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Contact: NMR 202-297-383
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New Music Raleigh Part of Winning National Grant to Record
November 18, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) - New Music Raleigh (NMR) has been awarded the Composer Assistance Program – Recording (CAP Recording) grant to record the chamber music of composer D. J. Sparr for Centaur Records. New Music USA, formerly Meet The Composer and the American Music Center, administers the CAP – Recording program that supports first recordings of new music by living American Composers. NMR was one of 15 applicants awarded grants.
President and CEO of New Music USA, Ed Harsh, says of this second-year initiative – Recordings are the vital pipeline for new music to reach the people who love it. We are thrilled to support the realization of these fifteen outstanding projects as they make their way out into the listening world.
New Music Raleigh, Curator, Shawn Galvin, says – We’re grateful for the support of New Music USA and honored to be among the projects selected. D. J. Sparr is a close friend of NMR, and we look forward to collaborating on the premiere recording of his chamber works.
CAP Recordings intends to enhance composers’ careers by supporting debut recordings of their work. Composers may apply for funds regarding any stage of the recording or post-productions process. CAP Recording was created in 2010 to parallel New Music USA’s Composer Assistance Program (CAP). CAP has awarded project-based grants to composers for costs associated with premiere performances of their work since 1962. New Music USA will award a third round of CAP Recording grants in 2012 – deadline July 16. www.newmusicusa.org
D. J. Sparr is an American composer and guitarist fluent in both classical and vernacular musical styles. He has been named the next Young American Composer-in-Residence with the California Symphony where he will write new orchestral works over a two-year period. Sparr’s music has been commissioned and performed by groups such as the Albany Symphony, the Berkshire Symphony, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Band, the League of Composers’ Orchestra, the Los Angeles “Debut” Orchestra, New Music Detroit, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Washington, the Verge Ensemble, Wet Ink and Yale University. He was awarded the $10,000 grand prize in the orchestra category of the BMG/Williams College National Young Composers Competition. He received BMI Student Composer Awards in 1995 and 2000. Sparr is the composer-in-residence for the Richmond Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement Department (2010-11); and in the summers, he is a faculty member at the Walden School for Musicians.
New Music Raleigh is a collective of dynamic musicians dedicated to presenting outstanding performances of music by living composers. NMR fills a gap in Raleigh’s vibrant music scene, serving as a catalyst for creation and presentation of new music. Whether its through offering works of well established composers, up-and-coming composers, or cross-genre collaborations, NMR creates concert experiences that challenge tradition, engage and inspire diverse audiences, and give voice to today’s most innovative and relevant modern music. Since its founding, NMR has presented music by Steve Reich, John Luther Adams, Missy Mazzoli, Paul Lansky, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Judith Shatin, Belinda Reynolds, and has collaborated with the celebrated indie rock artists, Lost in the Trees and Shara Worden. NMR’s Curators are Karen Strittmatter Galvin and Shawn Galvin.
www.newmusicusa.org
www.djsparr.com
www.newmusicraleigh.org
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