watch and listen: http://cc.syr.edu/organ_2020. Setnor School of Music

New article now online: Natalie Draper - Composer and Anne Laver, professors at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University, introduce their new and innovative initiative to introduce the organ to composers: Composing for the Organ.

Composer Nico Muhly and organist James McVinnie give some absolutely wonderful thoughts and advice in this interview (the second installment in our series). One of my favorite moments is when Nico discusses the transposing nature of the organ: "[The organ] is like a small box filled with holes where light will shoot out and make it feel like it's a 12 octave [instrument]."

Here are a few composition commissioning competitions we've heard of recently. The American Guild of Organists Student Commissioning Project (deadline September 30, 2020): https://www.agohq.org/ago-student-commissioning-project/One ... And a sacred music competition at the University of Notre Dame (deadline April 5, 2021): https://campusministry.nd.edu/get-involv/music/composition/

Here's a story of a young organist-composer (and recent Syracuse University alum) that we're proud of. Enjoy! https://www.syracuse.edu//samuel-kuffuor-afriyie-source-s/

Friends who have composed for the organ, we'd love your feedback on what that process is like! I've been realizing more and more how many composers I know who have *not* written for the organ. It's a mysterious instrument--it's rarely featured in orchestration classes, the sound is very much dependent on the specific organ and space, and the learning curve is a bit...high... Help us demystify this lovely instrument! We'll be sharing a range of feedback on September 12th from composers such as Carson Cooman, Nico Muhly, Wang Lu, Eric Nathan, and Ad Wammes. We'd love to have your input, too! - Natalie

We just launched our Composer Interview Project and we hope you'll check it out over on YouTube! We have a limited time to interview folks, but we'd love to have as much input from composers as possible. We're curious about your experiences writing for the organ (whether you're a seasoned composer organist or a composer who has written for the organ only once or twice!). Please share your experiences with us by filling out this (short!) Google form. We'll compile the comments and share this crowdsourced advice with you all during our webinar on September 12th! In the meantime, happy composing!!