The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the nation's leading orchestra dedicated exclusively to performing, commissioning, and recording new music, announces the prospective launch of its own CD label, BMOP/sound. With its debut scheduled for January 2008, BMOP/sound will become the nation's foremost label devoted exclusively to new music recordings, many of which have been commissioned by BMOP. Additional BMOP/sound recordings will be of seminal works that are no longer available to the public.
Gil Rose, BMOP's founding Artistic Director and the Executive Producer of BMOP/sound, believes BMOP/sound will make a unique contribution to the legacy of classical music recordings. "BMOP's mission has always been to bring the classical music audience closer to the music of its own time by performing new works and rediscovering under-appreciated, important works from the 20th century. BMOP/sound gives us the opportunity to broaden that mission to a worldwide audience."
Adding to BMOP's existing catalog of 13 commercially released CDs (from Albany, Arsis, Cantaloupe. Chandos, Naxos, New World, and Oxingale), BMOP/sound is scheduled to release five world premiere CDs at the start of 2008: John Harbison's Ulysses; Michael Gandolfi's Y2K Compliant; Gunther Schuller's Journey Into Jazz featuring Gunther Schuller (narrator); Lee Hyla's Lives of the Saints featuring Mary Nessinger (mezzo-soprano); and Charles Fussell's Wilde featuring Sanford Sylvan (baritone). With 28 more recording projects in the works, BMOP/sound plans to issue four to six CDs each year. Committed to universal access, preservation and appreciation, BMOP/sound recordings will be distributed by Albany Music Distributors, coupled with global online distribution. An interactive BMOP website with digital download capabilities is planned for later in 2008.
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, widely recognized as the premiere orchestra for performing and recording new music, strives to illuminate the connections that exist between both contemporary music and society. Over the past decade, BMOP has received nine ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming of Orchestral Music including the 2006-2007 ASCAP Award for Programming of Contemporary Music, and the 2006 American Symphony Orchestra League's John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music. BMOP's performances were recently described to be "a combination of Rose's savvy programming, the orchestra's incisive and stylish playing, and a general vibe that somehow weds a breezy coolness with a healthy dose of chaos."