The Henderson Harmony Project
Hello, and
thank you so much for
clicking onto the site! It is with great pleasure and greater humility
that I share a tremendously exciting opportunity that has been
presented to me, and I graciously ask that you consider helping to make
it happen. Our church, South Hills Church Community, in
Henderson,
Nevada is building a new church campus to accommodate further growth
and to reach a great many more people (the campus is located at the
intersection of a major freeway and a major street exit!) who need to
hear the Good News. One of the greatest traditions in music is the
creation of a new musical work to dedicate and celebrate the opening of
a new church, and I have been gifted the chance to participate in this
rich history.
As an emerging composer, it is imperative to seize every possible chance to write a piece that will be sure to receive a performance, and especially so when the piece would be of the scale and scope that I hope to create for the Henderson Harmony Project. The work that I foresee is an evening-length work (45-75 minutes) for chamber choir and jazz ensemble, though the piece will not be entirely rooted in the style and language of jazz. I was initially inspired to consider this project by the experience I had performing Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Jazz Band and Las Vegas Master Singers, and it was placed firmly on my heart that I should pursue composing such a work in my career. At the time, I was unaware that South Hills planned to build a new campus, and when I learned that, it was clear to me that this was no mere coincidence.
Through discussion with the church, it was established that there is a real desire to have this piece be a part of the new campus. However, given the financial demands and commitments necessary to developing and building a new place of Worship, there would not be funds available to support the fee for the commission and to pay the performing ensembles. South Hills will offer the space for the performance, record it, and promote it, incorporating the performance of the work as a dedication of the new building and making it one of the very first events to be held there. This is where I'm hoping that you -- a person of faith, a patron of the arts, or both -- will come in. The composition of this piece requires treatment as if a full-time job, and the purpose of the commissioning fee would be to allow me to devote the necessary effort and attention without the burden of simultaneously working full-time. For this piece, the range of a reasonable commission fee would be $25,000-$35,000, including copying costs (the cost of producing the physical scores and parts for the performers). To enlist the performers, it would be my intent to donate $5,000 to a vocal performance group and $5,000 to a jazz ensemble. In total, then, the financial demand of the project is $35,000-$45,000. When $45,000 has been raised, I will cease to accept donations and will, instead, recommend other charities.
If this is a project that you would like to support, please use the dialogue below to make a donation (minimum of $1.35, please, to cover the cost of the transaction), and send me an e-mail with your name if you would like to be included in the list of donors. Also, please let others who you think may be interested know about this unique opportunity. For information on submitting a donation via check or money order, please e-mail Justin for mailing address. Thank you so much for your consideration of support for an artist, a church, and a Kingdom.
As an emerging composer, it is imperative to seize every possible chance to write a piece that will be sure to receive a performance, and especially so when the piece would be of the scale and scope that I hope to create for the Henderson Harmony Project. The work that I foresee is an evening-length work (45-75 minutes) for chamber choir and jazz ensemble, though the piece will not be entirely rooted in the style and language of jazz. I was initially inspired to consider this project by the experience I had performing Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Jazz Band and Las Vegas Master Singers, and it was placed firmly on my heart that I should pursue composing such a work in my career. At the time, I was unaware that South Hills planned to build a new campus, and when I learned that, it was clear to me that this was no mere coincidence.
Through discussion with the church, it was established that there is a real desire to have this piece be a part of the new campus. However, given the financial demands and commitments necessary to developing and building a new place of Worship, there would not be funds available to support the fee for the commission and to pay the performing ensembles. South Hills will offer the space for the performance, record it, and promote it, incorporating the performance of the work as a dedication of the new building and making it one of the very first events to be held there. This is where I'm hoping that you -- a person of faith, a patron of the arts, or both -- will come in. The composition of this piece requires treatment as if a full-time job, and the purpose of the commissioning fee would be to allow me to devote the necessary effort and attention without the burden of simultaneously working full-time. For this piece, the range of a reasonable commission fee would be $25,000-$35,000, including copying costs (the cost of producing the physical scores and parts for the performers). To enlist the performers, it would be my intent to donate $5,000 to a vocal performance group and $5,000 to a jazz ensemble. In total, then, the financial demand of the project is $35,000-$45,000. When $45,000 has been raised, I will cease to accept donations and will, instead, recommend other charities.
If this is a project that you would like to support, please use the dialogue below to make a donation (minimum of $1.35, please, to cover the cost of the transaction), and send me an e-mail with your name if you would like to be included in the list of donors. Also, please let others who you think may be interested know about this unique opportunity. For information on submitting a donation via check or money order, please e-mail Justin for mailing address. Thank you so much for your consideration of support for an artist, a church, and a Kingdom.