Originally aired 11/21/2017 Composer Darien Shulman returns to talk about his experience writing for a new television series: how he got the job, the process from beginning to end, and what he learned along the way about organization and workflow. Links: Darien Shulman Netflix: American Vandal

Originally aired 11/6/2017 After a Summer hiatus, Dennis returns for a conversation with composers Elizabeth Alexander and J. David Moore, two of the founding members of the Independent Music Publishers Cooperative, a group of eight composer-publishers working together to market and distribute their music. The cooperative’s shared website provides …

Originally aired 8/15/2017 In case you haven’t yet heard the news, composer David Maslanka passed away last week on August 6 after a brief battle with cancer. David, along with his son Matthew, was a guest on the show back in January for Episode #38. Reading other composers’ and performers’ reminiscences of him online, it’s impossible to overlook t…

Originally aired 8/7/2017 BONUS CONTENT: Dennis and the anthology curators do a live Q&A session » Watch the video here »

Originally aired 8/7/2017 This week, Garrett Hope of The Portfolio Composer joins Dennis to make a few exciting announcements, including a new partnership with the American Composers Forum, a new distribution outlet for self-published composers, and gigantic new call for scores – all to make composers’ lives better. BONUS CONTENT: Dennis and the an…

Originally aired 7/25/2017 Ed Windels returns to talk about the benefits and drawbacks of having a full-time day job in addition to your composing. Links: Ed Windels Ed on Twitter Ed on Soundcloud

Originally aired 7/18/2017 Composer Tony Manfredonia returns to talk about his bifurcated career of writing concert music and music for video games. Links: Tony Manfredonia Tony on Twitter Tony on Soundcloud Wayward Isles teaser trailer

Originally aired 7/3/2017 Composer Griffin Candey talks about the importance of securing performances of new, large-scale works before you write them. Links: Griffin Candey Griffin on Twitter Sweets by Kate OperaRox

Originally aired 6/13/2017 This week, I’m joined by composers Jamie Leigh Sampson and Andrew Martin Smith, the co-founders of ADJ•ective New Music, as they talk about the benefits and challenges of forming a composer collective, how they handle publishing and distribution for their composers, and the value they’ve found in running a podcast about n…

Originally aired 6/4/2017 Mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen and composer Alex Shapiro return to MPP to talk about the ins and outs of commissioning new music from the perspective of the composer and the commissioner. In the course of the conversation, we discussed: Making both sides happy Contracts Making smaller, regular payments Consortia Arrangements/Ad…

Originally aired 5/30/2017 Composer Garrett Schumann talks about building a local music scene, investing in yourself, and the nuts and bolts of economical live streaming. Links: Garrett Schumann Garrett on Twitter Æpex Contemporary Performance Æpex on Facebook & Twitter The Awesome Foundation Salt Arts Documentation Tech mentioned on the show: Zoom…

Originally aired 5/22/2017 MPP celebrates one year of episodes with some reflection on the past year, a look ahead to the coming months, and a drink with return guest Jay Venute. Links: Jay on Twitter Jay Venute: Jerk Birds

Originally aired 5/21/2017 Dennis is joined by composers Tony Manfredonia and Ed Windels to share even more reactions to the third New Music Gathering, held in Bowling Green, OH. Links: Tony Manfredonia Ed Windels REXduo Ed Windels: 5 to 9 Composer

Originally aired May 18, 2017 Dennis is joined by soprano Elisabeth Halliday and composer Spencer Arias to talk about their reactions to the third New Music Gathering, held in Bowling Green, OH. Links: New Music Gathering Elisabeth Halliday Spencer Arias Steven Schick: In Pursuit of an Externally Facing Artistic Practice ÆPEX Contemporary Performan…

Originally aired 5/8/2017 Entertainment lawyer Marc Ostrow returns to MPP to talk about recent legal and legislative developments in copyright and licensing, including bipartisan legislation to make the Register of Copyrights a Presidential Appointment, and the Fair Play Fair Pay Act. Links: Marc Ostrow H.R.1695 – Register of Copyrights Selection a…

Originally aired 4/27/2017 Composer/violist Martha Mooke talks about improvisation, following your passions, and finding balance. Links: Martha Mooke Martha on Facebook NewMusicBox: “Martha Mooke: Walls, Windows, and Doors” Fuse Project: Revolution x3 (May 19, 2017) ASCAP Thru the Walls The Other Graduation (May 6, 2017)…

Originally aired 4/17/2017 Composer & bassist Brian Coughlin has been performing, recording, and touring with the Fireworks Ensemble, which he founded in 2000. The six member ensemble plays in a wide variety of styles, emphasizing its “brazenly inclusive approach to repertoire.” During the course of our conversation, Brian and I talked about non-li…

