Typically, commissioning a piece of music has been a somewhat complicated process: what’s the instrumentation? Who will perform it? Where will it be performed? Who will come? These layers of complexity have made participating in a commission prohibitive (without significant financial and logistical resources).

Since 2018 I’ve advocated for and operated by a concept I call “crowd-commissioning” to bring new music to life. It’s an innovative way of democratising participation in the creation of new works, allowing anyone to participate at a level commensurate to their means.

Each year I invite the public to partner with me – and an international community of co-commissioners – to create and present a series of new works for the ‘season’. In addition to the creation of new works, the season also includes scheduled performances, recordings, and festival attendances predominantly across Australia, North America and Europe.

Part of the beauty is that your contribution doesn’t end when the season is over – each work you help bring into the world takes on a life of its own. As word gets out and it gets re-performed or re-broadcast, you can be certain that every step of the way, I’ll be tracking and reporting to you the progress and impact generated by your investment.

It is my privilege with every new work to recognise the contribution of each patron by inscribing their name into the score of the music they co-commissioned and thus made possible. I believe it’s important not just to acknowledge their contribution, but to ensure anyone who performs or picks up that score is reminded that it is a cultural artifact born of (and carrying with it) the goodwill and generosity of an entire community.