Announcing a New Consortium Opportunity
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On February 18, 2020 my nephew Alec Connor Lebel passed away in his home in Pueblo West, Colorado. He was just 21 years old.
Alec was a whip-smart, insightful, and good-natured young man whose life was marred by a drug addiction that eventually overcame him despite several attempts at rehabilitation. He enjoyed sports and traveling and in the words of his father, he had "the soul of a poet." We were graced by his short time with us. Opioid addiction has been a scourge on this country for a number of years and it has become easy to lose sight of the personal stories of those who struggle with addiction. Worse, when we lose them they often become just another statistic to everyone except those fortunate enough to truly know them. As soon as I heard of Alec's passing, I vowed that I was not going to let his memory slip quietly into the abyss and that I would write a piece of music not only to honor his life, but also his struggle and the struggles of so many Americans. I'm not such a romantic that I believe my modest band piece will change the world, but perhaps it can serve as comfort to others who have suffered similar loss. |
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On the evening of Alec's memorial service I met with Alan Mills, who is the Director of Bands at Colorado State University, Pueblo to ask if Alan could perform a piece that I was planning to write (for free) in Alec's memory. Alan not only accepted my proposal but suggested that the work become part of the Rocky Mountain Commissioning Project and share a program with a premiere of a work by Steve Danyew. Less than two weeks later our world was completely upended by the first quarantine orders for the COVID-19 pandemic and our plans were delayed for well over a year. It has taken time for me to return to this project and even more time to muster up the courage for this announcement, but we are back on track and drawing closer to deadlines in anticipation of a February 2022 premiere. With that in mind, I want to invite you to join this consortium opportunity.
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My sister-in-law's favorite hymn is "Abide With Me" and the tentative plan is to use this tune as source material for a work that will be approximately 4 minutes long and between grades 3.5 to 4 in difficulty. The formal design is not finalized, but at this early stage I envision a work that takes that hymn tune and juxtaposes it with an original melody in a series of variations before the two come together and give way to a full band chorale.
The premiere performance in Pueblo will occur in February with my niece in attendance. My brother and sister-in-law are moving back to our home region in New England this autumn and will hopefully be able to attend a performance by a band in that region. Any proceeds, less the cost of travel expenses to be with my family for the two performances, will be donated to the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in Alec's name. |
Alec with his Mom, my sister-in-law Lana Lebel
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I have attached Alan's announcement below with all of the consortium details. The fees are reasonable and I hope that you will join me in honoring my nephew, and support Steve Danyew's new work as well.
Rocky Mountain Commissioning Project
What follows is the consortium announcement from Alan Mills:
Feeling the necessity to keep composers working during trying times, the Rocky Mountain Commissioning Project invites you to join in our 7th and 8th projects to commission two new works for band by Steve Danyew and Mark Connor.
To learn more about Steve Danyew, please visit: https://www.stevedanyew.com/
To learn more about Mark Connor, please visit: https://www.markjconnor.com/
Steve's piece will be the third and final piece in a trilogy of pieces inspired by the blues scale and the American railroad. The first piece in the trilogy, the exciting Magnolia Star, was released nearly 10 years ago, in 2012, and has since been performed around the world by ensembles ranging from high school bands to the U.S. Navy Band. The second piece, Green Diamond, was released in 2018, and with the forthcoming premiere of the third piece in 2022, the trilogy will be complete. Like the first two works, this new piece will be a fun and exciting work full of rhythmic drive and exciting motives, with a rewarding part for each player in the ensemble. Steve is very excited to write this new piece for us.
Mark's piece will honor the memory of his nephew, who succumbed to his opioid addiction in Pueblo West, Colorado in early 2020. The piece will be a memoriam not only to Alec, but also the countless people who have suffered tragedy caused by opioid addiction.
Because we have historically included many small college and high school bands in our projects, both Steve and Mark have agreed to keep the difficulty of the work at a Grade 4, with a minimum time of approximately 6 minutes in length for each piece. Longer length works are possible for both composers based on consortium support.
In an effort to consider a variety of different financial situations, the following fee structure will be used as a basis for joining one consortium:
Division I University/College: $600
Smaller Universities/Colleges: $300
High Schools/Community Bands: $175
Private/Personal Consortium Member: $60
Interested consortium members are encouraged to participate in both consortiums. If so, the following fee structure will be used:
Division I University/College: $1,000
Smaller Universities/Colleges: $500
High Schools/Community Bands: $300
Private/Personal Consortium Member: $100
With the exception of Private/Personal memberships who will receive acknowledgement in the score and a PDF of the Score, all Consortium members will receive acknowledgement in the score plus a PDF copy of the full band set, with performance rights for 1 year after the performance premiers that are scheduled to take place at the 14th Annual CSU-Pueblo Festival of Winds on February 12th, 2022.
To join one or both consortiums, please visit the following link:
Feeling the necessity to keep composers working during trying times, the Rocky Mountain Commissioning Project invites you to join in our 7th and 8th projects to commission two new works for band by Steve Danyew and Mark Connor.
To learn more about Steve Danyew, please visit: https://www.stevedanyew.com/
To learn more about Mark Connor, please visit: https://www.markjconnor.com/
Steve's piece will be the third and final piece in a trilogy of pieces inspired by the blues scale and the American railroad. The first piece in the trilogy, the exciting Magnolia Star, was released nearly 10 years ago, in 2012, and has since been performed around the world by ensembles ranging from high school bands to the U.S. Navy Band. The second piece, Green Diamond, was released in 2018, and with the forthcoming premiere of the third piece in 2022, the trilogy will be complete. Like the first two works, this new piece will be a fun and exciting work full of rhythmic drive and exciting motives, with a rewarding part for each player in the ensemble. Steve is very excited to write this new piece for us.
Mark's piece will honor the memory of his nephew, who succumbed to his opioid addiction in Pueblo West, Colorado in early 2020. The piece will be a memoriam not only to Alec, but also the countless people who have suffered tragedy caused by opioid addiction.
Because we have historically included many small college and high school bands in our projects, both Steve and Mark have agreed to keep the difficulty of the work at a Grade 4, with a minimum time of approximately 6 minutes in length for each piece. Longer length works are possible for both composers based on consortium support.
In an effort to consider a variety of different financial situations, the following fee structure will be used as a basis for joining one consortium:
Division I University/College: $600
Smaller Universities/Colleges: $300
High Schools/Community Bands: $175
Private/Personal Consortium Member: $60
Interested consortium members are encouraged to participate in both consortiums. If so, the following fee structure will be used:
Division I University/College: $1,000
Smaller Universities/Colleges: $500
High Schools/Community Bands: $300
Private/Personal Consortium Member: $100
With the exception of Private/Personal memberships who will receive acknowledgement in the score and a PDF of the Score, all Consortium members will receive acknowledgement in the score plus a PDF copy of the full band set, with performance rights for 1 year after the performance premiers that are scheduled to take place at the 14th Annual CSU-Pueblo Festival of Winds on February 12th, 2022.
To join one or both consortiums, please visit the following link:
If you do respond that you are willing to join us for one or both consortium, please consider it a binding agreement without option to withdraw at a later time. Final payment is requested by December 31, 2021.
Thank you. I look forward to receiving your membership!
Alan Mills
Thank you. I look forward to receiving your membership!
Alan Mills
More Pictures of Alec
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Page header photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash