CONSORTIUM FOR DOUBLE BASS SEXTET
Composer: Finola Merivale
Lead Commissioner: Evan Runyon
Exciting news!
Evan Runyon is leading a consortium to commission a brand new work by Finola Merivale. This one-movement, 15–20 minute piece will be scored for SIX double basses! Modular in design, its six parts will be pre-recorded and can be performed with as many as all six, or as few as one, depending on the size of the musical forces available. As part of the consortium, Evan is kindly recording the individual parts for each commissioner’s use.
The new work will be quite the rager, inspired by the shocking statistics (and the composer’s own experience) regarding how many women are disbelieved by medical professionals in healthcare settings, which leads to mis-diagnoses, severe trauma and worse. The music will be dense and cacophonous, with tremolos and clusters aplenty. Some fun grooves, too!
About Finola:
Finola is a composer from Ireland, based in Manhattan. She has just completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University, where she studied with George Lewis, Georg Friedrich Haas, Zosha Di Castri and Marcos Balter. Her recent virtual reality opera, As an nGnách/Out of the Ordinary was commissioned by Irish National Opera and won the international 2021 Fedora Digital Prize. Her debut album, Tús, was released by New Focus Recordings in June 2022, to critical acclaim. It was recorded by her close collaborators, Desdemona. In January 2023, she was named by the Washington Post as a “composer to watch in 2023.”
About Evan:
Evan Runyon is a multi-instrumentalist and composer in New York, active in traditional and modern media with a repertoire spanning six centuries. He has performed and/or recorded with Klangforum Wien, Talea Ensemble, The Knights, International Contemporary Ensemble, Metropolis Ensemble and Ensemble Signal; Raphael Saadiq, Wye Oak, Emily Wells, Thundercat and Slipknot; Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Luís Enrique and Hector del Curto; Chris Potter, Brian Lynch and Phil Woods.
Consortium Dates and Rates:
Consortium is open until October 31st 2023.
Score and parts will be delivered to all consortium members on or before January 31st 2024
Recorded parts for solo and smaller group performances will be delivered by May 1st 2024
Professionals: $200/€180 buy-in*
Student rate: $50/€45 buy-in*
*Accessibility is important and we don’t want for there to be a financial barrier for anyone who wants to be involved. Please get in touch if you cannot afford the listed prices and we will make something work! Equally, if you can afford to add extra for further support, your donation makes it possible for others to be involved.
Commissioners’ Perks:
Your name listed as commissioner in the score
Score and parts
Worldwide performance exclusivity for 18 months (until July 31st 2024)
Recording rights and exclusivity for two years (until January 31st 2025), with fees waived
Delivery of mixed & mastered parts for solo performances. Evan will record each track in surround sound and provide both a Music Minus One-style file and a Logic file, with each track soloed (so you can choose which part you want to perform live).
How to Join:
Send payment to Evan Runyon (if you’re based in the USA) or Finola Merivale (if you’re based outside the USA). You can send to Evan Runyon via Venmo (@Evan-Runyon) or Zelle (evan@evanrunyon.com ). For international commissioners, please email Finola directly at finola@finolamerivale.com to organize payment.
Any questions? Email Evan (evan@evanrunyon.com) or Finola (finola@finolamerivale.com) and we will be in touch!
Final step: Spread the word with all of your double bass friends! :)
THANK YOU TO THE CURRENT CONSORTIUM MEMBERS:
Will Yager
Christie Echols