Native American Recording Porject

Native American Recording Project

Richard and RMA Music have just received funding for more music in the Native American Recording Project through a Common Ground Grant.

This First Nations Composer Initiative project is supported through the Ford Foundation's Indigenous Knowledge, Expressive Culture grant program of the American Composers Forum.

This funding will allow the recording of two works by Comanche composer, David Yeagley.

Three grants have now awarded to fund this project.

Two Native American Composers have now had their music recorded under NARP.

An excerpt from the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra ("Tracing Mississippi") by composer Jerod Tate (Chickasaw) has been recorded for a documentary film. An excerpt of this "excerpt" is listed in the musical examples below.

Jerod's reaction to his recording: "This sounds great!

Canon for September 11 ("Voices from Ground Zero") for 5 solo strings, flute, oboe, and harpsichord by composer George Quincy (Choctaw) has been recorded through a Subito grant from the Los Angeles and San Francisco chapters of the American Composers Forum. An excerpt from this work is list in the musical examples below.

George's reaction to his recording: "You have done a beautiful job, capturing the essence of the music. It is really beautiful and moving.

Composer David Yeagley (Comanche) has submitted seven works of various instrumentations to be recorded under new grants. An excerpt from one work, a film score, is listed below. Work has started on recording "Three Serenades" for Solo Guitar.

Call for scores

RMA Music (a California DBA) and composer Richard Audd in Los Angeles is seeking music by Native American composers for recording purposes. We are seeking music of a “concert” or “classical” nature, i.e., orchestra, band, chamber and/or solo works. Some commercial music such as film scores will be considered.

All music will be recorded using state-of-the-art computer generated programs and sound libraries. The process does not involve the sounds of General MIDI.

All rights to the music will remain the property of the composer. No distribution is involved or implied. The composer will be free to distribute or use the finished recordings in whatever way he or she sees appropriate.

All recordings will be ‘performed’ by composer, Richard Audd. A native of Oklahoma, Richard is a member of the Muscogee Creek Tribe and of Creek and Cherokee descent. He has won two international awards for his MIDI realizations and for many years has been a composer and video editor in Los Angeles. More about Richard and RMA Music can be found at Resumes. (Examples of Richard’s MIDI work may be found below.)

Funding for this project is coming from various grants. The amount of these grants will determine the number of composers participating. The greater the grant money, the greater the number of participants. Even though a composer’s music may not be recorded immediately, we encourage everyone to send music now. A good response to this call will help find additional funding to continue the project.

Current funding: “This event is supported [in part] through Subito, the advancement grant program of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the American Composers Forum”.

Fractured Atlas granted funding for additional programs and sounds.

First Nations Composers Initiative has provided funding through a Common Ground Grant (This First Nations Composer Initiative project is supported through the Ford Foundation's Indigenous Knowledge, Expressive Culture grant program of the American Composers Forum).

It also has the endorsement and approval of the several known Native American composers, First Nations Composers Initiative (FNCI), the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCION), the American Composers Forum (ACF), the National Association of Composers/USA, and the Oklahoma Composers Association (OCA).

Fiscal sponsorship is being managed by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Composers Forum (ACF/LA), a 501.C.3 non-profit organization.

Guidelines:

Composer must be a member of a United States federally recognized tribe and provide proof of such (photo copy, etc.).

All composers must read and sign a contract and information sheet which can be downloaded here: CONTRACT (PDF) or CONTRACT (DOC). A signed copy of this contract must accompany all submissions. Any composer under 18 must have a parent or guardian also sign.

Composers may submit as many works as they desire. But each musical work must be accompanied by a separate contract for each work.

All instrumental combinations will be considered. Not all submitted works will be recorded. There will be a screening process.

Choral works will be accepted if only the accompaniment is to be recorded. No vocal or choral sounds can be recorded at this time.

If an electronic instrument or recording is involved with live instruments, a copy of this recording must be provided in a .wav file format on a CD-Rom.

If an organ part is required, basic stop indications should be noted.

If a prepared piano is required, it is requested that the piano use the standard “Cage” piano settings.

All submitted scores must be copies of the original scores. No originals are to be sent. These copies will be marked by RMA Music with recording notes and instructions necessitating the reason for copies, not originals. We will accept copies of the scores as an attachment to an email in a PDF format or we will accept a Finale file. No other scoring program files can be accepted.

All music must bear a copyright on the score. Legally, all that is required is the name and date of the copyright holder (“© Copyright 1999 by Bill Smith’). The work does not necessarily have to be registered, although we encourage all composers to register their music.

The composer will receive two finished CD’s of their music. They will also receive two CD-Roms with copies of the music in a .wav format and in an .mp3 format. Additionally, a copy of the MIDI file generated for the recording will be included (this can by used to register a copyright).

RMA Music will work as diligently as possible with each composer through emails and phone calls to assure that their music is performed as envisioned.

If sufficient funds can be found, it is hoped to produce a CD of some of the best works at some time in the future.

This call for scores is considered open-ended for the time being. A composer may withdraw their music from this project at any time unless the music is currently being recorded or has been recorded and is being prepared to be sent to the composer.

Additional information through email should be addressed to richard@rmamusic.com. Phone calls may be made at 818-402-9235.

All music should be sent to

RMA Music

c/o Richard Audd

10636 Mary Bell Ave.

Shadow Hills, CA 91040

Musical Excerpts and Examples of Richard’s Midi work:

Excerpts from works by Native American Composers:

Commercial:

Orchestral:

Hansel and Gretel Overture (E. Humperdinck)

Band:

Chamber:

Piano:

Bach: Three-Part Invention, No.6 (Harpsichord version)