Van Lier Fellowships for African American & Latino Composers

The age cut-off for this fellowship is 32 (believe me, I resisted the urge to make a cartoon about that). But for all those younger folks who are New York City residents (any borough), aren't enrolled as students in a degree-granting program in an institution of higher education, and can demonstrate need (ahem, you're living in NYC) here's your chance:

"The Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of the New York Community Trust provides support for talented, culturally diverse young people who are seriouslydedicated to a career in the arts. Meet The Composer administers the Van Lier Fellowship on behalf of the Van Lier Fund of the New York Community Trust.

"The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide financial support for young composers in the early stages of their careers, working in any style of music or sound art. Funds can be used for any purpose including the creation of new work, the purchasing of music/tech equipment, travel, or research and development.

"The Fellowship is open to African-American and Latino composers thirty-two years of age or younger. The applicant must be a full-time resident of New York City (any borough) and show financial need. The applicant must not be enrolled in a degree-granting program at the time of application (i.e. no students). The one-year fellowship award is $8,500. Additional monetary support will be provided if the composer develops and participates in an educational outreach program with students and/or youth groups. This educational component is optional.

The next deadline for applications is December 8, 2008.

Download the guidelines and application from the fellowship description page.

This year's recipients are Gilbert Galindo and Majid Khaliq.

Gilbert Galindo is an emerging young Mexican-American composer that is increasingly being performed across the country. He has received commissions from the Chicago Fine Arts Society, Duo Petrarca, and the Lone Star Brass with additional premieres and performances from the Midland Odessa Symphony, Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, Bard Institute Composers Orchestra, and the ai ensemble of dal niente group. Read more at www.gilbertgalindo.com .

Majid Khaliq is a musician native to the New York area. His musical palette ranges from the roots of American-jazz music through the greats of the European-classical tradition. Mr. Khaliq has been described by legendary musician Wynton Marsalis as having "a unique blend of improvisation, groove and technical sophistication." Composition and arranging are serious
interests of Mr. Khaliq. His compositional teachers are Mexican composer Samuel Zyman and great American violinist/composer Jonh Blake, Jr. Not just a performer and composer, Mr. Khaliq is a teacher of the highest caliber. He has written many essays on the art of violin playing and has recently finished the first volume of a method book detailing the topic.

Past recipients of MTC’s Van Lier Fellowship include César Alvarez, Cristian Amigo, Valerie Coleman, Mario Diaz de León, Dafnis Prieto, Sherrise Rogers, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Julio Santillan, Manuel Sosa, and Emilio Teubal.

Endnote:
• To keep your wits about you in this age-a-rama-competition-whirligig, go to writer Tayari Jones' previous post about these award age-cut-offs, here.
• To keep your sense of humor about you (rueful though it might be) in relation to the same, go to writer Erin Fitzgerald's cartoon post, here (substitute "composer" for "writer" and "32" for "35").
• And to tie it altogether with a bit of history check out Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker article, "Late Bloomers: why do we equate genius with precocity?"
• If you need a musical example check out the life of French composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) who went back to school at 40 years old to study composition and counterpoint after having been labeled as "'the laziest student in the [Paris] Conservatoire'" in his youth. School reports characterize Satie "as a gifted pianist who was utterly lacking in motivation and poor at sight-reading." But apparently as a self-motivated adult Satie's progress was "impressive." Tellingly the composer's recollection of the Paris Conservatoire where he studied for seven years (partly to decrease a mandatory stint in military service) was as "a sort of local penitentiary." Presently, Satie's work is considered a major influence on various contemporary musical genres and aesthetics, and to have foreshadowed the development of film music. The most accurate online biography is at Oxford Music Online, unfortunately only available to subscribers, but if you can find a hard copy of Grove Music Dictionary (which was purchased by Oxford) you can read it there.

The Canadian "electro/ambient/alternative" band Patrick Watson, fronted by musician/vocalist Patrick Watson performing Satie's composition for piano Gnossienne No. 1 (written 1890-1893) live in Edmonton, Alberta, December 1, 2007 (Watson sounds eerily like Jeff Buckley on some of the band's recordings).