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Just wanted to make the TN community aware of the Washington Trombone Ensemble and our Kickstarter campaign.

The Washington Trombone Ensemble’s debut album is “in the can” and set to be released in late March by Summit Records! This CD introduces no less than six world premiere recordings, including the title track “The Road Not Taken”, by James Stephenson, written specifically for National Symphony bass trombonist Matt Guilford and the ensemble. In addition, we have the three “B’s” (Bach, Brahms and Bolter) as well as bass vocalist Jonathan Deutsch singing Wagner the way it was truly meant to be – with an all-trombone orchestra!
This album is the culmination of a vision that started in 2008, when a group of dedicated musicians got together to perform a concert in memory of the legendary Dr. Milton Stevens, long-time principal trombonist of the National Symphony Orchestra. Judging by the result, it’s only the beginning for this unique ensemble, and we have many exciting projects still to come.

In the meantime, we need your help to make this CD a success. All the work has already been done, and now your support will help defray the cost of the first printing. And although we can practically hear you protesting that virtue is its own reward, we still offer wonderful gifts to our benefactors! Backers can receive free CDs, reproductions of the beautiful cover art, suitable for framing, and many items signed by the artists. Please see our suggested giving levels for specific rewards, and know that however much you contribute, you will have our deepest gratitude as well the satisfaction of having aided a worthy project. Thank you!

A few upcoming WTE projects include commissions with John Mackey and Martin Bresnick and an educational partnership with the DC Public School System and Conn-Selmer.

Follow the links below to the Kickstarter site and a YouTube video clip showcasing excerpts from the recording.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/117 ... -not-taken
http://youtu.be/5NbCFwGFYc4

Note that a gift at the $25 level also includes an the CD. Even if you can't help monetarily, please help by spreading the word via Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Thanks!

LVJ is correct, Summit should be able to help in this matter, smaller labels can be a different matter.

Alternatively, you could demonstrate your belief that your product will be financially successful by accepting the risk of funding your recording out-of-pocket.

Ben wrote:Alternatively, you could demonstrate your belief that your product will be financially successful by accepting the risk of funding your recording out-of-pocket.

That's a pretty patronizing statement. Thankfully the Esterházy family never said that to Haydn (insert composition/performance for recording).

In addition, I don't know of any professional orchestras that could pay the bills just by selling seats and recordings. I would guess that 90% or more of your favorite classical recordings would have never existed if they needed to be "financially successful", whether through donor support of salaries of performers, sponsorship of events, or by just keeping the lights on.

Full disclosure - I do know several of the parties involved in this project, but haven't given them any financial support as of yet.

Tom

Look,

I have absolutely no problem with persons/organizations that choose to fund recordings/performances/compositions out of their own pockets. However, I don't think anyone should be critical of any person or organization that chooses to do otherwise.

Tom - can't believe he is having to argue for financial support of the arts on a board of musicians - Bratten

One way you can self-fund is to market your project to the general market for some funding. These guys are pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps, giving it the ol' college try, setting a goal and working to achieve that goal, the free market works, Ayn Rand, and all that other crap. What's the problem?

Perhaps a Kickstart subforum is in order, so as to better handle and display such requests.

How about pre-orders then... That is a good way to raise the (as bloke pointed out) modest cost for pressing (digipack included). A band I was associated with used that method for covering some of the expenses associated with CD recording/distribution/manufacture/marketing...

bloke wrote:Again, (if no dough) why not skip the plastic and just sell downloads from the sites linked in my last post? Even grey-haired old ladies have iPods now. The c.d. medium is quickly fading away.

+1!!

bloke wrote: Again, (if no dough) why not skip the plastic and just sell downloads from the sites linked in my last post? Even grey-haired old ladies have iPods now. The c.d. medium is quickly fading away. I can pretty much promise that (reqardless of how extraordinarily fine the performances or how well-promoted) 1000 c.d.'s will not be sold.

There are still 'hold-outs' who prefer CD's, such as myself. CD's generally sound much better than the downloaded media (MP3, WAV, etc) and usually include a little booklet with liner notes/technical info and sometimes a little history of the pieces recorded on the disc. I like having a tangible disc with high quality audio that will last for a long time that I can stick into any CD player. I don't care much for downloading an album with crappier audio, no booklet, and the possibility that it's GONE if stored on something that craps out (hard drive, iPod, MP3 player, etc).

The point you nay-sayers seem to be missing is that the Washington Trombone Ensemble IS self-funding this CD, with a pre-sale via Kickstarter. Are you lot really so insecure that you feel the need to rag on somebody else's performance ensemble for pre-funding their project rather than gambling on debt?

tooba wrote: There are still 'hold-outs' who prefer CD's, such as myself.

Count me in with the I-want-a-CD crowd. Downloaded music gets lost or misplaced when I move to a newer PC/operating system or whatever. It may be old, but CDs are still retrievable and portable to newer technology platforms.

not to mention the value of "tangible objects" when it comes to creating a lasting work of art.

funkcicle wrote:not to mention the value of "tangible objects" when it comes to creating a lasting work of art.

The question is: will CD's be more like vinyl, or more like 8-track?

Wanted to give a quick update on the Kickstarter campaign: we met our goal yesterday afternoon.
A big "Thank you!" to everyone who contributed and/or helped spread the word!

congrats!