In Friday’s (1/21) New York Times, Chloe Veltman writes, “When the Bay Area flutist Meerenai Shim ran out of interesting music to play with her chamber ensemble, she did not content herself with repeating existing repertoire. She commissioned a composer to write something especially for her group instead. Ms. Shim, 34, who makes a living teaching and performing chamber music, started a fund-raising campaign to pay for the commission using an online financing Web site, Kickstarter. … Within six weeks, Ms. Shim had amassed $5,290 through contributions ranging between $15 and $250, from 130 donors. … Service organizations that support the commissioning of new works, like United States Artists and Meet the Composer, have established micro-philanthropy projects that allow individuals to contribute to funds for new works through online donations. … Another development is that orchestras are more commonly entering into consortia with each other, particularly in the creation of large-scale works. For example, the Oakland East Bay Symphony recently partnered with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Performances, a Bay Area presenting organization, to commission a violin concerto by the composer Billy Childs.”
Posted January 21, 2011
