Have you ever wanted to commission a new piece of music for your music students but not had the money to make it happen? Sixty five symphony orchestras across the country have created a model for commissioning new music that could easily be replicated in public school music programs.
The orchestras chipped in together to commission a new work by composer Joan Tower. The result is a work that makes use of material from “America the Beautiful.” Unfortunately the title of the piece serves as corporate branding for the major corporation sponsoring the project but otherwise the project works brilliantly.
It would be very feasible for multiple schools to chip in together and commission a composer to write a piece that would be performed at each school. This could be done by a medium or large sized district, several small districts or schools from across the country. Perhaps at your next All-County concert your students will be playing an original piece of music commissioned by music programs across your county.