Mission: Commission

How does classical music actually get made? Mission: Commission sets out to answer that question by starting at the very beginning - with the composers who write the music. The podcast follows the creative journey of three world-class composers, Augusta Read Thomas, Courtney Bryan, and Marcos Balter, as they compose new works for the show. Over a period of 6 weeks, listen as the pieces gradually take shape, from idea to final recording, and the composers reveal insights into how they work and think about music. Hosted by Melissa Smey, Artistic Director of Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York.Learn more at http://missioncommissionpodcast.com

An introduction to our composers: Augusta Read Thomas, Courtney Bryan, and Marcos Balter, as they begin their creative journey to compose a new piece of classical music in 6 weeks for Mission: Commission.  Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

Exploring how collaboration and improvisation are crucial to the creative process. Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

At some point in every creative journey, things slow down - or even fall apart. What that stage feels like, and sounds like for every composer is wildly different.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

The composers are deep in the zone, sifting through their ideas for the piece, and reflect on where those ideas come from.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

Still in the weeds, the composers grapple with how to shape the piece, and focus on the difficult task of balancing their inner composer with their inner editor.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

A look back at how the pieces came to life, and what happens next for our composers.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

The premiere of Courtney Bryan's Synchronicity. Performed by Andrae Murchison, trombone, and Courtney Bryan, piano. missioncommissionpodcast.com 

The premiere of Marcos Balter’s Omolu. Performed by harpist Parker Rasmsay.Missioncommissionpodcast.com

The premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s Enchanted Invocation and Bebop Riddle. Performed by percussionist John Corkill.Missioncommissionpodcast.com

How does classical music actually get made? In season 2, the podcast follows the creative journey of three world-class composers, Oscar Bettison, Vijay Iyer, and Kate Soper, as they compose new works and unpack their creative process in real time. Over a period of 6 weeks, listen as the very first ideas and notes grow and evolve into vibrant new pieces of music. Hosted by Melissa Smey, Artistic Director of Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York.Learn more at http://missioncommissionpodcast.com

An introduction to our composers—Oscar Bettison, Vijay Iyer, and Kate Soper—as they begin their creative journey to compose a new piece of classical music in 6 weeks for Mission: Commission. Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

Mission: Commission takes us into the inner worlds of our three composers so you can understand more about the real people making the music. We go deeper in understanding how each composer thinks as they document their process through audio diaries–sometimes words, sometimes music, sometimes both.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

To navigate the terrain of classical music, you need some trail markers, and that’s where form comes in. It’s the underlying structure of the way things happen in music. Composers today don’t always want to follow the age-old rules of form. How do our composers think about form as they work on their pieces?Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.  

The composers are deep in the work: writing, rewriting, tinkering with the myriad details that make the piece what it is, and what it will be. But what guides their decisions about how to shape the piece, or what direction to take it in?Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

The composers rehearse or prepare for rehearsal with the Parker Quartet, and the pieces start to come to life.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

As the creative journey comes to an end, we hear reflections on genre, and hear why these pieces defy categorization.Visit missioncommissionpodcast.com for a full listing of pieces, performers, and recordings included in this episode.

The premiere of Oscar Bettison's all keens and slow airs... . Performed by the Parker Quartet. Commissioned by Miller Theatre at Columbia University for the Mission: Commission podcast.Missioncommissionpodcast.com

The premiere of Vijay Iyer's Room for Ghosts. Performed by Vijay Iyer and the Parker Quartet. Commissioned by Miller Theatre at Columbia University for the Mission: Commission podcast.Missioncommissionpodcast.com

The premiere of Kate Soper's Telephone. Performed by Kate Soper and the Parker Quartet. Commissioned by Miller Theatre at Columbia University for the Mission: Commission podcast.Missioncommissionpodcast.com