I am composing Stand for 18-piece jazz orchestra (5 Reeds, 4 Trumpets, 4 Trombones, 1 French horn, Piano, Guitar, Bass & Drum set under the baton of the composer).  I have recently come to the conclusion that in this special performance art setting, the piece needs two additional percussionists in order to create the dramatic effects needed at certain points in the piece.  There will therefore be a total of 20 musicians, 18 of whom make up the regular, standard instrumentation for performance.

In the interest of being ready for a premiere date on or about September 11, 2011, I am currently writing this piece without a commission (a.k.a., unpaid).  Here are some details about the logistics:

Expenses for mounting such a work of “performance art” (a combination of musical and theatrical elements) include are many.  Your tax-deductible donations will contribute toward the following budgetary needs:

• Silent Drill Platoon’s hotel accommodations, as per contractual agreement
• Meals for Silent Drill Platoon, as per contractual agreement
• Snacks for band, tech people & Sentry Marines during the long day
• Music Preparation Services (extracting parts from my score)
• Photocopy fees for music preparation
• Musicians’ pay for rehearsals, performance & video rights
• Research & miscellaneous composer’s expenses
• Sound engineer
• On-site recording, video, photography
• Broadcast & press media services
• Graphics and printing materials & services
• Studio recording in winter 2012
• Educational presentations
• Documentation of the creative process

While I  have booked a timely premiere with my band, Anita Brown Jazz Orchestra featuring The United States Marine Corps, Silent Drill Platoon, I am investigating options in Washington, DC as well.

If you wish to participate as a patron of this and other artistic endeavors of mine, your tax-deductible contribution through Fractured Atlas will be most appreciated and put to good use.  More info on contributing may be found on the Contributors page.

In the list above you see the term “Music Preparation.”  This refers to preparing each musician’s part from which they read and play their layer within the fabric of the music.  Each line of music in the composer’s “score” (a collection of over-sized pages containing all players’ parts aligned mathematically as per the rhythm of each part) must be extracted from that score (“copied,” in the vernacular), note for note, from start to finish, in order that each player has the right notes to play on his/her music stand.  A “copyist” is an expert in this work and is a member of The American Federation of Musicians, in New York City they work under the Local 802 Music Preparation contract.   An estimate for this fee for a work of this size is approximately $5,000 but could reach $7,000 depending on how many measures the complete work contains.

Rehearsal fees for an 18-piece jazz orchestra is costly.  This work would require a minimum of twenty hours of rehearsal time.  Rehearsal is a time to work out kinks and edit the writing in addition to blending the musical colors together to breathe life into the ink on the page.

Assuming the involvement of The Silent Drill Platoon, I will need to travel to Washington, DC in order to talk through their cues and walk through a mock footprint of the staging area with them.  The cost of this excursion would include my travel and accommodations expenses.

At the time of potential previews for and the premiere of Stand, the travel and accommodations expenses of The Silent Drill Platoon would also need to be covered.

To mount a piece like this and fail to have it properly video taped in High-Definition would be a travesty, or in the vernacular of The Marines, an “Epic Fail.”   The cost of a proper audio recording on-site of the premiere of this piece of performance art (needed to integrate with a video recording)

The cost to mount this work is enormous.  There also exists the matter of my living expenses while I’m writing.  If I am forced to seek work during the summer months when my work traditionally slows, the piece and production will not be possible to complete.

I hope you will consider making a donation as we attempt to raise the funds it will take to both mount and document this historic performance.

The total estimated cost for mounting the September 10th production is $65,000-$70,000.   While my immediate needs look to finance the Nyack premiere, I am also looking into a potential premiere date in the Greater Washington, DC area and intend to contact jazz festivals across the country as well as some military bases to bring Stand into the back yards of others who have been touched equally as profoundly as those of us who felt directly connected by our proximity.

Please visit the Contributors page to learn how you can be a part of this historic event.

To assure I have your contact info, please sign the guestbook and enter your email address here and at  www.anitabrownmusic.com

Thank you for supporting live music.

~AB