Page 8 - Classical Singer magazine Spring Issue 2020

Why I Chose
to Not Get Paid for
By Michelle Latour
COMPOSER KURT ERICKSON
One composer nds increased opportunities and collaboration through an unusual approach to commissioning new works.
My Last Gig
As aspiring musicians, we are constantly faced with the dilemma of performing for free, trying to overcome the cliché of the starving artist, and legitimizing what we do to the general public. So why would
a successful and established composer write a song cycle without charging a commission? San Francisco Bay Area composer Kurt Erickson is redefining the current composer-commission model with his latest project, Here, Bullet.
Why did you choose to not get paid for your last gig?
This may sound crazy, but I’m in the middle of a two-year commissioning project that is based entirely on the concept of me not getting paid to write my new song set Here, Bullet for baritone and piano.
Commissions are wonderful and the lifeblood of a professional composer’s business, but they are
solitary affairs with one or a few guaranteed performances. What [do you] do if you’re hoping your new piece catches fire on a much larger scale? My solution to this dilemma was to take a strategic risk and try something new: waive my usual commissioning fees in exchange for offering singers a chance to commission a work for free. The only stipulation was that they commit to performing the work publicly during the 2019–20 season.
This scenario is unique and a potential win-win for all. Singers get an opportunity to personally commission and premiere a new work alongside fellow performers all over the globe while, in turn, my music is heard by audiences I would not otherwise have access to.
Over 25 singers will premiere the work during the 2019–20 season worldwide. Two singers are writing about the project in their doctoral dissertations, I’ve
received invitations to come speak at various institutions, singers who themselves have served in the armed forces are performing the work in their uniform, and
one singer is even negotiating a performance at West Point Military Academy.
The veteran and armed service aspect of the project is important as the texts come from acclaimed poet Brian Turner, a U.S. armed services veteran who served tours of duty in both Iraq and Bosnia. Here, Bullet is his groundbreaking collection of poetry that provides poetic, firsthand descriptions of the effects of war on soldiers and civilians alike.
Where and when was the gig?
The first complete performance of the set in a traditional recital format took place September
13, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee. Performances continue throughout the 2019–20 season as the piece essentially goes on tour.
8 Classical Singer | Mar/Apr 2020