The Portfolio Composer

Praised as "superb", "luscious-toned", "extraordinarily precise and expressive", and "dramatically committed and not averse to risk" by the New York Times, young American soprano Sharon Harms is known for fearless performances and passionate interpretations of works new and old for the concert and operatic stage.

Sharon has premiered the music of some of today's leading and up-and-coming composers and her repertoire spans a versatile spectrum of periods and styles. A wide array of collaborations have put Ms. Harms in venues around the world. She has sung with Alter Ego Ensemble, Baroque Band of Chicago, Center for Contemporary Opera, Da Capo Chamber Players, East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Mise-en, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Signal, New Chamber Ballet, New Fromm Players, Orchestra of the League of Composers, Pueblo Symphony Orchestra, Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Slee Sinfonietta, Southwest Chamber Ensemble, and Third Coast Percussion. She is also a member of the Argento Ensemble.

Ms. Harms has appeared as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, and as a guest artist at June in Buffalo, Los Angeles International New Music Festival, Radcliffe Institute, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Wellesley Composer's Conference & Chamber Music Workshops, American Academy in Rome, and Resonant Bodies Festival.

Recording projects include a 2013 Latin Grammy nomination for Gabriela Ortiz' Aroma Foliado with Southwest Chamber Ensemble, and a CD of new vocal works by Louis Karchin with Da Capo Chamber Players on Bridge Records. She will also be featured on various forthcoming recordings of new pieces by William Bolcom, John Eaton, Jesse Jones, Lowell Liebermann, and Charles Wuorninen.

Recent projects and performances include the premiere of John Eaton's The End of It with Eighth Blackbird and the Pacifica Quartet, Mendelssohn's Elijah with baritone Nathan Gunn and the Notre Dame Sacred Music program, and Charles Wuorinen's cantata It Happens Like This with the MET Chamber Ensemble under James Levine. This summer, Ms. Harms appeared in a workshop of a new opera, The Artwork of the Future, with composer Eric Moe, librettist Rob Handel, and New Dramatists. She will also be featured in Jesse Jones' new opera, Martin Eden, for a DVD release made possible by the Guggenheim Foundation.

Ms. Harms studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with Carol Vaness. During her time there she was the inaugural recipient of the Georgina Joshi Graduate Fellowship made possible by the generous gifts of the Georgina Joshi Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Indiana University.

In this episode Sharon discusses how composers can best write for the voice and what they need to know.

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Bob Lord is a producer, composer, bassist and CEO of PARMA Recordings, the New Hampshire-based audio production house and parent company of the Navona, Ravello, and Big Round Records label imprints.

Formed in 2008 to present contemporary classical, jazz, experimental music and more, PARMA features work by artists such as GRAMMY Award winners Richard Stoltzman, Timothy McAllister, and New York Polyphony, Pulitzer Prize winners Yehudi Wyner, Lewis Spratlan and Donald Martino, former New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, and Pete Townshend of The Who, among others.  The company’s music can be heard in products and projects from ABC, CBS, Microsoft, C-SPAN, HBO, Nintendo, Showtime, PBS, and more.

In 1996 he co-founded the acclaimed recording and touring experimental rock trio Dreadnaught (described by a reviewer as “Zappa meets Yes at Willie Nelson’s BBQ”) and since 2005 has been the Music Director for the public radio series Writers on a New England Stage.  As of 2015, he has more than 400 recording and production credits on his resume.

In this episode Bob discusses how composers can best market themselves and the importance of rights management.

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Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq. founded J.A. Williams Law P.C. – The Artist Empowerment Firm in 2011 to provide artists and entrepreneurs with ways to successfully navigate their careers and provide assistance with business, entertainment and intellectual property matters. She founded Artist Empowerment Group in 2013 to advise artists on business, branding and marketing. Some of her clients have written best-selling books, reached the Billboard Top 100, and been nominated for Grammys. She’s been featured in Marie TV, The Vocalist Magazine, Women In Music, ReverbNation, CDBaby and The New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal.

In this episode Jo-Ná discusses the importance of taking the business of your art seriously and what you can do to ensure success.

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"This interview is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice of any kind. Jo-Ná Williams and J.A.Williams Law, P.C. assumes no liability for use or interpretation of any information contain in this interview. This interview should not be an alternative to obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state based on the specific facts of your legal matter. Jo-Na Williams is licensed to practice law in the State of New York only."

