Commission
Dear Guests,
Hello and thank you for visiting the commission page. My name is Kathryn J. Potter and as an independent artist, I can compose music upon a commission basis for any voice or instrument in the orchestra - including classical guitar, harp, pipe organ and choir, solo instrument and up.
Obviously my specialty is the oboe, as well as flute, piano and voice as I have studied, taught and performed those as well.
Now, I treat brass like voice, percussion like my heart’s chambers and secrets well articulated and strings like water.
Simply put, composing music is my life’s calling which I’ve decided to answer, and music, it is pretty accurate to say, is my religion. The beauty of the earth and the mystery of the universe inform and inspire me.
From my perspective (which I recognize as being limited and filtered) there is only one subject in the universe and that is love. I believe that all of organic life is a manifestation of eternal love. I believe that we are all a part of this linear and vertical and mysterious multiverse. MUSIC fascinates me to no end and I feel that music holds the keys to many doors within this divine mystery. I choose to pursue love, harmony and beauty in the greatest sense possible via music, so I’m pretty grateful that somehow, I’ve been born with this music coming from within some mysterious place which I hear. I wish to share and contribute this beauty and welcome commissions in order to participate in the weaving of life in this way.
Since before I could walk and talk, I’ve been hearing music in my mind - not echos of what I’ve heard on the radio and external sources. At a very young age, I decided to dedicate my life to acquiring and cultivating the skills to write music down and share with others. So far, it’s been quite a pilgrimage in life, full of challenges and sacrifices, help, generosity and also beauty.
In order to compose a commission, we need to work out details such as instrumentation, length of performance time, skill level of performers, occasion, due date…, budget and more. The rates are guidelines, everything is negotiable - all things considered.
If I were commissioning a work or considering whom to commission, I’d want to ask the following questions from a composer:
Q: What significantly influences your skills and writing as a composer, apart from your conservatory education and study with musical masters?
A: * 10 years of classical ballet from ages 2 - 12,
* singing in choirs for many years in childhood,
* piano playing and receiving piano lessons for many years
* canoeing - up to grade 4 rapids and bird watching in childhood
* astronomy
* cooking…and eating!
* painting with guache
* sky gazing
* poetry - especially mystical poetry
* knitting
* theater
* horseback riding
* gardening and flowers
* watching trees grow and seasons change
Q: Which instruments do you deeply resonate with the most?
A: oboe, harp, horn, pipe organ, cello, timpani, choir
Q: If you could wake up tomorrow morning and be a master of any musical instrument what would it be?
A: Classical guitar - first of all, I really love the instrument, and it has it all - melody, harmony and rhythm plus you can hold it, carry it with you and it sounds SO beautiful. (I deeply admire anyone who can play it well. I have tried, and I have 10 thumbs!!! as far as I’m concerned - the oboe less difficult! )
Q: What do you wish to create to gift humanity with as a composer:
A: A comprehensive oboe pedagogy which cultivates the artist as well as the oboist, a comprehensive body of work for oboists to enjoy for an entire lifetime of oboe playing, a gorgeous ballet, a funny opera, “The Adventures of Persus” ballet - an orchestrated fairy tale which inspires and educates children about the instruments of the orchestra.
Thank you for visiting and if you have any questions yourself, just ask!
Best Regards,
KJP
April 2019
Current rates until Sept. 21, 2019
Simply put, rates are generally
$ 2,500. per 5 minutes for solo instrument.
$ 3,500. per 5 minutes for 2 instruments*
and add $1,000. per instrument per 5 minutes up to 13 voices.
*Please note that multi voiced and/or multi staff voiced instruments, such as classical guitar, harp, piano, pipe organ etc. will have a rate greater than a single solo line voice instrument.
Commissioned compositions are written in traditional classical notation, and are printed beautifully. Unless otherwise arranged in advance, K.J.P. maintains copyright and controls artistry albeit with utmost sensitivity to clearly expressed needs and all agreed upon terms in the contract, by K.J.P. and the commissioning party.
Wood Wind Quintet no. 2, IX Stages of Purification, by K.J. P. (sample of composition services) composed custom for, and performed by Quintetto Anemos, in a live premiere recording.
Filippo Mazzoli, flute; Marika Lombardi, oboe; Nicola Zuccalà, clarinet, Albin Lebossé, horn; Ivan Calestani, bassoon.
Contact Me Below to Begin a Commission
Current rates:
$ 2,500. per 5 minutes for solo instrument.
$ 3,500. per 5 minutes for 2 instruments*
and add $1,000. per instrument per 5 minutes up to 13 voices.
*Please note that multi voiced and/or multi staff voiced instruments, such as classical guitar, harp, piano, pipe organ etc. will have a rate greater than a single solo line voice instrument.
Rates apply until September 21, 2019 at which time, the rates may double.
There is a waiting list. Works commissioned before September 21, 2019 are “Grandmothered” with the old rate.
By contract only.
Additional Contact Information
Kathryn J. Potter, Oboe Brilliance Founder
info@kathrynpotter.com
kathrynjpotter@gmail.com
cell phone: (text is best) : 828 242 3765
SKYPE: kathryn.potter65
P.O. Box 1103
Asheville, N.C.
28802, USA