Bulletin Fall 2005
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Harry Freedman: A Lifetime of Accomplishment
(written for the 50th Anniversary of the CLC)
The CLC at Massey Hall: For me the most memorable event of the early years of the League was our first orchestral concert at Massey Hall. It was played by the Toronto Symphony, believe it or not, conducted by Geoffrey Waddington who at that time was head of music at the CBC. I can’t remember how on earth we managed to raise enough money to hire the TSO, but we did! I have an idea the CBC had a great deal to do with it thanks to Geoff Waddington’s influence as one of the CBC “originals”. There was an air of excitement leading up to the concert; although we had been presenting chamber music concerts since the inception of the League, this was our first venture into “the big time” – a concert by a real professional orchestra. For me, there was added excitement in the fact that one of my compositions was on the program – Nocturne I, my first orchestral composition as a professional composer. Well, maybe not exactly professional, but no longer a student either. Furthermore, as a member of the orchestra, I was looking forward to playing an entire concert of my colleague’s music instead of the usual overture-concerto-symphony format.
The concert was well attended and well received. Although my Nocturne I is obviously a very early work, I have kept it largely because of the associations with that first orchestra concert.
Harry Freedman passed away Sept. 16, 2005 in Toronto. One of the founders of the CLC, Freedman was President of the CLC from 1975 to 1978.
Birthday Tribute for Gerhard Wuensch
When interviewing prospective Faculty of Music students at the University of Western Ontario during the 1980s and 90s, frequently I would inquire whether the auditioner had performed any Canadian music; many seemingly had not (or if they had, they could not recall the composer’s name)—for those to whom a name came to mind, that name was frequently Gerhard Wuensch.
What makes these “pedagogical” works attractive is their idiomatic suitability to the instrument, and an appealing freshness coupled with elegant craftmanship. Gerhard Wuensch’s fluency at the keyboard has left its legacy in these (as well as other) works.
Although one resists attempting to link biography to artistic work, perhaps Gerhard’s harrowing experiences during World War II, his subsequent post doctoral Fulbright studies at the University of Texas, his quick wit and his teaching career at Butler University and the Universities of Toronto, Calgary and Western Ontario all contributed to the breadth of his keyboard, vocal, choral and instrumental output. Laus Sapientiae (In Praise of Wisdom, 1978), a cantata for orchestra, soloists, choir, brass and organ—perhaps his magnum opus—was commissioned through the Canada Council for the 100th anniversary of the University of Western Ontario and attracted admiring comments from Nicolas Slonimsky. (This writer regrets that Western did not revive this work for its recent 125th anniversary).
One dares to hope that at least some of those performing organizations already planning a plethora of Mozart for 2006 might (also) program works by another Austrian born composer, Gerhard Wuensch, who has been a Canadian citizen since 1980 and will will celebrate his 80th birthday this coming December 23rd.
- Jack Behrens
Copyright
The Canadian League of Composers is a member of the Creators’ Copyright Coalition (CCC), a lobby group comprised of national associations, unions and collectives representing individual artists. The CCC meets monthly to discuss matters that affect the livelihood of Canadian creators. In the past year, a great deal of attention has been focused on lobbying the federal government to consider the interests of creators in its current reform of the Copyright Act. In June, the government tabled Bill C-60, its first of three rounds of legislation to amend the Act. Copyright reform is the joint responsibility of Industry Canada and the Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Recreation. On July 7, 2005, the Creators’ Copyright Coalition met with three representatives from Industry Canada to discuss the tabled amendments and the content of subsequent copyright reform legislation. Composers were very well represented at this meeting; there were two representatives from the Canadian Guild of Film Composers, one from the Songwriters Association of Canada, Elisabeth Bihl, Executive Director of the Canadian Music Centre, and myself. The first round of copyright amendments tackled large-scale issues, such as Internet Service Provider liability and copyright in photographic works. None of the tabled amendments affected Western art music composers as composers. Consequently, I was more interested in finding out from the Industry Canada representatives what would be included in subsequent copyright reform legislation. In particular, I wanted to know if the inequality of bargaining power between individual creators and publishers would be addressed. I wanted them to consider adding a right of reversion to the Copyright Act to protect creators, especially authors and composers, when their works go out of print or their publishing company goes bankrupt or is sold. Unfortunately, the Industry Canada representatives were not at all receptive to this idea. They felt a right of reversion should be contracted for, not statutorily mandated.