Dave Hall is a versatile songwriter and composer who writes in several different styles, from acoustic/singer-songwriter, to country, musical theater, contemporary classical, and even Middle Eastern. Known for his witty and poetic lyrcis, Hall has released several CDs to critical acclaim. His music has been placed in television, film and theater. Originally from the Hudson River Valley in New York, he lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

In this episode Dave discusses how composers can build confidence and how to fight fear and doubt.

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In 2003, after 20 years as a successful business consultant, Aprille threw away her corporate suit to work with creative entrepreneurs. Today she helps them leverage the power of story for sales and marketing so they create honest connections and build successful businesses. Her clients achieve success doing what they love while making a great living. She is a small business mentor, speaker, author and podcast host of The Bolder Business Podcast.

You can access Aprille's course, The Story Project: A New Way to Attract Clients, here: The Story Project.

In this episode Aprille discusses how composers can write better and more compelling biographies. She also reveals the the elements of a story and great questions help you begin to craft a more engaging and thoughtful bio.

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In this episode's Engraver's Minute Nels teaches us about system and page breaks. You can read more and see examples at the Engraver's Minute website.

Gregory W. Brown lives and works in Western Massachusetts. He holds degrees from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music (University of Georgia), Westminster Choir College, and Amherst College, where he studied with the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan. His recent commissions for vocal ensemble New York Polyphony have been heard on American Public Media’s Performance Today, BBC Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, Kansas Public Radio, and Danish National Radio; his Missa Charles Darwin received its European debut in March 2013 at the Dinosaur Hall of Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde. Brown was named the 2015 winner of the Boston Choral Ensemble‘s Commission Competition.

In this episode Gregory discusses what it looks like doing music full-time and more.

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Considered “highly imaginative…with big ideas” (Baltimore Sun) and “stirring and uplifting” (Miami Herald), award-winning composer Jake Runestad (b. 1986) has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and organizations such as Washington National Opera, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Virginia Arts Festival, the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Craig Hella Johnson and the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble, Spire Chamber Ensemble, and the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. Dubbed a “choral rockstar” by American Public Media, Jake is one of the most frequently performed composers in the U.S.A. and travels extensively to work with ensembles as a clinician and resident composer. Jake Runestad holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. Prior to graduate school, he studied privately with acclaimed composer Libby Larsen. A native of Rockford, IL, Mr. Runestad currently lives in Minneapolis, MN and his music is published by Boosey & Hawkes and JR Music.

In this episode Jake discusses the value of learning from other composers, as well as:

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This episode’s Engraver’s Minute topic is staff sizes. You can see examples on the ND Music Edition website.

Peter DiMuro has woven a career as a choreographer, director, teacher, facilitator and arts practitioner/engager, touring and teaching internationally from Honk Kong to Pigeon Forge, TN. His Peter DiMuro Performance Associates and his fifteen-year collaboration, including 5 years as Artistic Director, with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange laid the foundation for his current creative umbrella, Public Displays of Motion, a company that develops and performs artistic works and cultivates dance/arts literacy, advocacy and engagement. Peter is also the Executive Director of The Dance Complex, a seven-studio and theatre center for dance in Cambridge, MA.

In this episode Peter discusses speed dating and collaborating with composers.

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Rusty Banks is a composer/guitarist born in Jasper, Alabama and living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His compositions have been performed in China, Taiwan, France, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Mexico, and throughout the United States. Besides writing concert music for ballet, orchestra, wind ensemble, and other acoustic ensembles, Rusty designs pieces that use traditional performers, user-end electronics, and video within dynamic audio/video installations.

In 2011, Rusty was listed as one of the 100 composers under 40 whose music is “shaping our contemporary musical scene and defining what it means to be a composer in the 21st century.”

As a guitarist, Rusty is an often called upon interpreter of new works for the concert guitar. In addition to modern works, Rusty has performed much of the traditional solo repertoire as well as concerti with Lincoln Symphony, the Third Chair Chamber Players, Doane Orchestra, and others.

Besides composing and performing, Rusty teaches guitar and other music courses at Franklin and Marshall College and Millersville University.

In this episode Rusty discusses how composers can and should be giving people experiences when they come to concerts. Other topics covered include:

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The music of Michael Torke has been called "some of the most optimistic, joyful and thoroughly uplifting music to appear in recent years" (Gramophone). Hailed as a "vitally inventive composer" (Financial Times) and "a master orchestrator whose shimmering timbral palette makes him the Ravel of his generation" (New York Times), Michael Torke has created a substantial body of works in virtually every genre.

In this episode Michael goes deep on synesthesia, intellectual pursuits, writing music for self-glory, being debt free, process, failure, commissions, and more!

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This episode’s Engraver’s Minute topic continues the discussion of fonts. You can see examples on the ND Music Edition website.