The Legacy Bridge: Making Performances Happen

‘For over a year we’ve been celebrating people who play my compositions through the “Composer’s Spotlight” Blog Series – where we share a video and a short interview.  I love seeing new performances of my work, especially when the performers discover new ways to be creative or self-expressed with it.

Most of the “Composer’s Spotlight” performances are solo artists or small ensembles like this recent spotlight of Singapore harpist Nigel Foo, who performed “Baroque Flamenco” in a Harp-and-Dance collaboration with Spanish Dance Singapore’.

But more and more ORCHESTRAS are requesting to perform my work.

That means that 20, 30, 70 or more musicians are all playing the same piece at once –  though each is playing a different ‘part’.  It requires a completely different kind of composing: Orchestral composing.

It’s the same with my orchestral works.  Orchestras that play the “Baroque Flamenco” Concerto, for example, will license it for a certain number of performance – and that license fee helps make it possible for the composer – me –  to keep creating new works.

At this very minute there are 3 emails in my inbox from musicians around the world asking about performing Baroque Flamenco.

There’s just one problem …

Those emails are from 3 musicians:  a teacher, a youth orchestra, a soloist in war-torn Ukraine — who all want to perform my “Baroque Flamenco” but cannot afford the performance license.

And I can’t afford to continue to compose and publish without those license fees.

This has been driving me crazy. Those fees are essential to keep composing and publishing, but the performers can’t pay it.  It means the music would go unplayed and that’s the last thing I want.

And then I had an idea …

What if it’s NOT a ‘problem’?  What if it’s an OPPORTUNITY?

The problem is that it’s a closed circle: the people who can’t afford the license and the composer who needs the license fee.

“What if this closed circle between composer and performers was opened?” I thought.  “What if there was a THIRD part right in the middle of the circle, connecting it all like the hub of a wheel?

What if an impassioned music lover who DOES have the the money, could pay that license fee?  One person would make all the difference: By paying the fee, they’d make a live orchestral performance possible AND support the composer in creating more works.

That one license fee would become the hub that turns the closed circle into a turning wheel. 

That’s where YOU come in.

I’m looking to CONNECT individuals who can pay this fee with these amazing ensembles who can’t afford to.  The license fee is generally between $375 and $750, depending on the length of the piece and the number of performances.

This is the Legacy Bridge

If YOU are someone who wants to support the arts in a very direct, very individualistic way, please fill out this form to let me know you’re interested. I will connect you with a way to pay the fee for one or more of these ensembles. That one fee supports their performance and my work at the same time.

And THANK YOU!

Thanks to the generous support of three passionate advocates, the licenses for two of the ensembles are fully funded, while a third is nearly halfway there.

A rousing, dance-around-the-kitchen THANK YOU to Dan Beach, Betsy Chapman, and Victoria Johnson for kickstarting this incredible project! Your generosity has laid the foundation for more performances of my work around the world, connected these talented, passionate performers with their audiences – and you’ve given ME a huge gift: the chance to see my music used as a bridge of creative expression for all these meaningful connections. THANK YOU!

To learn more about the Legacy Bridge Project and how you can be a bridge, click here