Letters to my Mentors 2. Swing.

Dear Mentor,

 I could extoll the experimental aspects of your choral direction that incorporated movement or your patience with me as I went through the personal toils and petty tribulations of the very early stages of my music education.  Recently, I was reminded of one lesson that pervaded our entire time together: golf.

Golf seemed to be your obsession.  During the countless hours that our choir worked with you, there were comparisons to swings, slices and the joys of being out on a beautiful day.  There were explanations about being in "the zone" and hitting ball after ball down the fairway only, the next day, to be out of the zone and butcher the game on the same course.  We heard about the nuances of stance and preparation and how, once you swung the ball, that preparation

I remember being amazed at your capacity to apply your love of golf to the art of making music and, despite my lack of knowledge on the sport, make it relevant and meaningful to me.

My background did not include much sport.  There was a soccer team briefly as a child.  Swim Team happened.  I did long-distance running in early high school. I think the gap was that I never had a physical activity that was wholly a part of my life and that I looked forward to.  Everything was a function of getting exercise and rarely did it happen with a whole lot of joy in my heart.

This winter season, everything changed and I was reminded of your obsession with golf.  With my recent relocation to Denver, I bought season passes for my family at a mountain very close to the city.  It is very small (only about 5 slopes), but it is a great place for kids to learn to ski.

As for me, I went skiing for the first time since, well.. after a choir tour that you led.  It was exhilarating and it was my very first activity that I had where I could relate.  Each run was practically the same and yet totally different.  Skiing out west was a revelation compared to my east coast skiing.

For now, thanks for sharing your love of a sport and for teaching me that you can apply an experience like that to music.  I had to hold on to that lesson for a number of years, but the lesson was learned.... eventually.

Sincerely,
Eapen

Golf Swing... Obsession with Sport. Only now Many years later, am I getting it.  (Skiing to follow)

Non-Profit Start-up 1.1

"Are you thinking about turning the Denver Art Song Project into a non-profit?" my friend asked.

I paused for a moment and my mind raced through all we had accomplished in 2015--  A successful release on Bandcamp led to our digital release of a full album on iTunes, Spotify, and many other digital platforms.  The Denver Art Song Project's first recital which incorporated songs, a piano solo, supertitles and curated art paired with chatting with the audience and a Q&A followed the release.  A third trip to the studio to begin our next cycle of releases for 2016 had already begun.

"Yes," I said, "I have thought about it.  But I don't know where to begin or how.  I suppose I should take a stab at it."

"Well, if you do, please add me to your mailing list.  I would love to support your next projects."

"And that is the kick the pants that I need to get started.  Thank you." I replied.

And so today, I start the first step in moving the Denver Art Song Project from a strange little business to something else.  I am starting with a whole lot of googling.  In this series of posts, I'll be sharing with you as much as I can about the process.  I'll talk about the process of getting registered with the State of Colorado, the IRS, developing By-Laws, enticing victims volunteers to be a part of the Board of Trustees.

At the same time, I'm going to... take a deep breath... share my feelings about the process of setting up a non-profit that is dedicated to the niche of the niche of Classical Music.  I'll open up about my fears of fundraising, the complexities of grant writing and all of the joys that keep me going and the small failures that will make me want to give up.

Thanks for following along and thanks for supporting the Denver Art Song Project and Eapen Leubner's opera career.

Letters to my Mentors, Part 1. Starting Out.

Dear Mentor,

When I was still a boy, and a child soprano, I was featured on the radio singing Silent Night with my choir.  This solo, and what happened subsequently, planted the seed in my mind that perhaps my calling was music.  I followed this path to where I am today and I am grateful for the journey that started as you offered me my first paid, professional position.

As it turned out, you studied and performed American Parlor Songs, and enjoyed the novelty songs from the turn of the century.  You had many Victrola and shared with me crackly music on wax tubes.  I had never heard anything quite like that before and I still enjoy old recordings and dream of owning my own Victrola or record player.

After contacting me via my choir director, my mom took me over to your place where the three of us looked at your song, "Sandy the Christmas Cat."  I learned it quickly and after the session you asked me if I would like to record the song to help you get published.  You offered me my first paycheck, a hundred dollars.  At the time, it was a shocking amount of money.

During the next year, I had my first studio recording session with professional musicians from the Eastman School of Music.  We recorded the song a bunch of times and then you edited it and sent me a cassette tape (now lost).

Later that year, you gave me the opportunity to record "The Sandy Cat Walk."  I was in 5th grade and very shortly after, my voice changed.  I am profoundly grateful that I have these records of my childhood voice.  If I can find the tape, I'll add it here.

It was during 6th grade that you died of a heart attack.  You had already had several heart attacks but the last one was too much for you to recover from.

Your wife welcomed us one last time to your home and I was able to see those Victrolas one last time.  She gave me a small paper weight that I still keep in my office. 

The pennies suspended in it are a reminder of my time with you and my first opportunity to earn money as a professional singer.

Sincerely,
Eapen

Denver Art Song Project- 2015 in Review

The Denver Art Song Project hit a number of milestones this year.  You likely have heard about these successes if you follow us at our website, fan page or Eapen's fan page.

