International Society for Contemporary Music

ISCM Mid-Atlantic
2014 to 2017 Report

The Roger Shapiro Fund  (RSF) is one of the very few organizations in the world that is not prohibited from commissioning composers from abroad.  Many, probably most ISCM sections are funded specifically to cultivate composers from their region.  

The Roger Shapiro Fund may commission any composer.   The next step is to find a meaningful way to launch the commissioned work.  RSF’s production arm will produce performances if necessary, and we do our best.

The preferred strategy is to work with the best presenting organizations.   Here we can include Cantori NY, under conductor Mark Shapiro.   Cantori is one of New York City’s most successful choirs.   RSF recommends composers to Cantori.   When Cantori seconds one of our nominations, RSF will commission that composer.

We hope our work with Cantori will lead to collaborations with other great presenters.

Poland

Most recently RSF, with Cantori NY commissioned Dariusz Prybylski.

www.dariuszprzybylski.eu/

Choosing Dariusz was a nod to ISCM WMD because RSF President William Anderson first heard Dariusz’ music at WMD in Sweden, in the city of   Växjö.   The work performed in Växjö made a huge impression, which Anderson relayed to Cantori Director Mark Shapiro.

Cantori gave the premiere of that new work in the Spring of this 2017.

https://www.cantorinewyork.com/march-2017

A year prior Cantori and RSF agreed upon another international composer: Alba Potes, from Columbia.   Potes is in fact bi-national, and there are many bi-national composers in New York City. Composers in this situation must be very careful about their stated nationality.  At the moment, Potes calls herself Colombian. 

Potes created a musical treatment of  Juan Rulfo’s landmark magic realist novel, Pedro Páramo.

http://www.cantorinewyork.com/past-season-1/

Latin America--Alba Potes is joined my Mexican composer Emil Awad.

RSF is now committed to a commission for Mexican composer Emil Awad.   Awad studied in the US.  He studied with Donald Martino at Harvard, and with Milton Babbitt at Juilliard.  Awad befriended Octavio Paz, and received permission to set several sets of poems by Octavio Paz.  One of the cycles is already finished.  RSF will commission settings of the other two sets.

RSF has been involved with exchanges of musicians and composers between Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico and the US.   In March of this year, guitar virtuoso Angel Mendez performed in Bennington, Vermont, Manhattan, and Queens, offering new works by Mexican and American composers.  We called this the NAFTA tour because the program featured works by Canadian, Mexican, and US composers.  

Canada

Canadian composers Stephen Chatman and Frank Brickle were represented on the NAFTA tour.  Brickle grew up in New Jersey and began his career in the NYC metro aria.  He is now Canadian Citizen.   He is a composer who will be claimed by both the US and Canada.  As in the case of Alba Potes, it is our official position to respect the nationality that the composer claims in her bio.

William Anderson

Pres. Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music

Art. Dir., Marsyas Productions

Founder, Co-Director, Cygnus Ensemble