a multimedia saxophone performance event
WAYLA? Commissioning Fund
First CommissionNew Work (2009) by J. Anthony Allen [composer] and Arie Stavchansky [visual artist]
soprano saxophone, electronics and video
There are a variety of wonderful and extremely valuable commissioning funds available to today's saxophonist (WWCPCF and Janus immediately come to mind). These funds generally commission acoustic music. The WAYLA? Fund provides yet another option. Each new commission will team together one composer, one visual artist and a consortium of saxophonist. These composers and visual artists will represent the most adventurous, experimental and forward thinking individuals around. I hope to continue this fund with a new commissioning announcement at the beginning of each year.
Intrigued by the idea and still not sure if you want to participate? Please visit the repertoire and watch! sections of this page to browse past works I've commissioned and continue to perform as part of this project (feel free to directly email the composers too). Suggestions and advice on future collaborations are welcomed too!
Technical/Equipment Requirements?The piece will be composed for soprano saxophone and DVD. The video and electronic part will be on this DVD. We are avoiding any type of complicated electronic and video projection setup. The only equipment needed to perform this piece is a DVD player, projector, video screen (or flat white surface), speakers and the appropriate cables to connect each device. In my experience every university including most art galleries, concert halls and alternative spaces own this equipment. If you have further questions or concerns about this setup please email me.
Commissioning & Performance TimelineJANUARY 1ST - Call for participation. The cost of admission? $100
MARCH 1ST - Deadline for returning the contract and commissioning fee. Please email me after this deadline if you're still interested.
OCTOBER 1ST - Sheet Music + DVD mailed out. The participants will receive a limited edition score and DVD listing the names of everyone involved. The participating saxophonist will have one year of exclusive rights to premiere the new work (until October 1st, 2010). Everyone performing the work within this time frame will be credited with the premiere. Programs and supporting documentation from the premiere and subsequent performances are requested by the composer J. Anthony Allen and will be listed for reference on this website.
Email me for a contract. Michael Straus - michaelastraus [at] gmail.com
About the Visual Artist
Immersed in film, video, and interactive media for more than a decade, Arie Stavchansky has earned the titles of artist, designer, educator, and director. Capitalizing on his passion for creative problem solving, Arie is credited with numerous industry awards and honors.
His professional credits include, among others, visual effects artist for Audioslave's "Doesn't Remind Me" music video; digital compositor for McDonald's "I'm lovin' it" television ad campaign; keyframe animator for Stouffer's and Walgreens' televisual identities; producer and director of "Intersection" (2003) and "Graveshift" (2004), experimental music videos that introduced a novel technique for rendering photorealistic water droplets on glass surfaces. His experimental video work has screened at international venues, and his illustration and graphic renderings have been shown at local establishments in Austin, Texas and Chicago, Illinois.
Arie has taught digital media theory, interactive media production, as well as visual effects and motion graphics design at The University of Texas at Austin and Carnegie Mellon University. His interaction design background informs his development of new media production techniques. Arie also practices as a designer and consultant on teams that produce rich media and mobile websites. Arie holds a Bachelor's in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master's in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Doctorate in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin.
About the Composer
Born and raised in Michigan, J. Anthony Allen is a prolific composer of both acoustic and electronic music. He has worked with many forms of interactive media including audio, video, installation and dance. Mr. Allen's work as been called "a study in ominous sound and motion," (Baltimore Sun) "An aural hallucinogen," (Minnesota Public Radio) and "a standing ovation" (GVSU Lanthorn).
Allen's artistic interests lie not only in exploring new sounds and methods of music, but sociological aspects of performance art as well. This philosophy is evident in his works with firedancers, turntablists, outdoor performances, non-traditional instruments, and upcoming collaborations with skateboarders and engineers. Allen is a co-founder of the Dal Niente Composers Group, which further propels these ideas.
Allen's work has been performed by the Peabody and Aspen orchestras, and in 2006 by the Minnesota Orchestra as part of their New Music Reading sessions. Additionally, Allen's work has been presented at the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) national conferences, Society of Composers (SCI) national student conference, Electronic Music Midwest festivals, Spark Festivals of Electronic Music and Art, (Minneapolis), Music at the Anthology festival (MATA, New York City), June in Buffalo Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival, for which he received the Susan and Ford Schumann Award in 2004 and 2005. Allen is a recipient of the Prix D'Ete award (first prize, Peabody Conservatory), Macht Orchestral Prize and P. Bruce Blair Award (Peabody Conservatory), was a regional winner of the SCI/ASCAP Student Commission Prize, recipient of two Peabody Institute Career Development Grants, an Arts Quarter Collective Grant (University of Minnesota), and several ASCAP Standard Awards. Recent paper publications have appeared in Organized Sound (Cambridge University Press), The Living Music Journal, Proceedings of the third annual Spark Festival, and ComposersOnline.Org. Allen has studied with prominent teachers in the United States while at the Peabody Conservatory and University of Minnesota. Additionally, Allen has studied electro-acoustic music at the Centre de Creation of Music Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX) in Paris, France.
Allen performs extensively both as a guitarist and on wearable sensor controllers built and designed by himself. He has performed at the Guitar Foundation of America National Conference, given numerous solo concerts and recitals, as well as professional studio work. He has performed on electronic devices on several occasions including performances with members of the Zeitgeist Contemporary Music Ensemble, in New York City at the MATA festival, Miami, FL., Minneapolis, MN., and recurring performances with the improvisation group Ballet Mechanique.
Allen is a founding member of the Dal Niente Composers Group, and is co-creator and co-senior editor of ComposersOnline.Org. In 2004 Allen co-founded the "Salon3136" Concert Series which hosts concerts and other events with the intention of dismantling the exclusivity of concert music. Additionally, he has served as the Assistant Director of the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art held in Minneapolis since 2004, and serves on the Technology Committee for the University of Minnesota School of Music.
Teaching appointments have included a position as a Teaching Associate for the Computer Music Department of the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University, Instructor positions at the University of Minnesota (Teaching Advanced Notation and Introduction to Music Software and MIDI), as well as various Teaching Assistantships at Peabody and elsewhere. Additionally, he has taught classical, jazz, folk and rock guitar at academies and institutions throughout the Midwest. Mr. Allen holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music (MM composition, MM computer music), and Grand Valley State University (BA, music). Mr. Allen is currently a PhD candidate in music composition with a minor in visual art at the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Judith Lang Zaimont and Douglas Geers, where he has held the Lloyd Ultan Advanced Composition and Electronic Music Fellowship, and the Harvey V. Berneking Graduate Fellowship. Currently, he holds the College of Liberal Arts Technology Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. His primary composition instructors have been Judith Lang Zaimont, Douglas Geers, Christopher Theofanidis, Bruno Amato, McGregor Boyle, Kurt Ellenberger, Chin-Chin Chen, Benjamin Broening, Pieter Snapper and Robert Schectman. J. Anthony Allen is a faculty member at McNally Smith College of Music.