Adam Theis has been awarded The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 2008-2010 “Emerging Composer” grant. Theis is one of six young leading California composers to receive this award for the creation and world premiers of major new musical compositions. Half of the $50,000 award will pay the musicians in the orchestra, and the other half will commission Theis to create a 50-60 piece hour-long suite, merging mordern jazz and symphonic instrumentation with hip-hop and electronic music.
This is one of the big daddies of the Mega Grants that are still around and available for artists in the U.S.. The crazy part is that the group will be a culmination of all the Jazz Mafia groups focusing on the ideas we’ve developed through Realistic Orchestra and The Shotgun Wedding Hip-Hop Symphony. The orchestra will feature all of your favorite Jazz Mafia tough guys as well as some amazing guest artists. Much inspiration for this group came from the amazing Dakah Hip-Hop Symphony, which if you haven’t checked out, DO IT. This project will surely be leaning more towards the jazz and electronic side but will also incorporate our own broken beat style of modern music mixed with tons of unique instrumentation, improvisation and amazing vocalists. I’ll be writing and arranging the music over the course of about the next many months followed by rehearsals and a premiere of the work in either late 2008 or early 2009! There are also plans in the works to create a full album of this amazing feet as well as a Jazz Mafia Documentary which will cover all the efforts we are involved in with a focus on this grant commission. I guess I should by a more ergonomic computer chair.
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