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An exhibition of live music
Proposal Submission Period: July 9  – September 10, 2019
Event dates: April 18th –  21st, 2020

Crosstown Arts is challenging musical artists to create a body of new work for A Change of Tone, an exhibition of live music, applicable to musicians of all genres, scheduled for April 18th – 21st, 2020.

This four-part, four-day event will feature a selection of four musical acts, one act per night, who will “exhibit” their music for a listening audience over loudspeakers in one venue as they simultaneously perform it in another, creating a non-traditional listening experience.

During this event, there will be two live feed interconnections between The Green Room music venue at Crosstown Arts, and Crosstown Theater: the first feed will be an audio feed for the audience in The Green Room to listen to, as the musicians, out of sight, perform their original work live in the empty Crosstown Theater auditorium. The second feed will video-capture The Green Room audience for the performing musicians in the Theater to see on a screen, so that they may virtually watch and technically perform, for their audience. The audience in The Green Room will be informed in advance that they will be watched by the performing musicians in the theater, creating an immersive environment for the listening audience in which the performers’ new music might achieve a vivid and seemingly living omnipresence.

Similar to the experience of being inside of a haunted house or abandoned building, this spectral approach to auditory perception will be, among other things, a sonic experiment in vulnerability. It will be an attempt to enhance and heighten the audio-sensory experience for the listener, and perhaps will intensify the presence and impact that music can have when our fight-or-flight response is instinctively activated, giving the sounds we hear the power to demand our full attention.

Submission Process:

The theme of this music exhibition is “In/Out of Sync.” What does it mean to be “in or out of sync”–with something, with nothing, with anything…with everything? In what ways do you feel or observe things as being in or out of sync with one another, and what approach would you envision yourself taking, musically, to express these feelings and interpretations as they present themselves within your reality? The goal of A Change of Tone is to invite artists to sonically and musically explore the varied interrelations between technical musical themes and humanity: what we experience, observe, believe, and imagine within the realms of our intellectual capabilities. 

Musicians who wish to apply to this musical showcase must submit an original proposal (one or more pages preferred) that explains their vision for the new music they intend to create as it pertains to the “In/Out of Sync” theme. Artists may take any approach to this, from topics based in society and everyday life, to the larger natural world and universe, and may do so through both the lens of these guiding ideas or beyond them. 

Submissions are due on Tuesday, September 10 at noon.

Apply here

Instructions if Selected:

This music exhibition is limited to 4 participants. The submissions will be randomly selected by a unique, curated lottery process, by which every proposal will be considered; the primary contact(s) for the four selected proposals will be notified of their acceptance and given a performance time slot on Tuesday, September 24, at 12pm. 

Musicians will then use the nearly 7-month period before the A Change of Tone: In/Out of Sync event to create a set of new music, no less than 45 minutes and no longer than 2 hours in length, with the intention of performing it live during one of the 4 performance timeframes (randomly assigned). The time slots are as follows*:

Saturday, April 18, 2020 –  7:30pm
Sunday April 19, 2020 –  7:30pm
Monday, April 20, 2020 –  7:30pm
Tuesday, April 21, 2020 –  7:30pm

Selected participants are encouraged to start creating their sonic and musical works as soon as possible to allow for adequate time for creation and rehearsal. If you are selected, please do not perform or submit proposals for work that was created prior to this open call (do not submit work created before July 9, 2019).

Musicians may also conduct an artist talk or meet-and-greet in the Crosstown Theater auditorium after their performance. This component is optional, but highly encouraged.

Each performance will be recorded by a sound engineer and will be given to the artist free of charge, to use for any purpose. The artists will receive both a stereo room recording and an unmixed, multitrack version of their performance so that they may create their own personal mix of their performance. All artists selected to perform at the event will also receive: a $125 stipend for each musician within a group of 2 or more individuals; or a $200 stipend for solo musicians. 

Music stands will be provided at the venue for artists who would prefer to reference their work during their performance (this is highly encouraged as we are not expecting artists to perfectly memorize such newly created work within the 7-month timeframe).

Copyright infringement and cover versions are not allowed at this event.

*If you are selected, we will try to accommodate as much as possible for any scheduling conflicts, though unfortunately, due to the numerous events being hosted by Crosstown Arts in our various venues throughout the year, this could mean that you may have to forfeit your participation, and we will have to make another lottery selection in your place. If this happens, we hope that you will still feel inspired to create new work based on the themes you chose to explore in your proposal. Only one written proposal is allowed per submission, per artist; proposals can be made on behalf of a solo musician, or any group of two or more musicians.

Thank you for your proposal submissions. Please contact Lauren Cain at  lauren@crosstownarts.org if you have any questions.