New Composers Pitch

We asked the departments of composition of the eight conservatories of the Netherlands to propose their finest students in the field of composing and sonology. These students step forward from a variety of backgrounds and will present themselves through elevator pitches, after which they are briefly questioned by a ‘jury’ of potential programmers and performing musicians.

To add some tension to the festive character of the New Composers Pitch, November Music’s Bert Palinckx announces the following: “As the thoughts behind the New Composers Pitch are the stimulation of creativity and the promotion of new talent, we think it’s nice to offer a suitable prize for the person who, in the eyes of the jury, delivers the best pitch. He or she is invited to compose a piece that will premiere at next year’s edition of November Music.”

Jury members: composer Juliet Palmer, who lives and works in Toronto. Her compositions cover a wide range from chamber music and dance theatre to orchestral and opera. Juliet is the artistic director of Urbanvessel, a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration; renowned Dutch pianist and musicologist Ralph van Raat, who through his performances – as stated on his website – aims “to convince his audiences of the immense beauty and diversity of music of our own time”. And Bert Palinckx, November Music’s artistic director of twenty years, an advisor in the field of new music and a double bass player in improvised and new music. Also joining is Preston Stahly, the Artistic & Executive Director of Tribeca New Music in New York, a not-for-profit organization which manifests itself through concerts, commissions, competitions, educational initiatives, dialogue, and the annual Tribeca New Music Festival.

Host of this hour of presentations is Co de Kloet, a music producer, composer, musician and (radio-)presenter. He works for Dutch public broadcaster NTR and is coordinator of the Music Business & Career program for the Jazz department at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. As a creative catalyst he also runs his own cottage industry called Zivasound. He has worked on many musical projects in classical, jazz, rock and pop, and is especially at home in the Frank Zappa universe.