Hello friends! As you may have now seen on my Instagram, my musical partner, cellist & teacher extraordinaire Frankie Carr, and I have decided to open up a new call for composers to collaborate with us!
Reading a duo by Joseph de Boismortier together; our favourite Sunday afternoon pastime :-)
As we were recently planning a duo recital, we were thinking about how sparse the repertoire is for two cellos. There are a few real gems, but not a ton to choose from, and not a massive amount of variety, at least not that we’ve been able to find so far. So that got us thinking…
One of the most meaningful musical experiences I’ve had to date was my September Solo Cello project [#SeptemberSoloCello; info] back in 2020. A brief history: a few months into the pandemic, in summer 2020, I found myself depressed and isolated, really missing the collaborative spirit of chamber music. In trying to dream up ways to be truly collaborative at a distance with the threat of the pandemic still heavily looming, I opened up a call for composers on my social media, and was extremely lucky to work, over Zoom, with 26 beautiful composers (from 7? different countries…) in creating miniatures for solo cello. The result was an incredible collection of beautiful miniatures, which I have performed both in an out of the context of the project for two years now, that are deeply personal and relatable in many obvious, and some more subliminal, ways.
My only real ask of the project will be our only real ask here as well: that we create something of the moment, that means some thing personal to each of us involved – composer + us 2 musicians. The way we did that with September solo cello was to begin with a casual zoom meeting, where myself and each individual composer could spend some time chatting and getting to know each other, sharing things that matter to us, reasons we are drawn to music, things that we have to say…brainstorming a foundation for our project together.
In September Solo Cello, this meant that the resultant pieces were wildly different from one another. Some of them drew inspiration from other art forms that the composer and myself were moved by — poetry and visual art. Some works revolved around nature, and dove deep in evoking emotional responses & conversations surrounding climate change and destruction. One piece revolved around a shared beloved place, for example the city of Philadelphia, which is deeply loved by both myself and one of the composers, so we created vignettes of several different charming neighbourhood of the city. Other pieces served as reflections and cathartic explorations of our shared and individual experiences of the pandemic - of isolation, of loss, of fear, of unrest. And the list goes on… (some pieces included the use of electronics – really, nothing is off the table, as long as we talk about it!)
A few general guidelines to help you decide if you (or someone you know) might be interested:
We are searching for composers interested in a true collaboration with us. This means open lines of communication and exploration as we create something meaningful, together.
Each composer will receive: a recording of their work, a video that will be posted on Instagram, and inclusion in a live performance (premiering ALL completed works) towards the end of the 2022-23 season (likely May 2023). This performance will take place on the East Coast (NYC/Philly — there may be more than one performance if possible!), and will be live streamed for any composers and loved ones who are unable to make it.
This time around, we are not making a specific time constraint. Instead of composing for the medium (and considering that instagram has now gotten rid of the 1 minute time limit), we can be freer in our interpretation of a “miniature” and compose whatever feels right. :-) Like the previous project, each composition is free to develop however feels right - as one miniature, or a collection, or multiple movements — we are open.
While we are aiming to post the videos online prior to the live performances — ideally in March/April 2023, we understand that at this stage of the pandemic, many of us have become busy again, so we will work with each composer to set a series of individual deadlines for drafts and final pieces that is manageable for all parties involved :-)
We want to be very transparent that we unfortunately do not have funding for this project at this time, so the two of us will be doing this collaboratively with no compensation, and will be asking the composers also to donate their time. We understand if this is a prohibitive factor for you. If at any point down the line we are able to make a record or garner any profits from these works, the earnings will be split equally amongst the composers.
And in case you want to hear more about us, here are a couple more fun videos we put together: exhibit A & exhibit B, exhibit C — as well as my bio and Frankie’s bio.
If you are interested in being a part of this project, and/or have any questions or ideas, please shoot me an email at arlen@arlenhlusko.com with the subject line “2 Celli Collab”.
If by any chance you are reading this and you are not a composer, but you would be interested in funding the project to help compensate the composers properly, please also write to me via email at arlen@arlenhlusko.com with the subject line “2 Celli Collab Funding”.
Thank you so much and looking forward to seeing what we can create, together!