WELCOME
Hello
and welcome to my web-site! My name is Allan Bevan and I am a Canadian
composer, organist and choral conductor. I live in the Toronto area
and my great love is composing for choirs.Here you can find out about
my music,listen to recordings, and watch some video performances. There
is information on individual works and how you can obtain the music
from my publishers or your music retailer. There is a section on how
to go about commissioning me to write a new piece for you and how to
receive complimentary copies of works that you may be interested in
performing. There is a link to my "Composer Showcase" at the
Canadian Music
Centre where additional information and other items reside. Finally,
this is the place to ask questions or to just say hello. Please
contact me at: allanbevan@cogeco.ca
View
recent performances on YouTube
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Commissioning:
If
you are new to commissioning you might be asking yourself some of the
following questions:
How
do I find a composer who will write a work that my choir will enjoy
singing? How can I be sure that the composer will be sensitive to the
expertise and capabilities of my choir? How long does it take? How much
lead time is required? What will it cost? My choir is in Asia and we
want something in a language other than English.
Here
are some brief guidelines based on my experience that you may find helpful:
1)
Know that I will write the best piece I can for you whatever the circumstances.
I take a lot of pride in what I write and I do my best to match your
needs with my artistic sensibilities.
2)
Try to be flexible with the choice of text to be set as it is of the
foremost importance. My experience has taught me that if it is the right
text I can pretty much guarantee that your new piece will turn out well!
That's how important it is! I've never been happy with pieces that I've
composed on texts that don't speak to me, and chances are good that
you wouldn't be either. So consultation is good and it is useful to
have some ideas and alternatives in mind. I can suggest texts based
on your occasion too.
3)
Tell me about what your choir/ensemble does well and where/if there
are weaknesses. Be honest. If the work is for a specific occasion give
details as best you can. What kind (if any) of accompaniment is required?
4)
Length of time to compose the work varies depending on what you are
asking for and how many pieces with deadlines that I'm already committed
to. Obviously, a full-scale work for choir and orchestra is a different
animal than a three-minute unaccompanied work for unchanged voices.
I've composed successful works on rather short notice (beginning in
February for an April concert for example!) so always ask - the worst
thing that can happen is for me to tell you that I'm unable to take
it on!
5)
Fee is negotiable - I have a very simple contract -half the fee when
work begins is appreciated.
