John Turner News and Blog

New York, NY (October 15, 2005) - John was awarded an artist residency at La Napoule in southern France from November 7th - December 16th. He will be one of ten Resident Artists of different nationalities and disciplines (literature, music, dance, design, film, visual and performing arts) particitpating. La Napoule Art Foundation offers Artists-In-Residence a unique environment of interdisciplinary collaboration and creativity at the Château de La Napoule near Cannes. Check back for a daily blog of John’s France adventure.

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Ned Rorem Award For Song Composition was recently awarded to 6 finalists. The composers awarded as finalists for the Ned Rorem Award are:

Up-Hill–JOHN TURNER, Brooklyn, NY
Go, Lovely Rose–RICHARD RICE, Alexandria, VA
Ferry M–J. BRUCE ASHTON, Ooltewah, TN
Go, Lovely Rose–HENRY KIHLKEN, Port Clinton, OH
Mother, I Cannot Mind My Wheel–CALVIN BOWMAN, Olinda, Victoria, Australia

Of the 320 entries recieved, 31 of the finalist pieces were perfomed at the Diana Barnhart American Song Competitions and Conference in Wayne, Pennsylvania (February 25-27, 2005). The adjudicators for the four competitions included: Diana Barnhart, Dr. Jeffrey Fowler, John Harbeson, Peter Homans, Raymond K. Johnson, Libby Larsen and Paul Sperry.

“I shut my eyes in order to see”
Paul Gauguin

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (December 15, 2003) - Essentially Choral, a reading session co-sponsored by VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum and supported by the Jerome Foundation, provides a unique opportunity for talented emerging composers to write for choral ensemble with instrumental accompaniment. This year, 35 composers from 18 states submitted scores for consideration, and five works were selected to be “read” at the third annual Essentially Choral session taking place in Minneapolis in January 9-11, 2004.

The participating composers and their works-in-progress are:
John Turner (New York, NY): Not All, Only a Few Return
Jesse Ayers (Canton, OH): The Seventh Seal
Ben Yarmolinsky (New York, NY): Psalms for Jerusalem
Edward Zeliff (Upland, CA): God Thoughts
Greg Schaffner (St. Paul, MN): Five Settings of “Amen”

“Because of the expense of working with such a large force of professional musicians, few composers will ever have the opportunity to hear their compositions performed during the process of writing the music. Essentially Choral gives these composers a chance to discover what works best — and what needs to be changed — in a supportive environment,” says Faith Rynders, VocalEssence director of education and community partnerships.

“It is invaluable for a composer to be able to work closely with professional performers and an experienced conductor during rehearsals to hone a work, learning subtle techniques that will make the music more effective and more performable,” writes participating composer Jesse Ayers. “Add to all that the chance to interact with an internationally recognized composer, and this project becomes an unbelievable professional development opportunity.”

Essentially Choral begins on Friday, January 9, when the composers will meet with conductor Philip Brunelle to preview their scores. On Saturday morning, the works will be rehearsed by the 26-voice VocalEssence Ensemble Singers under Philip’s direction. In the afternoon, the Ensemble Singers rehearse the works with professional orchestra musicians in a session that is recorded for study purposes. The program concludes on Sunday morning as the composers have mentoring sessions with internationally-renowned composer Sven-David Sandstrom.

“It is exciting when you feel strongly about a particular composition, as I feel about my new choral piece, Not All, Only a Few Return,” says John Turner. “Its acceptance at this level becomes a validation of the people, places, words, and objects that helped to inspired it and saw it to fruition. For a piece to receive recognition is great in itself, but then to have the piece read by a professional organization is a real treat.”