Recently
I spent some time on the phone chatting with a young composer whose name, I predict, you will be seeing frequently. Jacob Hasler, who is beginning a master’s degree, has just had a piece accepted for publication by Hinshaw. Watch for it. I’ve seen a selection of his work and I am excited about his talent and his skills.
Our conversation was about the music publishing business and how composers and arrangers manage to get their material noticed and accepted by the “gate keepers” at publishing companies in the 21st century. I had very little to offer that was either new or exciting, alas, but I made a few specific suggestions (the topic for another blog post, perhaps?). Among the things we touched upon was the fact that there’s lots of talent out there, and a great deal of competition for the attention of publishers and conductors.
This reminded me of some questions which were asked of me last week during an hour-long video interview with a group of master’s candidates at the Vandercook College of Music in Chicago. The course, called The Greatest Generation…of Choral Music included live interviews with a number of composers currently working (evidently the dead composers all declined to be interviewed, the rascals, but I was available!). The questions posed were widely varied, as you would expect, but one of them offered me an opportunity to expound a bit on a principle near to my heart: How do you feel when other composers get commissions you’d like to have, or win competitions you would like to win?
My philosophy on the competition between composers is relatively simple: I believe that whenever another composer writes a great piece it increases the demand for more great pieces, and some of that increased demand has a chance of being directed my way. Accordingly, I delight at the successes of my colleagues—they’re not reducing my success; they can’t reduce my success (only I can do that). In the long run their triumphs will likely be beneficial for me as delighted performers and audiences become eager to find and experience more fine music.
Besides, if someone wants to commission a Dan Gawthrop piece they can’t get it from any of my professional peers. Similarly, if a choir director has decided he wants something from Ola Gjello or Andrea Ramsey, I can’t provide that for him. The bottom line is, when you think about it, I really don’t have any competition in the field of Dan Gawthrop choral music—you can’t get that from anyone but me!
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