2015 began with Eapen and Mallory collaborating on a "micro-album" of Donaudy songs which were released on our Bandcamp Site.  Soon after, we created a recording of Beethoven's "An die ferne geliebte" and released the record digitally via CD Baby, iTunes and via streaming on Spotify.  Please consider buying or streaming the album as it supports our future work as the Denver Art Song Project and provides residuals to the artists.

Our Album release party was at the Arts at Cabrini Series where we performed the album and coupled some of the sets with supertitles, visual art and informative narration.  At the end we shared a Q&A session with our audience (with a glass of wine in hand).

Just before Eapen departed for gigs in New York, the Denver Art Song Project returned to the recital/recording hall and began work on their 2016 releases which will be announced soon.

I've already started a series of posts about what the Denver Art Song Project will be up to over the next year.  I'll be posting here at my blog and also via Facebook, Twitter and more!  There are so many ways to stay in touch.

As 2015 comes to a close, thank you to all for supporting our nascent group and for making  us welcome in the Colorado Music community.

Thanks to Mallory Bernstein, collaborative pianist extraordinaire, and Michael Bevers, our intrepid sound engineer who is about to become one of our featured artists in 2016.  Without your help and good cheer we could not have achieved so much with so little.

And for you, my fans, friends and supporters, thank you for making 2015 an unforgettable year of music.

My best wishes,
Eapen Leubner
Founder, Denver Art Song Project

Heading Back to NYC

The occasional updates should be coming more quickly now.  Singing work is picking up and I am returning to New York City to sing The Astronaut's Tale by Charles Fussell at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

I am rejoining my friends at Encompass New Opera Theatre.  And in preparation, I will be updating my Tumblr with my continued character analysis.  There will be a great number of links about Astronauts, Mars, Science, The Universe, in addition to the discussion of the character of Ab.  I might "spoil" the opera a bit, so only head over there if you want to see the process behind creating a role.

More soon!
Sincerely,
Eapen

Living in Song

The past few weeks have been full of some fascinating work on Denver Art Song Project's next recording.   In addition to rehearsals, we brought in Denver coach, Andrew Adams, who listened and gave Mallory and I some great feedback on ways to approach our next recording.

Simultaneously, I had a lovely conversation by email with Charles Ralph, over at Opera Pronto.  When I relocated out here, I decided to drop him a line to connect up to the opera and singing world.  Our conversation lead to my being featured as the artist of the week and Opera Pronto's newsletter was the official announcement of the next Denver Art Song Project recording, Beethoven's "An die ferne Geliebte."

In the next couple of weeks I'll be posting more about the work itself.  Mallory and I will be back in the studio at the end of August and we will be announcing our release schedule.

As always you can check at our digital store to listen to our first album, "Donaudy Songs" and please consider buying our digital album.  Your purchase of $4 (or more, if you wish) will support the cost of our recordings and our future plans for Denver Art Song Project.

Denver Art Song Project is Live. Welcome and FAQ.

Denver Art Song Project is a musical cooperative founded by Eapen Leubner with the vision to create an opportunity for Denver-based musicians to create and perform art songs.  Upcoming projects for the 2015-16 season include recordings, concerts and a first commission combined with an online conversation via Facebook Fan page and this blog.

Thank you to all who are supporting the Denver Art Song Project! You can still purchase the first set of songs.  If you like the music or know someone who would, please share the link, hit like and send kind messages of support regarding our project.

All purchases help fund and promote the Denver Art Song Projects's next album and future releases! 

As a thank you for buying the existing album (don't worry, you can buy it now and still get this great deal), there will be a discount for all supporters when the next album is launched.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs):

Why are you charging $4 for your album?

Unfortunately, making art costs money.   DASP keeps its overhead as low as possible (Bandcamp site and Paypal are basically it).  After those expenses, all recording revenue goes to offset rehearsal costs that were already paid to performers and, after that, artists get residuals!  Spreading the word and supporting the album makes a real difference in the life of these musicians.

But why four bucks?
Because it is about the price of a frozen coffee beverage.  We want the barrier to be low! Eapen is a bit of an economics nerd and this is the optimized price point.  If you wish, you can always pay more than the minimum when you are checking out.  If you would like to support the project, please email me (eapen (at) eapenleubner (dot) com) to find out more about how you can help support the 2015-2016 season.

Why not just do a Kickstarter?

Kickstarters are great if you have a body of work.  While DASP is not ruling that out for the future, we thought the best way for you to get to know us is to share a completed project and start a community of learners and art song lovers online.  It is more important to us to create an ongoing conversation based on the production of art rather than do a Kickstarter based on just an idea.

Is DASP a non-profit?

Not at this point.  Due to the overwhelming feedback and support, we are actively exploring the option of becoming an incorporated non-profit.  We believe that there is a market in the Denver and Colorado area for an organization dedicated to Art Song performance, recording and education.  We recognize that there may be increased costs in going "non-profit" and are making sure that it is the right choice since one of the goals is to provide the most financial support to artists as possible.

Thanks again for all your support and we look forward to sharing more music with you in the near future!
Sincerely,
Eapen