Times of Trenton features Cone Institute, previews ‘Scores’

July 13, 2016

The Times of Trenton writes:

"There are three facets to the mentoring – artistic, practical, and career development," says composer Steven Mackey, director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Edward T. Cone Composition Institute.  "If you're writing for your friends, it's one thing.  When you're dealing with an orchestra, it really becomes a big business.  Orchestral rehearsal time costs so much.  Gaining the trust of an orchestra to get your music played is already a huge endeavor.  It requires a lot of people to put their faith in you."

For four composers at the beginning of their careers, the institute is an invaluable experience – six days of intensive evaluations and consultations, culminating in a live performance of their music by a major symphony orchestra under a world-class conductor ...

The orchestra will be under the baton of David Robertson, who in the fall will begin his 12th season as music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.  Robertson is also chief conductor and artistic director of Australia's Sydney Symphony Orchestra ...

"David Robertson is really one of the world's great conductors, and we are very fortunate to have him on board this year," says Mackey, who is chair of the Princeton University Department of Music.  "He's been a real champion of my music, and I'm really appreciative that he's going to share his expertise with these young composers."

Mackey's "Turn the Key," written in 2006 for the New World Symphony on the occasion of the opening of the Miami Performing Arts Center, will conclude the Saturday concert.

Also on the program will be Anderson's "Places with Pillars," a metaphorical reflection on the search for meaning in our lives; Browne's "Farthest South," a tone poem inspired by the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration; Stackpole's "... Ask Questions Later," a meditation on gun violence and the permanence of consequences; and Wie's "Water Prism," inspired by the phenomenon of light passing through a prism to create a rainbow.

What is especially valuable about the institute is that the lessons learned will extend far beyond advice on simple technique, delving into the actual business side of what it means to be a composer, including information on rehearsal protocol, publishing and promotion.

In addition to feedback from Robertson and Mackey, the Institute will include sessions with music-industry leaders, including Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., New Music USA, Subito Music Corporation and WQXR's online new-music station Q2 Music, as well as executive speech coach, author and inc.com columnist Sims Wyeth. 

Though the institute is in its third year, the relationship between the NJSO and Princeton University is a longer one.  The musicians are well-seasoned in the art of mentorship through the orchestra's regular participation in reading sessions of music by Princeton University Ph.D. composition candidates.

"The New Jersey Symphony very generously donates rehearsal sessions," Mackey says.  "We select some Princeton graduate composers to compose pieces for them, and they rehearse them and play them through and record them.  It's not a public concert, but [the composers] absolutely get a performance.  They don't get as much time lavished upon the pieces as the participants in the institute, but that's actually how the institute started it.  The students were getting so much out of it, and the orchestra genuinely seemed to enjoy working with the young composers, so we expanded it to include non-Princeton students."

The unique laboratory experience will include rehearsals, group gatherings to discuss the practicality of certain compositional solutions, one-on-one coaching sessions with Mackey, a focus on the refinement of presentation and networking skills, and video and audio recordings of gatherings and performance for the personal use of the composers.

Read the full story at www.nj.com.

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