Summary
This pilot residency will provide three (3) individual composers with daytime, weekday use of suitable composition and rehearsal space in Flushing Town Hall (FTH), in Flushing, Queens, for a three-month period. FTH is a remarkable early 20th century building owned by the City of New York that houses the Flushing Council on the Arts, the host of the program. Future residencies will expand to include performers and will be housed in other facilities, boroughs, and disciplines.
Each resident will receive a total stipend of $450, and will have free access to a designated space in which to compose and rehearse, including a performance-quality piano and storage space for equipment. Residents will be responsible for any additional technical resources needed. A public program component of the residency, which may take the form of a workshop, master class, free public performance or other community-based activity, must be mutually agreed upon with, and presented by, FTH. The resident will be responsible for providing performers, if required. There is no additional stipend for accompanying performers.
The Con Ed Musicians' Residency had its genesis in NYC Performing Arts Spaces' 2008 study “Where Can We Work?", an examination of how access to workspace in New York City impacts musicians' ability to compose, rehearse and perform.
Funding for this pilot program comes from Con Edison, The Amphion Foundation, and the Reed Foundation. NYC Performing Arts Spaces has developed and is administering the program.
Application Guidelines
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the Borough of Queens, New York City, as of the application deadline. Verification of residency is required. Members of Fractured Atlas may apply, but Fractured Atlas membership is not required.
Who May Apply:
Composers working in any genre, including but not limited to: classical, jazz, blues, rock, hip-hop, opera, musical theater/Broadway, experimental/new music/electronic, world music, sacred, and works across genres. The pilot round of residencies is restricted to emerging, individual composers.
Who May Not Apply:
Full-time students enrolled in a degree-granting program at time of application deadline
Composers who are or will be in residence in any other facility or institution during the period May 1 - August 31, 2009.
Employees and board members of Fractured Atlas, Flushing Council on the Arts, or Flushing Town Hall, and their immediate family members.
How to Apply:
Applicants must submit four (4) items: a completed application form, a rsum, and two compact discs bearing work samples. All these items must be received by 5:30 PM Eastern Time on Friday, February 20, 2009. They must be sent in two transmissions in the manner described below.
Send application form and rsum by email
Go to www.nycPASpaces.org/show/resources/musicians_residency.html to download the application form. Complete it on screen using a recent version of Adobe Reader software and save the PDF file with your information in it.
Attach 1) the completed application PDF file and 2) your rsum to an email message whose subject line is your full name.
Send the email message to [email protected]. We will send acknowledgment of receipt to the email address(es) provided on the application form. Your application form and rsum must be sent as electronic files by email; not on paper, nor by fax. Your rsum must be in PDF (preferred) or Microsoft Word format.
Send work samples by U.S. Postal Service
Submit two (2) work samples on two compact discs (CD-R), one sample on each disc. Each sample should be no longer than five (5) minutes and should start with your best material. Label the discs clearly with your name and “WORK SAMPLE #1" and “WORK SAMPLE #2". Do not send original recordings; we cannot return any submitted work samples. For works with both instrumental and vocal components, or works combining instrumental and/or vocal with electronic components, you may also submit a score. For improvisational works, you may also submit charts and/or a narrative description.
Send the work samples to:
NYC Performing Arts Spaces
Con Ed Musicians' Residency: Composition Program
c/o Fractured Atlas, Inc.
248 W 35th St., Suite 1202
New York, NY 10001-2510
We will only accept work samples delivered by US Postal Service. Due to building security issues, we are unable to accept hand-delivered packages. Work samples must be received at the above address by 5:30 PM, February 20, 2009. We cannot make any exceptions for late applications, including those delayed by Internet problems. Work samples received after the deadline will be returned unopened. Incomplete application forms or incomplete materials will not be considered. Applicants will receive email confirmation of receipt of materials.
Selection Process & Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel of five (5) musicians and music professionals. Panelists will have been chosen based on recommendations by professionals in nonprofit music service organizations and government arts agencies. NYC Performing Arts Spaces staff will not serve on the panels, but will act in an administrative capacity.
The review process is not anonymous. Materials will be reviewed and evaluated by the panelists. A single panelist cannot ensure a composer's success or failure. Panelists' names will be kept confidential until results are released. After review of all materials, the panel will assess and rank all materials of eligible applicants according to the following criteria, in order of priority:
Artistic merit
Quality of proposed composing project or work in progress
Appropriateness of project for Flushing Town Hall
Residency Timeline:
Award announcements will be made no later than April 1, 2009, with specific starting date as Composer in Residence at Flushing Town Hall to be agreed upon with FTH staff and starting on or around May 1, 2009, and finishing on or around July 31, 2009.
Obligations and Benefits for the Resident:
Once awarded, the resident will need to verify Queens residency by providing any one of the following: tax forms, phone or utility bills, bank statements, NYS drivers' license, etc.
The resident and FTH will sign an agreement that stipulates the time and use of space, development and presentation of a public program, and that the resident will abide by FTH regulations for the term of the residency.
After completion of the public program, the resident will submit a final report evaluating the residency experience.
NYC Performing Arts Spaces will send a press release to appropriate media announcing the Con Ed Musicians' Residency: Composition Program and the public programming component. NYC Performing Arts Spaces will also publicize the program in the organization's e-newsletter at the conclusion of the residency.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
