Are you playing something by a living composer? Let them know about it!
When I was a band director, you can count the number of times I let a composer know we were playing their piece on one finger, and that was because they came to visit us (and that wasn’t even my idea).
Now that I am composing full time, I think about how much I would appreciate someone letting me know that they are playing my music and I get angry at myself for not reaching out to composers when I was teaching.
I haven’t been doing this very long yet, so I know pretty much everyone who is playing my music…. pretty much.
I have one piece that is published by a traditional publisher. “Alpha Bravo Niner” which has been performed around the world! But the only reason I know anything about the international performances is because I do the occasional YouTube search. Based on my royalty check from the publisher, there are probably over a hundred programs that have my piece in their library. I only know of maybe eleven performances. A few by friends and a few by strangers on the internet. (I just checked, someone added a new video last month!) It gives me a little boost each time I see a new video is posted! Sometimes that boost helps me through a creative rough patch.
Other than that piece of music, everyone who has received a piece of my music in the last year has gotten it directly from me. If it was printed on paper, I printed it at my house (or at FedEx) and put it in an envelope and mailed it or hand delivered it. If it was sold as a pdf, I put the licensing stamp on it myself and emailed it to them. So because of that, I have a decent idea who at least has the possibility of programming my music. But once it is in their possession, the only way I know if it actually makes it onto a concert lineup is if the performers or conductors contact me (many do!) or if I happen upon a Facebook post about a concert.
Let me interject now to say, I wasn’t any good at this at all when I was teaching! Like I said, I never contacted a composer to let them know about an upcoming performances, and I had several excuses for why…
It isn’t like the composer was going to try to show up to the concert.
Where would I even begin the email, they’ve probably heard it all.
I don’t know their email address.
This composer is super famous and get tons of performances a year, it doesn’t matter if they don’t hear from me.
…the list went on and on. And my reasons for not reaching out were all wrong.
Sure the composer may not show up, but that doesn’t matter. At least you gave them the option in case they happened to be in the area.
The email doesn’t have to be an essay, a simple message would be great, like “We’re playing your piece and we love it! Thanks so much for writing it!” And maybe include a program of the concert if you have one!
Most composers have a website, or social media presence. It probably isn’t as hard to track down contact info as you think!
Even if they do get tons of performances, every performance is worth knowing about!!
You never know what might happen. Maybe the composer will throw an announcement of your performance up on their platform and you will get a better turnout at your concert. Maybe you will open a dialogue with the composer and lead to a collaboration in the future. If it is a newer piece, maybe the composer is still trying to get feedback on editing and would like to get your opinion (speaking from personal experience on that one). Maybe you won’t get a reply at all, but at least you reached out, and I suspect that the number of composers who will appreciate you contacting them far outweighs the number who don’t.
By the way, sometimes composers can get other benefits from knowing about performances. In some cases, composers having documented evidence of performances might open doors for them. (This is something I didn’t know about when I was teaching) The composer might be able to turn a program into their “Performance Rights Organization”, like ASCAP or BMI for either royalty payments, recognition, or competitions. So send them a pdf of the program from your concert! If nothing else, at least you gave them the option to send it into their P.R.O..
You never know what effect reaching out to the composer might have. They wrote the music to have it played, so let them know you’re playing it! Composers aren’t superhuman (though I have my suspicions about a few of them), they’re just regular people, and most regular people I know appreciate getting compliments.
So the next time you play a piece by a living composer, let them know about it!
