NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 08/14/2009 - Music Academy Online has just launched “Symphony of a Million.” This 6-month campaign is a commissioning project that brings together composers, performers, and the general public.

The goal is to sell 1 million notes. Purchased notes will be used in not just one single million note work, but rather many new works. Composers will work with performers and compose pieces of varying lengths. The first work to be written will be a 1000 note work for solo marimba composed by Music Academy Online founder, Dave Schwartz, and written for percussionist Nobue Matsuoka. The second work will be a 4000 note composition for saxophone and harp and it will be composed by Anthony Lanman who will be working with saxophonist Dr. Noah Getz and harpist Jacqueline Pollauf who perform together as the duo Pictures on Silence.

A premier concert featuring all of the works created from the 1 million-note total is planned for May 18, 2011, the anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s death. Mahler’s 8th Symphony is popularly referred to as the “Symphony of a Thousand” due to the expansive forces used in the work. Gustav Mahler is famous for having said, “A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything.” David Schwartz thinks that the “Symphony of a Million” project parallels Mahler’s sentiments in that “the music will contain everything, the listener, the composer, and the performer who all contribute to the creative process for creating new music.”

Everyone who buys a note will have the opportunity to see where and how his or her notes contributed to the creation of music. “In fact,” says Schwartz, “each score will include an appendix so that purchasers can find their notes in the score. Their names will be indelibly linked to that particular piece of music for all of time. One friend of mine from Great Britain is getting together with his friends to raise money and buy a large number of notes that they will then dedicate to a loved one who recently passed away. I can’t think of a better memorial than music.”

Along with Anthony Lanman and Dave Schwartz, participating composers include Andrew Rudin, Michael Schelle, and Alex Shapiro. As the note count climbs they will be commissioned to work with performers and ensembles.

Other performers who will have commissioned works prepared for them include pianists David Phillips and Alessandro Marangoni.

“I have always been baffled and quite frankly, frustrated, when I learn of dinners in which politicians raise millions of dollars for a campaign. If we could just use a few of those dinners to raise money for various causes, imagine what is possible? With the ‘Symphony’ project the money will not only pay for more than a few composers commissions and more than a few performances by different ensembles, it also can serve as an example of what can be done if 1 million people spend 3 minutes spending $1.”

Schwartz goes on to say that this is going to be very much like the old adage about teaching a man to fish and he has food for life. “If we can meet our goal of 1 million notes the future is very bright and Music Academy Online looks forward to being a friendly and reliable resource for composers, musicians, and audiences everywhere…. there is nothing I like doing more than helping someone find a new piece of music to fall in love with.”

Agency / Source: Music Academy Online, Inc.

Availability: All Regions (Including Int'l)

Traffic Booster: [/] Quick Newswire Today Visibility Checker

Distribution / Indexing: [+]