In a time when new music is becoming increasingly influenced by consumer demand and publishers can no longer guarantee that a piece will sell, composers of organ music are facing a frighteningly grim future. There are a small number of well established composers enjoying the freedom to write and publish almost anything they desire, but there are many more lesser-known composers (often writing for themselves) who have little or no chance of ever seeing their music in print. After all, the publishing houses of today work in more or less the same way as in the past, acting as agents for new works and distributing the scores. However, it is invariably the consumer who ultimately dictates the nature of works available by affecting sales statistics.

The modern world has revolutionised the way music is distributed. Access to the internet, basic notation software and a photocopier are essentially the main ingredients necessary to make any new piece of music available. Self-publication has therefore become increasingly more common among those who are able to produce high quality scores for themselves, but the art of promoting one's own work is something which does not come so easily.

Organ repertoire is a minority in the world of classical music, and the number of people who actually play (or would even buy) a piece of modern organ music by a composer they have never heard of, are even fewer. It comes as no surprise to discover that if the chances of selling a score are slim, then a publisher will simply not be interested. I was curious to discover, nevertheless, that certain well known publishers will consider new works for publication if they have already received positive reviews; but after approaching some renowned magazines and journals it soon became clear that reviews would only be written if a new work was already published. If the problem lies in the market then there needs to be a larger audience for new pieces, and performers should have a better knowledge of the overall state of organ composition worldwide. Finding suitable repertoire poses problems when so much music is only available overseas in currencies other than our own. The ideal situation would be to provide a single place where performers could search for new works, and composers could exchange ideas and push boundaries to uphold the integrity of the art.

These ideals form the basis of the Annual festival of New Organ Music (AFNOM) which offers a unique, fresh approach to promoting contemporary music and is being launched in London this October. AFNOM has been set up to address these most common difficulties by providing a series of "Exhibition-Concerts" at which all the featured compositions are for sale. This exciting new venture brings together composers, performers and audiences to hear and enjoy the best in new music for organ. Each event exclusively features contemporary organ music (many first performances) played by the composers themselves or a selected interpreter, providing composers with an outlet through which they can efficiently promote their own work by meeting with their audience and selling scores. Furthermore, public debates have been scheduled to involve composers and performers in discussions over matters related to modern organ composition.

How it works

Each year, composers of any age or nationality are invited to submit works written for organ, irrespective of whether they are recently composed or were written some time ago. Selected works are programmed into "Exhibition-Concerts" for which the programme-booklet is effectively a catalogue: including composers'biographies, detailed descriptions of each work and their prices! For those who don't feel up to performing their own pieces, the festival allows composers to nominate their own choice of performer or to request one (the organ departments of both the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music involve their students in each event, giving them the chance to develop a contemporary repertoire and be heard in public). Sound-clips of the featured works, which are being professionally recorded for this purpose, are downloadable from the festival website following each event, and anyone wishing to purchase a score (from anywhere in the world) simply visits the website, is able to read details of the programme and follows links to the relevant information. Self-published composers are at a huge advantage in that all proceeds from the sale of scores benefit them directly (as the festival does not take any form of commission) and published composers have their publishers details listed instead.

The overwhelming response to the announcement of this year's festival has lead to Exhibition-Concerts being planned for next year in cities outside the UK as well as in London, broadening the scope of live events and allowing more composers to attend the performance of their music. A large number of applications were received from all over Europe, Scandinavia and the US, and the festival organisers have tried to produce a well balanced programme at the same time as including as many works as possible. Some pieces that could not be accommodated in this year's events may be included next year and will help determine the number of Exhibitions being held.

The composers There are seventeen composers featuring in this years programme from Finland, Holland, America and Great Britain. Some of these composers are well known figures in their native lands while the rest are largely self-published professional musicians. Within the programme there is a great breadth of style and idiom, many contrasting voices and a real sense of cultural diversity, ranging from other-worldly textures of the north to black Afro-American music.

The instruments

The festival will use two of the most significant instruments in London for its Exhibition-Concerts: the original 1883 "Father" Willis organ in St Dominic's Priory (Haverstock Hill) and the newly restored 1963 Walker organ in St John the Evangelist (Islington). Both instruments possess an exceptional sound and are housed in magnificent buildings, providing a suitable space in which the music can be heard at its best. The differences between them clearly demonstrate how new music should be equally suited to an historic instrument with average compass and specification, as it is to a larger modern instrument.

The first two Exhibition-Concerts in London will be on Saturday 7th and Saturday 14th October, and both will be preceded by pubic discussions on organ composition today. Additionally, there will be three 'new music' concerts at Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and St. Dominic's Priory. Full details of the programmes, times and venues can be found on the festival website www.afnom.org and admission to all events is free.

Timetable

Annual Festival of New Organ Music
First Festival: London 7th - 20th October 2006

EXHIBITIONS (Scores of all featured compositions are for sale)

Saturday 7th October at 19:30
St. Dominic's Priory, Southampton Road NW5
Music by Olli Kortekangs, Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, Jouko Linjama, Willem van Twillert, Martin Stacey, Cecilia McDowall, Jyrki Linjama & Neil Wright.

Public discussion/debate on contemporary organ composition at 16:00 in the Blackfriars Hall, St Dominic's Priory, Southampton Road NW5

Saturday 14th October at 19:30
St. John the Evangelist, Duncan Terrace, Islington, N1
Music by Jan Mikael Vainio, Juha T. Koskinen, Thomas Hyde, Timothy Craig Harrison, Iain Quinn, Wallace Cheatham, Thomas McLelland-Young & Paavo Heininen.

Public discussion/debate on contemporary organ composition at 16:00 in the crypt of St John the Evangelist, Duncan Terrace, Islington N1

CONCERTS

Sunday 8th October at 16:45
David Aprahamian Liddle plays at Westminster Cathedral

Sunday 15th October at 17:45
Ashley Grote plays at Westminster Abbey

Friday 20th October at 19:30
Martin Stacey plays at St. Dominic's Priory

Entry to all events is free
Full details on the Festival Website