Black Pencil and November Music winners Nieuw Geneco Fair Practice Award 2023
On Sept. 8 Nieuw Geneco presented the Nieuw Geneco Fair Practice Award 2023 to Ensemble Black Pencil and festival November Music during Gaudeamus Music Week for their tireless efforts and commitment to fair and sustainable practice in new music.
photos: Pieter Kers | beeld.nu
From the judges’ report:
Ensemble Black Pencil distinguishes itself by awarding composition commissions for their unusual and challenging line-up year after year. With the project Into Space, Black Pencil gave several commissions to Calliope Tsoupaki, Arnoud Noordegraaf, Aart Strootman, Meriç Artaç, among others, in which Flevoland, Land Art and new music inspire each other, under the motto bold new land, bold new compositions. In the jury’s opinion, the project serves as an example of “think global, act local.”
Composer Yannis Kyriakides: “The ensemble Black Pencil asked me to write a composition for a unique and exciting occasion. In Black Pencil’s backyard – Flevoland – there are ten extraordinary works of landscape art. One of the best known is “Observatory” by Robert Morris in Lelystad. The ensemble asked me to write a piece for the ensemble at this location. Not an easy set-up, but the project “Into Space” under the direction of Jorge Isaac made a very strong impression on me productionally, financially and artistically.
Black Pencil is committed to fair fees, transparent communication and multiple performances of brand new work at home and abroad. The ensemble also regularly repeats previously composed work in order to create a recognizable and individual repertoire, for a large and diverse audience on a wide variety of stages and special locations. This Ensemble thus fulfills a major pioneering role in musical life.
Photos: Pieter Kers | beeld.nu
From the start, November Music has been committed to being a home for new music and composers in particular. Every year the festival succeeds in bringing the world’s musical elite to Den Bosch and performing new works at the very highest level for a large audience. The annual Bosch Requiem is now a tradition in which high-profile new compositions are created and to which audiences flock in large numbers. Again, the jury praised the current practice of transparent communication, clear agreements and the large audience reach, in addition to the festival’s commitment to paying composers fairly.
Composer Aart Strootman justifies his nomination on the basis of his commission for the Bosch Requiem: “Not only the long track record, it is a festival that moves with the times and rewards the composers fairly. It is also one of the last years of Bert Palinckx, to whom this honor is certainly due. What was special about this commission is that we look together at the desired duration, scoring, etc. And from there look at what can be realized in fair practice. When it turned out that the ambitions were higher than the budget, additional funding was sought and found.”
The festival positions itself as an equal partner of the composer by continuing to involve the composer in all facets of the production and by understanding the capriciousness of the creative process without losing sight of transparency and goals. In addition to all this, the festival is a strong international player and provides opportunities for composers at festivals abroad.
Photos: Pieter Kers | beeld.nu
Update Honorariumtabel Compositieopdracht (Fee Table Composition Assignment) en Honorariumtabel Arrangeren (Fee Table Arranging)
During a well-attended interactive meeting in TivoliVredenburg on fair practice, fee guidelines and good commissioning practices in new music, the updated fee tables Composition Assignment and Arranging were presented.
“Fair agreements are a shared responsibility of commissioners and composers. The Fee Table is applicable in the various genres of music and together with the Nieuw Geneco Fair Practice Code Composition Assignment provides guidance on what Fair Practice is our sector, whether the assignments are privately or publicly funded,” said Esther Gottschalk, director of Nieuw Geneco. The guidelines are widely endorsed by professional organizations such as VMN, BIM, BAM, VCTN and Nieuw Geneco.
The New Geneco Fair Practice Award consists of the composition/video “Side by side” with music, text and images created by composer David Dramm. Performed by Diamanda La Berge Dramm and Nora Fischer. The winners received the composition in the form of a large LP music card, from the hands of composer Henk van der Meulen.
Photos: Pieter Kers | beeld.nu
Downloads
Side by Side Compositie Fair Practice Compositieopdracht Award
Honorariumtabel Compositieopdracht
Fair Practice Code Compositieopdracht
Persbericht Fair Practice 202309
Juryrapport-NieuwGenecoFairPracticeAward2023
Nieuw Geneco’s (Nieuw Genootschap Nederlandse Componisten) Composition Assignment Fee Table is supported in part by BIM (Beroepsvereniging van Improviserende Musici), BAM! (Beroepsvereniging voor Auteur-Muzikanten), VCTN (Vereniging Componisten en Tekstdichters) and the VMN (Vereniging voor Muziekhandelaren en -Uitgevers Nederland). The Fair Practice Code for Composition is in line with the code of Kunsten ’92.