Because the government does not seem inclined to provide the assurances composers need when negotiating with publishers, every composer should include in EVERY contract with a publisher a clause that grants the composer a right of reversion of the copyright in the work after a specific period of non-use. Such a clause could be worded as follows:
Right of Reversion of Copyright
Ownership of the copyright in _____________ (work) automatically reverts back to the composer, __________ (name), after ____________ years (for example, five years) of non-use by the publisher, ______________ (name). For the purposes of reversion of the copyright to the composer, the term “non-use” means “not in publication.” The reason for non-use is inconsequential and does not impact in any way on the automatic reversion of the copyright to the composer after the specified number of years.
The CCC had a meeting on August 25 with representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Recreation.
Karen Dawson, CLC Legal Intern
How the CLC Works For You
Report on the Meeting of May 28, 2005
The Executive of the Canadian League of Composers convened for the entire day of May 28 of this year. A number of significant issues were raised, issues that affect both the present status and the future careers of our members. If you have been wondering about the benefits of League membership, here is a sampling from our most recent meeting.
The League has been busy gathering information and acting upon it. For example, a helpful tool for organizations like ours is the Status of the Artist Act which deals with relations between artists and producers in Canada. More information on this Act can be found at:
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/S-19.6/
The Act works through a Tribunal that decides which groups can represent the rights of artists, including bargaining rights. Authorized groups can then come up with a scale of fees, pensions—compensations of any kind—for a particular sector. With the help of our summer Legal Intern, Karen Dawson, the League has put together an excellent application to the Tribunal requesting that the CLC be designated to represent Canadian Composers in negotiations with producers of our music. This would put the League on the same kind of footing as the American Federation of Musicians who negotiate things like musicians’ pensions, and should ultimately greatly strengthen the negotiating ability of the League and extend this negotiating ability beyond the domain of commissioning rates. And to prepare for this new status, we will be appointing an Orchestras Canada Officer from the executive to start thinking about ways in which the League can improve the working relationship between our members and Canadian orchestras. Think of the potential benefits—a set scale of honoraria for pre-concert talks, for instance, or a set minimum rehearsal time for new Canadian works—these are some of the things that the League would be able to negotiate as your official representatives.
Another example of the League at work is our response to an Information Session offered by the CBC to inform interested parties about the results of their Arts and Culture Research Study. Micheline Roi attended this session, and reported back that the study results are cause for concern. The CBC has ascertained that there is a demographic “doughnut”—the age group 15-34 does not generally listen to CBC. One of the ways the CBC may choose to attract these younger listeners is by increasing programming “relevance”, which may mean a greater emphasis on popular music and entertainment. In the discussion of Roi’s report, executive members pointed out the danger of the CBC’s original mandate being overlooked in favour of sheer audience numbers. Roi is spearheading a CLC dialogue with the CBC on this matter. The League is determined that as stakeholders, Canadian composers should have a strong voice in programming policy.
The League keeps abreast of developments in other Canadian composer organizations such as the Canadian Music Centre, the Association of Canadian Women Composers, and the International Society for Contemporary Music. Executive Member Paul Steenhuisen was able to report on the positive results of the change in the way works are selected for submission to the ISCM. Also, the CD recordings of all the works submitted to the ISCM for consideration of programming have been very widely distributed helping to enhance the profile of Canadian composers and Canadian music at the ISCM World Music Days. The League also maintains links with performing organizations such as Orchestras Canada, the American Federation of Musicians, the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, and Performance Creation Canada. Janet Danielson also represented the League at the SOCAN Annual General Meeting in May, raising questions during the meeting and speaking afterward with Victor Davies, the Classical Music Representative on the SOCAN Board. The SOCAN Foundation has been a major ally and supporter of the League, but it is nonetheless difficult to convince the non-classical composers and songwriters that the performing rights royalties for “classical” composers are far too low. Composers who want to see their royalties increased are invited to make their case to Victor Davies c/o SOCAN.
The executive discussed how League Commission Rates are being undermined by the recent practice by some orchestras of offering young composers a token amount to write a very short work. John Burge is writing to the orchestras involved in order to enforce League rates.
Web presence is becoming more important, and the CLC website is being upgraded. Possibilities for improvement include searchable newsletters, online payment of membership dues, and a message centre to increase accessibility.
Last but never least on our meeting agenda were membership applications. Scores and recordings were thoughtfully examined by the whole Executive and recommendations made. The question of membership criteria is also being addressed, as our application to Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal requires that criteria be carefully formulated.
These are only a sample of the many ways in which the Canadian League of Composers works on your behalf. Your membership fees are a great investment in future benefits for all Canadian composers.