"If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Though it has become a cliché, it still raises interesting points:
- If a piece is written but never performed, is it Music?
- If no one hears it, how can it resonate?
We want to collaborate with composers and performers to give life to their creations, to deliver their music to an audience, and to make Music from the notes on the page.
The upstate of South Carolina is culturally and artistically diverse. The community holds music in high esteem, devouring everything from Beethoven to Britten and bluegrass to jazz. There are symphony orchestras, blues clubs, chamber groups, and weekly outdoor rock-fests. There are more than a dozen colleges and universities with strong music programs. Until recently, however, the concert hall has lagged behind, seemingly stuck in a "classical music" loop. While music for the concert hall has grown and changed dramatically over the last 40 years, little of America's New Music has been performed in the upstate of SC. But now, there is a renewed interest in contemporary chamber music in the area. Our goals are to bring New Music to Spartanburg, to introduce and educate the public, and to cultivate the arts here at home.
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- All concerts in the series are FREE and Open to the Public.
- Arrive early or Reserve Your Seats!
- There is no dress-code for these concerts. Wear what you'd wear any night out on the town.
- Beer/wine will be available before and during the show. (Dependant upon venue restrictions)
Treefalls concerts offer a chance to hear New Music without all the constraints of conventional venues. By removing New Music from traditional concert and academic halls, we hope to create an inviting atmosphere for a fresh audience, so they may experience music from the "classical" genre in a new way.
Conductor Baldur Brönnimann summed it up beautifully and clearly in his 2014 article, 10 Things That We Should Change in Classical Music Concerts. On his list: you should feel free to applaud between movements; you should be able to use mobile phones (in silent mode), taking pictures, tweeting, sharing, recording audio, etc.; you should be able to take your drinks inside the hall (or buy them there).
We DO believe, as Dan Visconti writes, that The Audience is the Most Important Instrument. Without anyone to hear it, there is no music!
And when enjoying a musical experience, we also ask the audience to respect the musicians and other listeners around them, to try not to disrupt the show with excessive talking/whispering, to avoid flash photography, noisy movements, etc., and to set cell phones to silent . . . not just vibrate.
New Music of the 21st century is eclectic and diverse. Artists blend styles as they cross the traditional boundaries between so-called "popular" and "classical" traditions. Composers are incorporating harmony, melody, rhythm, and technique from all musical genres as well as integrating visual art and multimedia into performance. The result is engaging and interesting, complex but approachable, exciting and educational.
Music today is alive, and it speaks to our generation.
A Letter from Our Founder
In 2013, I set out to bring a series of contemporary chamber music concerts - featuring new music by living composers - to my home town of Spartanburg, SC. The following year, with help from friends and family, I founded Treefalls, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to raising support for new music. Since then, Treefalls has produced and partnered in dozens of concerts, events, calls for scores, and commissions, creating opportunities for composers' works to be heard.
Treefalls made an impression in the upstate of South Carolina, and there is more new music being performed here than ever before. Many wonderful people have shared their time, money, and other contributions to make this happen, and I am forever grateful and humbled by their support.
THANK YOU to everyone who joined us in our music-making! Thank you to the volunteers who made each and every concert a reality. Thank you to our generous donors, to the organizations and businesses who supported us financially along the way, and to everyone who helped by dropping a few bucks in the jar after each show. You all made a difference and and impact.
As I've said before, music is about three things: the composer, the performer, and the audience. And we have been so very fortunate to have such a welcoming, open-minded audience to share in the experience. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again.
Someday, Treefalls may return with renewed energy and focus. We were never short of ideas with several projects going at once, and I sincerely hope that the seeds we planted continue to grow. I am sad that we could not bring all of our ideas to the stage - especially those made during the pandemic. But I am proud of the work we have accomplished, and it has been an honor to serve as Artistic Director for the last 8 years. I leave knowing that we achieved one of our most lofty goals:
We have transformed current opinion of concert hall music – if only a little – and inspired a new generation of composers and performers in our community.
With sincerest thanks to:
John Fitz Rogers, Robert Kyr, and Michael Harley
for inspiring this New Music concert series, for their advice and help in building this flourishing program, and for their ongoing support of New Music in our time.
