Bassworld Article

Bassworld Magazine
International Society of Double Bassists
June 14, 2005
By Madaleine Crouch

If Mozart were getting his start in today's crowded marketplace, there's no doubt he'd be looking to the Internet as a tool to help build his career. One such digital "patron" for today's would-be Wolfgangs is Accessible Contemporary Music, a Chicago-based non-profit organization founded by Seth Boustead and Laura Koepele-Tenges. ACM promotes the performance and understanding of the music of living composers, many of whom are not yet well known, through concerts, recordings and community outreach.

Each week members of ACM and professionsl guest musicians from the Chicago area meet and conduct a prepared reading of a new piece of music, and post the recording onto its website (www.acmusic.org), as audio streaming. Composers send their music to ACm specifically for this project, called Weekly Readings.

Parts are handed out to players at least two weeks before the reading session and there is a short rehearsal before the recording equipment is turned on. While pieces in all styles are considered, those that require a conductor or extensive preparation do not become part of Weekly Readings although they may still be considere for performance on a live ACM concert.

ISB Partners with Accessible Contemporary Music