[Voxnovus] Celebrating 15 Years of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame: Broadening Reach through Versatility

Sat May 3 15:23:44 EDT 2025

Click Here to View Issue  <http://www.voxnovus.com/NM421/issue/25-05-03.htm>May
3rd, 2025
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[image: Celebrating 15 Years of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame]
Celebrating 15 Years of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame: Broadening Reach through
VersatilityBy Lauren DeanOnce upon a time, Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame housed
its performances in Jan Hus Presbyterian Church—a 136-year-old, Gothic
Revival structure on the East Side of Manhattan. Over the years, the
program has inhabited new venues, until recent changes, including the
global pandemic, moved the project partially online. And while nothing can
replace the experience of live concerts, this shift has allowed the
platform to broaden its participants and audiences, as well as extend the
reach of newly composed and performed pieces.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsGQ03ndfzw>

“I will always prefer live performance, both as a performer and audience
member,” says soprano Mary Hubbell, who has participated in
Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame twice, with shows almost a decade apart. But, she
adds, “People who otherwise would not get to hear the music now can—and in
real time.”

This real-time aspect is an important detail, made possible thanks to tech
that’s built for distributed audiences. The concerts are transmitted
through StreamYard, which can live-stream them to multiple platforms as
they’re happening. It’s a way to get the musicians and all the composers in
the same (virtual) “room,” as well as allow anyone from the public to
watch, no matter where they are in the world. This not only enlarges the
potential base; it also maintains the sense of community that
Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame is known for.

As her 2023 performance streamed to YouTube, for instance, clavichord
player Monica Chew met the composers whose work she was performing,
wherever they happened to be located. “A lot of composers were there,” she
says. “And I talked to them after I played.”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph4_mQ5XiwA>

“The community aspect is terrific,” notes classical pianist Stephen Porter,
who has performed in Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame three times, in shows
Re-Imagining Debussy, Schubert, and Beethoven. “The online aspect means
that the ‘community’ is often virtual—that is, most of the composers [whose
works] you perform live far away in other countries and won’t be able to
attend a concert in person. But the very nature of this virtual online
community allows for hugely expanded musical contacts, much more than if
you were only trying to interact with musicians in person in a particular
city.”

And while Porter recognizes that the move to online performances for
classical music has its downsides—such as altered sound quality, as well as
the casual, fragmented, and distracting nature of the forum—he also
acknowledges that “it’s a question of balance.” In this case, the positive
effects of accessibility may be enough for the pros to balance out the
cons. Going online provides “hugely expanded access to music and concerts
for people around the world who could not access it before,” including
those with limited mobility or resources to travel. “This is a very, very
good thing,” he concludes.

But, along with the dispersed nature of the “new normal,” another shift has
occurred. Given that artists are in control of the works they perform—and
can choose what they release or if they perform it elsewhere—live
performances with in-person audiences are still happening. Only now,
they’re not concentrated in one place.

“It’s not just a New York-based thing anymore,” says soprano Jenny Ribeiro,
who linked up with Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame in New York in 2009 and later
moved to Michigan. In 2024, she participated in her third call for
submissions, which featured four unaccompanied singers, all in distinct
locations. It was up to each singer how, and where, they wanted to premiere
their pieces. For her, this was in Lansing for the opening of the new opera
season. “It’s really cool,” she says. “It’s bringing it outside the New
York bubble.”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga0MF45Ukhs&t=1448s>

In the same vein, solo cellist Craig Hultgren recalls the second time he
performed with Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame, which was in 2021 in the middle of
the COVID-19 shutdowns. The call’s theme was pataphysics—a satirical
late-19th-century French philosophy described as the “science of imaginary
solutions.” For the program to come together, he recorded the selected
pieces in his Iowa studio, and later, remote interviews with the composers
were included in the recording. It wasn’t until 2023 that he performed the
program live—and the concert took place at Lewis University, outside of
Chicago.
<https://youtu.be/1QSo_TwdZpM?si=mPIIgrFu0s__f6oJ>

In the end, it seems that not attending in person has actually helped to
amplify the project to wider audiences, while also broadening the reach of
the composers’ works. Further, the opportunity to re-perform the pieces
could have even greater benefits. After traveling to participate in her
debut Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame concert in New York City in 2023, soloist and
French horn player Mary Beth Orr used her pieces for a music event in Grand
Rapids, MI, to raise donations for a non-profit. “So, in a sense,” she
says, “the work just keeps giving back.”
[image: Celebrating 15 Years of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame]

This special edition on NM421 is the third of a special 5 part series of
interviews with musicians who have been featured on Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame.

The first installment was published on February 8th, 2025.
<http://www.voxnovus.com/NM421/issue/25-02-08.htm>

The second installment was published on March 8th, 2025.
<http://www.voxnovus.com/NM421/issue/25-03-08.htm>

The third installment was published on April 12th, 2025.
<http://www.voxnovus.com/NM421/issue/25-04-012.htm>

The next installment will be published on June 7th, 2025.
<http://www.voxnovus.com/NM421/issue/25-06-07.htm>
[image: Andrew White]
<http://www.musicavatar.org/categories/Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame-Featuring-Andrew-White-2025/index.html>

Call for Vocal Scores
Deadline:
March 31, 2025

Vox Novus is calling for one-minute pieces composed for
Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame with baritone Andrew White with or without
electronic accompaniment to be premiered online in 2025 Only works
one-minute in length for baritone voice will be considered with or without
electronic accompaniment.

Find more information and submit at
Music Avatar
<http://www.musicavatar.org/categories/Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame-Featuring-Andrew-White-2025/index.html>

[image: Yumi Suehiro]
<http://www.musicavatar.org/categories/Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame-Featuring-Yumi-Suehiro-2025/index.html>

Call for Piano Scores
Deadline: May 1, 2025

Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame Featuring Yumi Suehiro Vox Novus is thrilled to
announce a new edition of Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame, featuring the acclaimed
pianist Yumi Suehiro. Composers are invited to submit one-minute
compositions that showcase the piano’s expressive and dynamic capabilities
while highlighting Ms. Suehiro’s exceptional artistry and technical
virtuosity.

Find more information and submit at
Music Avatar
<http://www.musicavatar.org/categories/Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame-Featuring-Yumi-Suehiro-2025/index.html>
<http://composerssite.com/>
<http://www.composersvoice.com/>

Composer's Voice

is a bi-weekly TV showing airing on Manhattan Neighborhoodd Network

<http://www.fifteen-minutes-of-fame.com/>

Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame

is 15 one-minute works written for a specific musician/ensemble.

<http://www.60x60.com/>

60x60

60 one-minutes works by 60 different composers

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