Originally aired 4/11/2017 Robert Paterson is a composer whose career has many facets: he’s a percussionist, he conducts, he runs a successful new music ensemble, he runs a boutique record label, and he’s launching a new festival of new music in 2018. He joins me this week to talk about running composition competitions, believing in yourself, deali…

Originally aired 4/42017 I met composer Reg Unterseher at the Chorus American conference a few years ago, and was taken with some of the things he had to say about how composers can be better-served by the community. He joins me this week to talk about the benefits of curation, the future of electronic scores, and different forms of distribution an…

Originally aired 3/2/2017 After ten months of doing this show, I finally managed to get my husband, Darien Shulman, on the podcast! Darien is a composer who started his musical career as a concert music composer, and has made the transition to writing for TV and film. He also wrote the MPP & CGDB theme music, and does the MPP voiceover. In this wee…

Originally aired 3/21/2017 Composer Alexandra Gardner (Ep. 9) returns to talk about what should and shouldn’t go into your composer website. Links: Alexandra Gardner Dale Trumbore: Seven Things to Remove from Your Website DaleTrubmore.com Caroline Shaw Agata Zubel Harold Meltzer

Originally aired 3/14/2017 Jason Heath is a bassist and fellow podcaster. His show Contrabass Conversations has been running for nearly a decade, and helps bass players with their artistry, auditioning, and careers. During the course of our conversation, we talked about working with and getting commissions from school ensembles, and ways that compo…

Originally aired on 3/6/2017 Kevin Clark is a philanthropy consultant, product manager, and composer working to help artists thrive. He is the brains behind the New Music USA project platform, and speaks and writes about arts economics, technology in the arts and non-profit worlds, and philanthropy. During the course of our conversation, we talked …

Originally aired 2/27/2017 In addition to his work as a composer, Jonathan Newman is the Director of Composition & Coordinator of New Music at the Shenandoah Conservatory; he was also a founding member of the composer consortium BCM International. During the course of our conversation, we talked about writing for educational ensembles, the history …

Originally aired 2/20/2017 Anne Lanzilotti is a violist, composer, and fierce advocate of contemporary music. She is a member of The Rhythm Method string quartet, co-founder for Kalikolehua — El Sistema Hawai‘i, and a member of the string faculty at NYU Steinhardt, and she created “Shaken Not Stuttered”, an online resource of extended techniques fo…

Originally aired 2/13/2017 For this week’s episode, I sat down to chat with David and Matthew Maslanka. David is a renowned composer, often known for his extensive catalog of works for wind ensemble; and Matthew, David’s son, is a euphonist and engraver, and handles the operations for publishing David’s music. During the course of the conversation,…

Originally aired 2/6/2017 In her first appearance on the show exactly 30 episodes ago, Dale Trumbore mentioned How to Go On, her secular requiem commissioned by Choral Arts Initiative. She explained the plan to premiere and record the piece with the ensemble, and promised to be back to talk about the process. So this week, she and CAI Artistic Dire…

Originally aired 1/30/2017 Joshua Gersen is, in addition to being a composer, the Musical Director of the New York Youth Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. An advocate for new music, he helps to oversee the NYYS’s annual composer competition, which awards commissions to three composers under 30. During the course of our …

Originally aired 1/23/2017 Scott Tegge, tubist for the Gaudete Brass, knows how to hustle, and he’s genuinely an awesome guy. We met at the “composer hang” coordinated by Frank J. Oteri during the Midwest Clinic, and I knew right away that he had to be a guest on the show. In addition to all the work he does for the quintet, he also teaches an insa…

Originally aired 1/16/2017 William J. Lackey is one of the many cool people I met at the Midwest Clinic. In addition to his work as a composer, Billy has been the Administrative Director at the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and served on the Boards of the newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Odyssey Chamber Music Series, and the Kansas City Ele…

In Part 2 of my conversation with Frank J. Oteri, we talk about reconciling different genres, thinking about audiences and their (lack of) preconceptions, and amateurism.

