Sigma Alpha Iota

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES FORUM continued from page 15 Mason, another founding member of the Forum, dressed up like a crocodile, and Steve Paulus played his guitar and sang 'Crocky Mountain High.'   But truthfully, education and children were not on our minds or central to our activities back then." On February 25, 1975, the student organization took a bold step: articles of incorporation were filed to launch the organization as an entity outside the university's confines. As of March 19, 1975, it was official: and the young composers had an organization to run. Early Projects, Early Funding In the mid 1970's, Larsen's and Paulus roles at the Forum developed organically, according to their complimentary skills and interests. Larsen did a lot of the public relations work and organizing of concerts. Paulus fell just as naturally into fundraising. "We found out about a thing called the City Arts Board, and we applied for a grant," recalls Paulus." We asked for $1,675 – and we got it. Oh my God – that seemed a huge sum at the time." Early in 1976, the Forum issued a call for singers interested in participating in a "Sacred Forum" event scheduled for March 16th that year at St. Mark's Cathedral in Minneapolis. "At first this was a motley group of composers who sang each other's sacred works," recalls Barnett. "Later some real singers were added to the mix.  Singing in that group was a wonderful opportunity to learn what it actually feels like to tackle a brand new piece of choral music – it certainly gave me more empathy with choral performers." In 1977, Paulus remembers going with Larsen to visit the Dayton Hudson Foundation to discuss a grant proposal. "We went to show them our budget, but the woman we met with there, Linda Hoeschler, said 'That's great. But you're supposed to have an income side in addition to an expense side.' All we had down was how much money we needed," Paulus recalled with a laugh. "Fortunately, she didn't send us packing. She sort of helped us rewrite the entire grant, because we were such novices. Novices," he adds, "but novices with chutzpah." "They came asking for $2,000," Hoeschler remembers. "I told them to ask for $20,000 or they'd never get off the ground." Ask for the $20,000 they did, and they got the 16 PAN PIPES WINTER 2011 sai-national.org We learned how to talk to people who did not call themselves musicians, who didn't study music in college, who didn't know the technical terminology. We learned to talk to them about composing – the energy of composing, what it's about. Sigma Sigma initiate and Member Laureate Libby Larsen At left, unusual percussion at a 1977 Forum concert at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis. At right, The Forum's "Sonic Safari" event for children in 1979. grant. In 1978, the Jerome Foundation contacted the Forum about starting a commissioning program. Looking back, Larsen sees that $28,470 from the Jerome Foundation as the Forum's "first leap forward." The Foundation was started by Jerome Hill, a composer and artist born in Minnesota whose career took him to New York City. Because the Jerome Foundation funded projects and programs for composers residing in both Minnesota and the five boroughs of New York City, most notably the Jerome Composers Commissioning Project (JCCP), which supported the creation of new musical works by emerging composers and performers. Not surprisingly, the "Minnesota" Composers Forum suddenly began attracting composer and performer members from New York City. There was also an increasing number of formerly Minnesota-based members of the Forum who had moved to other states, but still wanted to remain connected with the organization. By the mid 1980's, 30% of the Forum's members lived outside of Minnesota. A collaboration with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) began in the late 1970's when Dennis Russell Davies was the orchestra's music director lasted about three years, giving the Forum additional credibility in the Minneapolis-St. Paul musical community. Davies programmed new music on the SPCO schedule. "We solicited a bunch of scores from our members, and we got together in Dennis' living room," Paulus recalls. "He'd say, 'Well, I like this, I like that one, what do you guys thinks of this one?' Then he did a concert. Bill McGlaughlin was the SPCO associate conductor back then, and he conducted some of them, which were recorded and broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). Those broadcasts eventually led to a series called 'Music in Minnesota," an ongoing radio show the Forum produced in collaboration with MPR. With living composers being featured at SPCO concerts as well as the Walker, and being broadcast on the radio, the Forum had some momentum." Then, as now, the Forum's programs were dependent on funders. Fortunately, in the 1970's and early 1980's major funders were interested in supporting organizations whose projects and programs benefited individual artists, and the young Forum was positioned to take advantage of that funding climate. In June of 1980, the "New Music America" festival was held in Minneapolis, sponsored by the Walker Art Center and The Minneapolis Star newspaper, in conjunction with the Forum and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Partial funding for this major event was provided

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