Bahlest Eeble Readings
bahlest, adj.: excellent; great. (Boontling)
eeble, v.: to scrutinize; to look over thoroughly. Derived from "eyeball." (Boontling)
“Composing is much like inventing a new dish but suppose you're not allowed to taste along the way. You might be familiar with the ingredients – carrots and cumin – but you'd have to guesstimate the proportions and cooking times based on past experiences. Remember – No tasting! Then, that first rehearsal when you finally get to hear everything after months of the music existing only in your head? That’s the moment when you get to taste your new dish but — ah! — alongside the guests who have shown up for dinner. Imagine: Only then would you know if you measured and stirred your sounds just right.”
— Gabriela Lena Frank
Composers accepted into the Bahlest Eeble Readings program, an apprenticeship of approximately twelve months, are given the opportunity to hear new chamber works from the early phases of being written to their finished state. Each Fellow collaborates closely with renowned faculty performer-mentors and Gabriela in a cycle with no more than four Fellows per cycle to maximize personal attention.
The first six months of the apprenticeship consist of virtual small group meetings with performer-mentors giving practicums specifically for composers regarding their instrument with score study of exemplary repertoire, mini-readings of germs of ideas that Fellows are composing and would like to explore for their piece, share-and-tells for Fellows to share their existing works with the group, and private lessons with Gabriela.
About six months into the apprenticeship, Fellows and performer-mentors within the same cycle are invited to a five-day retreat either to Boonville, CA at Gabriela’s properties or to one of the Academy’s developing list of beautiful satellite locations in accordance with our Climate Commitment. During this time, Fellows arrive with a substantial portion of their pieces composed for an initial workshop at the beginning of the week. Fellows can try out, finesse, and/or discard ideas in a supportive creative laboratory, receiving constructive feedback from Gabriela and the mentor-performers. After the initial readings, an entire day is set aside for Fellows to compose “fixes and reactions” for a second reading during the week, nudging their works closer to a finished state. Additionally, during this week, Fellows continue to share their pre-existing music with one another, participate in outreach events in the local community as possible, and participate in master classes conducted by Gabriela, mentor-performers, and possible special guests on a range of topics: Idiomatic writing, core literature, the creative habit/practice, and strategizing a self-determined artistic life in the 21st century.
There will also be free time for Fellows to explore the natural beauties of their residency location, whether that be Anderson Valley and the Mendocino Pacific coastline for Gabriela’s town of Boonville, or the surrounding area of the Academy’s satellite locations. These may be done either in organized excursions or Fellows may go off on their own. Eco-conscious meals cooked together will be time to further bond and forge friendships.
After the five-day residency, armed with intel gleaned from in-person readings and masterclasses, Fellows return home and begin the final part of their apprenticeship where they focus on finishing their works, collaborating further with Gabriela and their mentor-performers online, continuing to develop a skill set of effective communication techniques not dependent on being physically present. In this way, through their participation in the Bahlest Eeble Readings program, Fellows are afforded both the live collaborative experience as well as the experience of working virtually, anticipating a future where environmental realities render travel impossible and/or ethically unsound. During the last portion of the apprenticeship, in the belief that all composers should be able to write articulately about their work, Fellows are required to write one essay for the Fellows in Their Own Words blog.
At the end of their apprenticeship, the Fellows will have their new works presented in a series of virtual premieres.
After successfully completing the Bahlest Eeble Readings program, Fellows are admitted into the Academy alumni pool with the possibility of support through the Alumni Support Initiative which sponsors and stewards a variety of professional work for its alums with leading performers, orchestras, schools, and presenting societies. They are also given a lifetime pass to all distance learning courses, receive continued mentorship from the Academy, and work within a vibrant and active community of alums in such programs as Composing Earth.