Steven Schwartz wrote:

>Mark Seeley, on his local classical station, WDAV:
>
>>My local classical music station, WDAV out of Davidson College, is
>>celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.  To mark the special occasion,
>>it commissioned a piece by North Carolina native, Russell Peck. ...
>
>Were the funds restricted to the commission?

Yes.

>In that case, WDAV must commission something.  How much did Peck charge and
>how long did it take him to write the work?

WDAV in written correspondence to me confirmed that they paid Peck a figure
between $10,000 & 20,000.

>Did he demand the money up front?

I don't know.  Probably.

>In this case, the station would have only to broadcast the recording.  Most
>composers spend their own money, I suspect. Most commissions do not cover
>expenses.

WDAV did broadcast it live.  NPRs Performance Today also recorded it and
then broadcasted it the next week, then WDAV rebroadcasted the NPR program
in which Martin Goldsmith interviewed Russel Peck.  Mention was made of
WDAV.

The station's philosophy is that this commissioned piece was a gift of
art for the community.  However, listener/donor funds were not used for
the commission.  Money seemed to be raised from large corporate sponsors.
Voice of The Woods was part of a program that included Beethoven's Lenore
III and Elgar's Violin Concerto.  Only the Peck piece appeared on NPR.

Did anyone on MCML hear that piece played on Performance Today last week?
Impressions?

Mark