Classical Composer and Educator Does What He Loves
by Anne Leighton
In these struggling economic days when even Army veterans are being ignored by the government, it seems highly impractical for the public sector to fund classical music. Private businesses tend to go after projects that have famous names attached.
Unknown talented composers have to be their own funders and developers. Walt Ribeiro might end up as significant a composer and educator as Leonard Bernstein, but whereas the famous Harvard-educated conductor made his debut in front of a large, funded orchestra at 25, the 23-year-old Camden County College graduate had to do it himself. He unveiled his 80-piece orchestral composition as an electronic music recording called I.I, using his computer as the classical instrument.
Orchestras don't have funding to practice new compositions, so they play the standards like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which are in every musician's repertoire. Ribeiro learned how hard it was to coordinate and even find musicians for his piece. "I networked with violinist, flutists and cello players, but it fell apart because of schedules and payment," he says. "I was 18 years old, trying to get my music played."
After a few years of phone calls, "the idea of using samples came to me," he says, so he learned that technology, plus the studio, post- and preproduction as he went along. "I didn't even know how to press a CD!"
The result is I.I, the first of two CDs in which the computer performed the music. There were some problems with the recording, as he didn't master the dynamics or crisp classical precision of a human player. But the recording and the charts certainly are good enough to convince many 80-piece orchestras to consider his composition. In addition, Walt Ribeiro actually became an "act," someone who could present his own classical compositions in performance.
With the next album, I.II, completed and Ribeiro working on II.I, he visualizes his songs to be performed with all the funding in the world, "a complete marriage of all the arts—my orchestral music onstage with dancers, sculptures, paintings, photos, actors, all choreographed and unified onstage. Like Cirque du Soleil meets everything!"
But obviously, "I can't afford to hire people," he says. He believes that today's orchestras could actually make profits through their patrons. "I have a whole business plan on how to turn it around quite simply. There are new composers; very few have the opportunity of actually working with an orchestra. But other businesses keep renewing themselves—even restaurants change the menu every season. If an orchestra keeps changing their program, they can develop a new audience. Beethoven's not alive to promote his new music, but I am."
He believes that merchandise such as sheet music can bring in money and also spread the word for a classical composer. "You have to spend money to make money," he says.
He has promoted I.I himself, approaching regional record stores to carry his release. He also contacted the media himself, "It's survival of the fittest. I can't afford a PR person, so I used the same approach with my work and sent out a few old-fashioned e-mails to people who wrote articles that I liked, telling them, 'I'd be happy to send you my kit.' Ninety percent of the time they don't get back to me. So every two weeks I keep e-mailing them. I personalize every letter; I want them to know I'm e-mailing them. Eventually they'll go, 'Thanks for the follow-up, I'm going to move you to the top of the pile.'" Two weeks later he'll remind them and include their previous e-mailed responses.
In addition to composing, he's an educator. While Leonard Bernstein used the 1950s and 1960s technology of television for his Young People's Concerts (www.leonardbernstein.com/youth.php), Ribeiro is using the visual and interactive powers of the Internet for his music show at www.youtube.com/waltribiero to offer a new, weekly music-education show. "It's for those who can't afford music lessons," he says. "Drop me an e-mail and I'll answer it on the show next week. There's news on technology, guests, different topics. It's so cool that anyone from around the world can communicate with each other and make education interactive at a time when schools are taking music out."
