“Anatomy of a Commission” Essays

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital resource created by American Composers Forum to increase transparency about the commissioning process. The essays in this series explore the creation of new artistic work from the perspectives of composers, performers, institutions, and commissioners. For more information about the initiative, visit American Composers Forum’s website.

Stephanie Ann Boyd -- Photo by Adam Solsburg

Anatomy of a Commission: A Composer’s Guide to Orchestra Commissions

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res…
Author
Stephanie Boyd
Gemma Peacocke

Anatomy of a Commission: Transcending a Capitalist Valuation of Commissioning Fees

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res…
Author
Gemma Peacocke
Yaz Lancaster -- Photo by Connie Li

Anatomy of a Commission: Building an Accessible and Community-Focused Practice

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res…
Author
Yaz Lancaster
JACK Quartet -- Photo by Shervin Lainez

Anatomy of a Commission: Performers as Commissioners

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res…
Author
Austin Wulliman
Image

Anatomy of a Commission: Understanding the Institutional Perspective

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res…
Author
Sarah Williams
Phong Tran -- Photo by Alex SK Brown

Anatomy of a Commission: Rethinking Composer-Ensemble Commissions from a Visual Artist Perspective

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res…
Author
Phong Tran
Anatomy of a Commission, Justus Schlichting

Anatomy of a Commission: A Modest Proposal from the Commissioner’s Perspective

I was asked recently to share stories about my experiences commissioning new music in the hope that…
Author
Justus Schlichting

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