Spontaneous Combustion New Music Festival,

About the event

Spontaneous Combustion New Music Festival is an exciting new model for the presentation of contemporary art music. Seven groups from New York City and Boston, specializing in new music performance, will make a 10 day tour of the West Coast, from Seattle to Los Angeles. In each of the 10 cities, there is a concert every other day for 2 weeks.

One of the festival's missions is to cultivate an appreciation for this art form and build audience awareness. Besides relying on the incredible live performances of the artists, the festival will be using gamification methods to increase audience engagement by offering prizes to those who attend concerts and complete online tasks in between concerts. The games will be designed to improve their understanding and appreciation of classical music in general, and contemporary classical music in particular.

Another aspect of the festival which is unique for those in the field, is that the compositions will receive multiple performances, over the course of the 10 days. More often than not, this music is presented just once and, by necessity, under-rehearsed. By performing these complex works of art multiple times, the performers are able to take them to a level of mastery and familiarity rarely heard. It will be a real treat for those already familiar with the art form.

There has been a trend in recent years to bring art music out of the academic university-based arena and into more accessible venues to reach a broader audience. Spontaneous Combustion will continue this trend, with concerts booked in community centers, churches, art galleries and other spaces easily accessed by the local community. Tickets are reasonably priced to attract those who might be on the fence about trying something new.

Why should you sponsor?

Spontaneous Combustion is a paradigm shifting approach to presenting contemporary classical music. Because of this, it was easy to recruit world-class musicians to perform. They all recognized that this is something new, different, and exciting.

Unfortunately, most grant opportunities are not available to new organizations. Since they require track records of 1-3 years prior programming, the festival will only be successful because of the sponsors and advertisers. We are going to make this very clear to our audience in a variety of ways, and it will definitely make our sponsors and advertisers look like superheroes.

Also, by sponsoring Spontaneous Combustion, you will be showing audience attendees, as well as web site visitors, that you want to be part of a groundbreaking new model. And you will be connecting to them with your understanding of the importance of the arts in our communities.

Scott Shell

Hello,

My name is Scott Anthony Shell. I have been involved with music most of my life, and have owned and operated several successful businesses. I earned a bachelor degree in music composition from DePaul University in Chicago, my home town. I recently picked up composition again, in 2014, and have been following my passion to create a vehicle to help nurture the appreciation of contemporary classical music.

My composer web site is http://www.ScottAnthonyShell.com and there is a more exhaustive bio page on that site.

In the 90's I owned an indie rock record label that released 25 CD's in 6 years. I was steeped in all aspects of the music scene, including booking and promoting. It is this experience that I draw upon for confidence which I now apply towards Spontaneous Combustion.

I am incredibly focused, detail-oriented, and hard-working. I love life, art, reading, hiking, traveling, being in nature, and music. I am currently learning to play piano, and I am fluent in Spanish, having been to South America (Peru and Ecuador) several times.

Currently I am residing on the West Coast, traveling to the cities in which the festival will be taking place. I am available to meet with you by phone, or in person, if we happen to be in the same town.

 

 

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