October 5th, 2011

Dear Mr Laroche,

The Canadian League of Composers is writing to you today to express their concerns in regards to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec’s recently announced new measure, which prevents composers to apply for a new development grant prior to their having submitted the final report on a previously awarded grant. We hereby express the distress of many of our Québec members, specifically in regards to the commissioning grants program. We have expressed similar concerns to the Ontario Arts Council in regards to comparable changes to their policies, as you can see by visiting our website.

We understand that in principle the new measure may seem advantageous: limiting the number of candidates per jury, thereby augmenting the candidates’ chances at receiving the financial support they are applying for. However, considering that the distribution of funds amongst the various CALQ programs is proportional to the number of applicants in each of them, the portion awarded to the commissioning grants program risks being greatly diminished with the new measure in place.

Furthermore, collaborations with ensembles, especially for larger works, require a lot of advance planning. There is a great deal of risk involved for a composer, especially one who focuses on creating new works, in not applying for grants as long in advance as possible. Also, should an applicant be successful right away in their grant application process (with advance planning), they are then penalized by their success and foresight, as they aren’t eligible to submit any further applications to the CALQ until completion of their previous commissioned work. This makes the planning of future projects impossible. For example, a composer with a work completion date in May will have to miss the April application deadline and wait for the September one, for which they will receive a response only in December, thereby paralyzing their work for two thirds of a year. In consequence, the new measure disadvantages both the more ambitious projects and the more prolific composers, creating in our view an obstruction to the creative drive and artistic effervescence, thereby going against the objectives of the CALQ.

We would be most grateful for your attention to our concerns and your efforts to find solutions. For example, in the case of the commissioning grants program, seeing as it requires more extensive planning, a requirement of an annual mid-project report could be authorized. If you wish to discuss these matters with us in person, we would be more than happy to take advantage of Brian Current’s upcoming visit to Montreal to go and meet with you on November 24th at 4pm.

In gratitude of your continued interest in the composers’ views,

Jennifer Butler
President, Canadian League of Composers