The Happy Composer Commission Project
I created The Happy Composer Commission Project to support choral composers all around the world. Through this program, composers get a unique commissioning experience while connecting with advocates of new choral music. Upon completion, composers have a new piece with a video or audio recording and have received a series of advice about moving forward in their career.
“HCCP was a pivotal experience in my career! Carlos taught me so much about choral writing that I couldn’t learn from a book.” Anuj Bhutani, composer
What to expect?
The Choir gets the opportunity to commission and premiere 3 new pieces written specifically for them. The composers grant the choir the permission to duplicate the piece for performance as well as permission to perform and record the pieces (audio and video) in perpetuity. The choir has one year to premiere the piece upon delivery. After the performance, the piece will be available for others to perform.
“Working with Carlos in the HCCP was such a great experience! I learned so much along the way and gained confidence and inspiration from each conversation. Being a part of HCCP was a wonderful opportunity to write a piece that was meaningful for me, and the performance was better than I could have hoped for!” Ally Rose Czyzewicz, composer.
The Conductor will work along with Carlos Cordero, New Choral Music Advocate, and Composer, on the details of the commission. These details may include:
- Secular or Sacred Text
- Subject, language, author
- Vocal range, tessitura, length, tempo
- Difficulty level (divisi or no).
Current Collaborations!
I have had the pleasure to work with the following amazing composers and organizations. I hope you take some time in the future to check what we have created together. These organizations and composers are passionate about new choral music, and I am thankful to each one of them for trusting this project with their art.
Chorus Austin (Austin, TX) – Ryan Heller, Conductor
Composers Patrick Vu, Ally Rose Czyzewicz, David Last, Cooper Baldwin, Nicholas Kelly, Kayla Jessop, and Helder Alves de Oliveira.
“Sharing in the journey with Carlos Cordero and The Happy Composer Project has been an absolute joy. His work in partnering organizations with composers to commission new music is unparalleled, and we have been delighted with each piece we’ve had the pleasure to premiere. As passionate supporters of new music, Chorus Austin is proud to participate in this project, and looks forward to doing so well into the future!” Ryan Heller, conductor.
Inversion Ensemble (Austin, TX) – Trevor Shaw, Conductor
Composers Anuj Bhutani, Andrew Dyet, Rachel DeVore Fogarty, Germán Barboza, Stephen Ryan Jackson, and Alsu Nigmatullina.
Palmer Episcopal Church Choir (Houston, TX) – Brady, Conductor
Composers Maria Lord, and Jonathan Shaw.
“Carlos offered insightful comments that were extremely helpful to ensure the compositions remained professional, engaging, and most importantly, singable” Jonathan Shaw, Composer
The Happy Choir – Carlos Cordero, Founder.
Composers Christian Jesse, John Flannery, Patrick Fata, Evgeniya Kozhevnikova, and Jessie Leov.
