For several months, I’ve had my eyes on Dilettante, a classical music community; think Last.Fm but for classical music enthusiasts. I joined the community in its infancy, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. I can’t say I’ve been an active participant, but I do read the emails I get from them. I visit the site once in a while to see what is new, but that is about all I have time for these days.
Dilettante has made several enhancements to improve overall user experience. The community does have a lot of great features such as the ability to create a profile, connect with others, write your own blogs posts, review albums and other features. One of the criticisms I have about the community is the inability to hear recorded music from labels. Yes, you can hear short snippets selected by Amazon, but for long works this doesn’t cut it. I can’t imagine listening to one minute of Mahler. Classical music labels should frankly be paying Dilettante to stream music, but this subject deserves its own post. Regardless, I hope this changes because I do believe a community like Dilettante is needed.
Furthermore, Dilettante is also active in promoting the evolution of classical Music. The community invited composers to become the first Digital Composer-In-Residence for the community. The finalists have been chosen, and now YOU can select who is most deserving of the opportunity.
The three finalists are:
- American composer and percussionist David T. Little
- Canadian composer Aaron Gervais
- Taiwanese composer Chiayu
Voting started today. Visit the following link to listen to each composer’s work, review bios, and vote: http://www.dilettantemusic.com/digital-composer-vote
The winner will be announced November 5th at concert featuring the works from all the finalists.
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