Last fall, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) selected 10 early career composers to take part in its NATS Mentoring Program for Composers.

Designed to encourage the creation and performance of new works, the program pairs a celebrated art song composer with an emerging art song composer. This is the second year that NATS has offered the program. Two leading vocal composers Tom Cipullo and Lori Laitman serve as the co-advisors, and Laitman recently gave $10,000 to NATS to underwrite the commissioning and concert presentation for 10 new songs from the 2021-22 participants in partnership with the Cincinnati Song Initiative.

“We’re so pleased that NATS is able to provide an environment where art song composers connect, grow and collaborate,” says Executive Director Allen Henderson. “This group is already making great strides, and we’re all eagerly awaiting to hear their compositions. NATS is very appreciative of the leadership shown by Lori Laitman and Tom Cipullo as well as the other veteran composers guiding our mentees. Their gifts of time and money are invaluable to fostering the next generation of art song composers.”

The 2021-22 mentees and mentors pairs are:

“I am enjoying my meetings with Libby Larsen immensely,” says Timothy Peterson. “As her mentee, I feel supported and challenged. Libby is deeply kind and very generous with her time and resources. During our Zoom sessions, she ensures that we cover every topic that is on my mind. Libby extends herself outside of our scheduled meeting times, as well. One week, for instance, she shared with me an excerpt of one of her own scores to demonstrate a certain approach to vocal notation that we had discussed. More recently, she took the time to try out on her own piano an extended technique that interests me; she emailed me detailed feedback on the technique’s execution and achievability. I am excited to continue working with Libby over the coming months and look forward to collaborating with Ann Toomey on my song cycle for the Cincinnati Song Initiative’s 'Let It Be New' concert.”

Larsen responded in kind about her mentee.

“Timmy Peterson and I are having a great deal of fun exploring his ideas about the poetry and how he hears those words set in music,” Larsen explains. “We’ve been delighting in his discovering ways to notate his music so that it both celebrates the singer’s voice and inspires the performer’s understanding of the poetry.”

Depending on the schedule of the mentors, the needs of the mentees and their interests, the mentors help review their work and provide general counsel about the nuances of writing for voice.

The program’s co-advisor and veteran composer Tom Cipullo finds the whole process rewarding. He is paired with Joseph Jones and Lisa Neher.

“This is my second year as a mentor in the program, and I have probably derived as much from it as any of the mentees,” Cipullo shares. “Meeting the next generation of composers — and these are brilliant composers — is an infusion of energy and excitement. I’m looking forward to all the great vocal works they will create in the coming years.”

Cipullo’s advice has impressed emerging composer Lisa Neher.

“It’s such a gift to have time and space with a mentor on a regular basis to get feedback and ideas on my art and my career,” Neher raves. “We’ve covered topics ranging from connecting with publishers to managing project pipelines to mindset and perfectionism. My mentor has gone the extra mile to advocate for my work and connect me to musicians and artists in his network. I’m looking forward to bringing a new song to life in the second half of this program!”

Like Cipullo, composer Maria Corley echoes similar sentiments about the mentoring process being gratifying for her. Corley’s mentee is Hannah Rice.

“Working with Hannah has been a pleasure, both musically and personally,” Corley says. “She is creative, keenly intelligent, hard-working, and has carefully-considered ideas that make me certain of her continued success. I’m grateful for the growth that I’m experiencing, and I can’t wait to see what her future holds. I know it will be bright.”

The mentors give advice about resources and serve as a sounding board for any questions the mentees might have. The NATS program is free for the mentees, and there was no cost to apply.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Maria Thompson Corley who has been an invaluable resource and mentor throughout the process of writing my first chamber opera, as well as beginning my song for the CSI commission,” says Hannah Rice, composer mentee. “My favorite thing about working with Dr. Corley is that she provides honest, valuable feedback while also reminding me that my artistic voice is important and that listening to myself and artistic vision is equally important to receiving and implementing criticism. It is all a balance, and I am grateful for her guidance not only in my career, but also in learning to believe in myself as a young artist.”

Mentor composer and program co-advisor Lori Laitman believes art song is prospering as she works with her mentees.

“It’s been my pleasure to have two mentees this season: Molly Hennig and Marc Migo,” Laitman says. “Both possess wonderful imaginations, such an important quality for any composer. Their diligence and devotion to the art song indicates a bright future for the genre, and I am so happy to count each as a friend.”

Mentee Marc Migo has been thrilled to work with Laitman, and overall, has found the program to be extremely rewarding.

“Not only is she [Laitman] a wonderful composer but also has been very generous with me by sharing her advice in both musical and extramusical domains,” Migo says. “Her input inspired me artistically and also helped me navigate the legal aspects of using a contemporary text for my setting. I feel very lucky to have her as a mentor and a friend. So far, this program has proved to be a very exciting adventure, and I can’t wait for what is to come!”

Mentor Steven Mark Kohn relays that the opportunity to connect with his mentee has been enjoyable.

“Kevin Garnica and I have been zooming every week,” Kohn says. “It’s been a real pleasure. He is an amiable fellow, easy to connect with. He is also serious about stretching himself as a composer. We have addressed his work in great detail. I was pleased with how willing Kevin was to try something new, more dramatic, more out-of-the-box. He selected some quite original subject matter! He is nearly done with his first draft. I make suggestions, bring up general considerations, and respond to his work, but never do I tell him how to write. It’s been a lot of fun so far, I might say for both of us!”

Garnica says his time with his mentor (Steven Mark Kohn) has been “wonderful.”

“My mentor has been very kind and incisively helpful during the writing process,” Garnica says. “My sessions with him have been relaxed, collegial and insightful. It’s a good paring, since our energies complement each other. One pleasant surprise, personally, has been an increase in confidence in my abilities to freely adapt a text from a longer literary work. Having to be not merely a composer, but also an author and editor as well — has been immensely fun. Thank you again to everyone who helped make this program possible.”

The Cincinnati Song Initiative will record a song from each of the composer mentees and share the 10 world premieres in a digital concert format in June. This marks the second year for the collaboration between NATS and CSI. Stay tuned for concert details.

NATS is proud to offer programming to support and encourage rising composers of new art song. In addition to the composer mentorship offering, NATS holds the Art Song Composition Award each year. Most recently, NATS named Ericsson Hatfield as the 2022 first place winner. Entries for the following year will be accepted starting June 1, 2022, for the 2023 Art Song Composition Award with a submission deadline of December 1, 2022. The contest awards more than $3,000 in prizes to the winner composers. This competition is led by Carol Mikkelsen, coordinator, Lori Laitman, advisor.