Daniel Felsenfeld is a composer of operas, orchestral music, liturgical music, solo works, vocal chamber music and song cycles, chamber music, and even arrangements for the occasional pop or hip-hop act. As a pathological reader, he collaborates as often as possible with living writers, creating works that are literary, theatrical, and that run from the extremely adult in content to pieces for children.

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Composer Daniel Felsenfeld discusses the portfolio life and how to make it work as a freelancing composer.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Sharon Harms
• Adult-content opera
• Richard Strauss, "To be a composer is to oversee your own world of beauty."
• Pushing boundaries
• Musical pluralism
• Listening in secret
• Understanding different musical expressions
• Freelancing
• Making it work
• Weird things happen in freelancing
• Hustling
• Not winning grants & awards
• Whitney George
• Curiosity Cabinet
• Music on the fringe
• Paying the bills
• Multiple sources of income—a portfolio life
• Doing four things to make ends meet
• Making a living
• Entrepreneurship
• Making quality music is the first priority
• There is no general audience
• Being professional
• Helping others
• New Music Gathering

Website:

• www.daniel-felsenfeld.com
• www.newmusicgathering.org

Recommended Listening:

• Ludwig van Beethoven, Missa Solemnis
• Samuel Barber, First Essay for Orchestra, Op. 12
• Louis Andriessen, De Stijl

Recommended Reading:

• Katharina Mrak, The Method: An Overview of Acting Theory According to Konstantin S. Stanislawski and Lee Strasberg

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