TSO House is an exciting venture we have embarked on in direct response to the 2020 COVID changes. TSO House will be the only orchestral publishing house in Tasmania, managing hires and sales of orchestral music both nationally, and internationally. It is an opportunity for Tasmanian, and Australian music and story to be represented in the global orchestral market. Along with our new digital presence, this venture shows that the we are becoming adaptive to new ways of presenting music.
We will have three areas represented by TSO House:
ESTABLISHED TASMANIAN COMPOSERS
TSO House will publish the compositional repertoires of several established Tasmanian composers. We will manage the full works of John Gough (1903 – 1951), Australian composer born in Launceston who then became the BBC controller of music. We will also be representing living Tasmanian composers including Maria Grenfell, and Jabra Latham, along with our own TSO composers including; Tim Jones and Gary Wain.
“Having my music represented by TSO House Publishing will be of tremendous benefit, not only in promoting my music but making it easy for ensembles in Australia and internationally to obtain scores and parts for performances. The TSO and I have had a long-standing relationship that includes at least six commissioned works, and promoting this connection also brings recognition to the TSO as an orchestra that strongly supports the work of Australian composers.” Maria Grenfell, Tasmanian Composer.
Through TSO House, we aim to encourage all Tasmanian composers to come to us for advice and support, or to have their work published on their behalf.
NEW AUSTRALIAN WORKS
New works that the TSO commissions will also be represented, offering early-career composers an opportunity to have their scores published and managed by us until they develop further and find new management. At that point we will then hand over their work to their new management.
Working with TSO House will be a mentoring opportunity in management and publishing for early-career composers in Australia. This opportunity to publish works will also become a valuable component of the Australian Composers School, offering participants a full learning continuum from composition development through to publishing a finalised score. To encourage people to hire our new Australian works, TSO House will provide a sound clip and sample score for each.
Finally, TSO House will be the home of many TSO commissioned works suitable for inclusion in concert presentations to school groups and families, as well as works for community orchestras and ensembles. We will support online education resources and provide access to downloadable sheet music to accompany videos, when required.
Packages of three concert products created by Jenny Compton; My Pet Dragon, David the Lopsided Violin and The Amazing Tale of Gibson, are currently being prepared for publication. Packages may include scores, scripts, narrations, production information and technical specifications, as well as audio tracks for reference.
Publications suitable for community use will include works for string orchestra, with additional parts targeted at beginner and intermediate player levels currently being written by Nara Dennis. The additional parts will allow for an expanded side-by-side experience and accommodate student and community players from a diverse range of playing experience, so that everyone involved feels positive about their side-by-side experience.
When can you expect to see TSO House available?
Last week we released for sale, Solo for Clarinet, by Jabra Latham. We have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get more content ready, it is a large - and growing project. We will have pieces across all three areas available for hire in the coming months.
TSO House is an extension of TSO’s long-established commitment to promote outstanding Australian orchestral works, with a focus on Tasmanian composers. It will provide access to products that support education and community involvement as well as making TSO’s own unique performance products and commissions available to professional and community orchestras across the globe.
Thank you to David Harvey, Jenny Compton and Maria Grenfell for contributing to this article!