To say that Frank J. Oteri has a multi-faceted career in music is a gross understatement. In addition to his own work as a composer, he has been the Co-Editor for NewMusicBox since it was created in 1999, where he writes and reports on all manner of topics relating to the realm of new music, and he bears the unique title of Composer Advocate at New…

I met Reena Esmail a few years ago when my friend Marc Peloquin (Ep. 20) featured her on the KeyedUp MusicProject. I was immediately taken with her musical style, and was thrilled to get to know her in person after the concert. We tried for over two months to get this episode to happen, but our schedules refused to cooperate until just a few days b…

After several weeks of emailing to set up this episode, Stacy Garrop and I met in person at The Midwest Clinic, and had a wonderful time getting to know one another between Clinic events. A few days after I returned to NYC, we sat down for this conversation. Stacy’s a great composer, and I had the pleasure of hearing her fantastic brass quintet Leg…

I’m joined this week by a number of friends and colleagues to break down The Midwest Clinic, which we all just attended – most of us for the first time. Trudy Chan returns to the show, then Frank J. Oteri (Trudy’s husband, and the founder/co-editor of NewMusicBox) joins the conversation, then Sean Perrin of the Clarineat podcast and Garrett Hope (t…

After we spoke in Episode 19, Scott mentioned that we should have looked at one of my previous NMUSA Project Grant applications as an example to help other applicants, and I immediately started kicking myself for not thinking of that earlier. So this week, that’s exactly how we start the episode – we look through two of my previous applications (sc…

Jay Venute is the wit and talent behind Jerk Birds and the webcomic Doodle Park. He’s also a very close friend, a regular listener to the show despite not being a musician, and a constant sounding board for my myriad harebrained ideas. This week, we commemorate the six month anniversary of the show by talking about how it came to be, the trials and…

Angela Myles Beeching, author of the well-known book Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music, has created and run entrepreneurship programs in a number of major music schools throughout the country, and now is a full-time career consultant for working musicians. This week, she joins me to talk about her work with musicians, and some ti…

Trudy Chan has had a multifaceted career in music. The former Senior Manager of Promotion at Boosey & Hawkes, Trudy now heads her own boutique composer management company, and works as a collaborative pianist, most notably as one half of the Cheah Chan Duo, which puts on six concerts of art song and piano music each season. Trudy and I have been fr…

My friend and fellow podcaster – and MPP Superfriend – Garrett Hope is back this week to talk with me about an idea that’s not super-well-known within the music community, but has been helping artists, professionals, and small business owners for nearly a century: Mastermind Groups. Garrett and I are members of a small mastermind group of music pod…

Emily Bookwalter is a violist, the Director of External Affairs for the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, and the Executive Director of New Amsterdam Records. In short, Emily does all the things. This is a fantastic conversation where we riff on marketing, storytelling, the dargers/usefulness of -isms, community, musical citizenship, and how the viola …

Kathleen Supové is an excellent pianist with a flair for the theatrical and a deep love for new music. Although she studied within the classical tradition, she feels the need to forge new paths and create new traditions for new music. We spoke a few days before The Debussy Effect, Kathleen’s latest album of works written for her, was released on Ne…

Seth Hanes is Philadelphia-based horn player and entrepreneur, and runs the excellent website The Musician’s Guide to Hustling, where he helps musicians get more gigs and create more – and more rewarding – connections with other musicians. I met Seth when he invited me to come on his site to talk about the differences between traditional publishing…

In June 2005, my composition teacher at the time told me that he was having his Pianos Variations premiered by a pianist named Marc Peloquin at the Bloomingdale School of Music, and that if I was interested, I should go. I arrived rather early, met Marc, and ended up helping him to set up chairs for the recital. The concert was wonderful, and in ad…

For this week’s episode, I sat down with Scott Winship, the Director of Grantmaking at New Music USA to talk about the organization’s Project Grants, and answer a few listener questions. It was a great conversation with a lot of really great tips for making your application the best it can be. Some of the things we talked about were: The American M…

Recently declared by Opera News to be a “game changing” company that is redefining American opera, New York City-based Rhymes With Opera started just like most new music ensembles – as a handful of like-minded friends who just wanted to do good work – and have become a well-established, well-respected organization creating a whole new set of operat…

Rose Marshack is a professor of Arts Technology and Music Business at Illinois State University (my alma mater), as well as the bass player for the indie rock band Poster Children. I met Rose when I spoke to her Music Business students for the first time in 2013, and immediately loved her enthusiasm for giving her students the skills they need to s…

In addition to being a talented composer, Daniel Gilliam is the Director of Programming for WUOL Classical 90.5 in Louisville, KY. We got to know one another a number of years ago on Twitter, and finally met in “meatspace”, along with Dale Trumbore, over drinks at the 2012 Chorus America conference in Minneapolis, MN. During the course of our conve…

Garrett Hope is a composer, entrepreneur, and business coach, as well as the podcaster behind The Portfolio Composer (originally titled Composer on Fire). Like me, he loves helping other composers to navigate their careers, and he’s currently putting together an online course, which will launch in September, to teach composers how to market their w…

Three months after his first appearance on the show, entertainment/copyright lawyer and MPP Superfriend Marc Ostrow is back to talk some more about Fair Use, with me supplying a few hypothetical situations. But more importantly, Marc lays out the Department of Justice’s recent and unexpected ruling that PROs must abandon 70+ years of established in…