Looking for some big answers? Chances are, I’ve got you covered. Click on the questions below to be taken to each section!

General note: I am currently working to update my catalog so every work is delivered with an edition that exclusively uses Atkinson Hyperlegible, which is more accessible for low vision and dyslexic folks. (Some currently existing scores will have two editions—one with original fonts and one hyperlegible—but I am exploring whether I would like to permanently shift to only using Hyperlegible in the future.) This is a slow process, but if you would benefit from this accommodation for scores of mine which you already own or want to buy, please let me know and I will prioritize those pieces!

Table of Contents

Most Pressing Questions

Do you have any flexibility for commission, clinic, or score pricing for folks with limited budgets?
I am programming your work. What is your birth year?
Where SHOULDN’T I program your music?
I have an accessibility need that is not accommodated in your scores. Can you help me?
You have not replied to my message. Why?

General Music Questions

How much does it cost to commission a piece?
How can I buy your music?
The title of your piece I am playing is printed in all lowercase/all caps/etc. May I alter this for my program?
Can you come talk to my class/ensemble/organization?
Can I hire you for other things?

Identity/Biographical Questions

How do I correctly use your pronouns?
What title do I use for you?
What if I have to talk about your gender?
What if I have to talk about your orientation?
I messed up! What should I do?
Where can I read your writing on queerness?

Most Pressing Questions

Do you have any flexibility for commission, clinic, or score pricing for folks with limited budgets?

Yes, I do! It’s really important to me that I work with people with a wide range of budgets. Please do not assume that what you perceive as limited funding will be a barrier for me. As far as score pricing, if an available work is too expensive and you’d like to purchase it, please send me an email using the current email address on my Contact page. I will send you a coupon code that’s tailored as closely to your needs as possible!

If you’re interested in a clinic or other presentation, I keep a limited number of slots available for free or low-cost presentations each year. Ensembles and institutions in rural or otherwise under-resourced areas get first priority for these. Please reach out using the current email address on my Contact page to inquire about my availability!

For commissions, please see “How much does it cost to commission a piece?” I still do occasionally do work for free, but that is an offer I extend personally on a case by case basis. Click here to return to the table of contents.

I am programming your work. What is your birth year?

I don’t give out my birth year at this time, and I request that my performers do not include information about my age in their programs even if they are privy to that information. I have gone to substantial lengths to remove this data from all platforms I control. In a world and industry where every shred of demographic information is expected to be shared, I value my privacy, and this is one of the ways I choose to exercise it. (If you really must say something about my age, feel free to tell your audiences that I am a late Millennial.)

If you are a student and are required by your institution to include this information due to your short-sighted administration and/or teachers believing that a performer’s right to a composer’s biographical information trumps a living composer’s right to privacy, my recommendation is that you input my dates as “(19XX- ).” Also feel free to add an asterisk and a little note saying something along the lines of “Eris is a Millennial composer who believes that every living artist should have the freedom to choose what personal data they share. They choose not to share their exact birth year.” Feel free to show your teachers/administrators this paragraph on my website, too. Click here to return to the table of contents.

Where SHOULDN’T I program your music?

I aim to make my music as accessible as possible to audiences and performers while maintaining my personal boundaries around the use of my art. As a general rule, I do NOT allow performances of my music on: women in music concerts, performances explicitly promoting or otherwise in support of any country facing apartheid or genocide allegations in courts of international law, military music performances, any presentations that are supportive of generative AI or NFTs, and programs in which I will be maliciously and intentionally misgendered or malgendered.

I may choose to make exceptions to each of these if a project, performer, or framing really speaks to me, so if you think you’ve got something good, please do send me an email and let’s talk about it. For instance, I will (almost always) gladly greenlight a performance at a school in a trans-hostile state, even if presenters are required by law to use incorrect pronouns for me. In that situation, I would likely ask those presenters to only use my name to refer to me, because it is the most respectful option in that area. (I do not personally view this as respectful in other situations, but when a law prohibiting appropriate speech is involved, I want to ensure my collaborators have a workaround.)

While I do not want to blanket-ban my works in situations I do not understand, each of the situations I’ve listed above would often either misrepresent me and my brand or expose me to harassment I am not willing to deal with. (Or both!)

And one more note: though it is impossible for me to be aware of all performances of my work, I do frequently have programs and notifications sent to me by folks, including people who were not involved with a concert where my music was played but who became aware of it. If I learn that my music is being used in support of causes I do not and cannot support, or if a performer’s/ensemble’s public statements regarding their personal politics lead me to believe audiences will associate anything they play with a particular cause, I will forbid any future performances of my work by that party. Your purchase of a score (or participation in a commission/consortium) does not include an unlimited lifetime right to perform my music. (Most performers will not ever need to worry about this. And I will reiterate: if you are concerned that a presentation you are planning may be in a gray area regarding any of these things, please send me an email. I always appreciate performers who get in touch to check in for any reason, but especially for things like this!) Click here to return to the table of contents.

I have an accessibility need that is not accommodated in your scores. Can you help me?

I will do my best! Please reach out in whatever way works best for you. My current email address is available on my Contact page. For accessibility needs only, if social media is a better method for you to reach out, I am open to that—however, keep in mind that there’s a chance you will get stuck in Message Request Purgatory, which may cause delays.

I am currently working to update my catalog so every work is delivered in two editions: one with fun fonts and one that exclusively uses Atkinson Hyperlegible, which is more accessible for low vision and dyslexic folks. This is a slow process, but if you would benefit from this accommodation for scores of mine which you already own or want to buy, please let me know and I will prioritize those pieces! After this process is completed for all my publicly available works, I hope to educate myself about standards for Big Note formatting so I can make works available in that style as well.

I am disabled myself, so accessibility is important to me. My personal knowledge about accommodations for PDF documents (and scores/parts more specifically) is always growing, but I don’t pretend to know everything. Thank you in advance for working with me to meet your needs when engaging with my work! Click here to return to the table of contents.

You have not replied to my message. Why?

There are a number of common reasons for delays. Most often: you messaged me on social media, which I do not use for professional communications. While I share information about my work on my personal pages, these are not commercial—and DMs are a uniquely terrible format for sending or receiving any important information you or I might need to reference later. Please email me using the current email address on my Contact page.

If you have emailed me and received no reply: my spam filters are somewhat aggressive, so you may have been auto-filtered out (especially if we haven’t spoken previously). However, even when emails make it to my inbox, my energy levels and free time are not the same as an abled, full-time composer. I am multiply disabled and have a 40-hour-a-week day job, and when I am experiencing a symptoms flare, my capacity is significantly reduced. If it has been longer than a week since your email, feel free to reply again, but please know I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for your understanding! Click here to return to the table of contents.

General Music Questions

How much does it cost to commission a piece?

It depends! Smaller projects (when not on a tight deadline) tend to cost less than bigger projects. My quotes are determined based on instrumentation, duration, and a few other parameters that drastically affect how much time and labor a piece will require. Regardless of budget or scope, I’m always happy to explore consortiums, grants, and other means of securing funding (and if you have a friend/colleague/rival who wants to co-commission with you for joint exclusivity, that can be a great option). I’m always happy to talk about a project, even if you don’t have what you think will be enough funding—especially if you’re a student or someone else with a super limited budget. Though I still do the occasional project for free, it’s rare (and always an offer I make personally).

I also offer a commission discount for certain Patreon tiers. If you’re interested, hop on over to my Patreon. For more information on the commissioning process generally, check out my Commission Information page.

If a commission isn’t in the cards for you right now but you’d still love something new, I sometimes have a stray piece or two looking for a good home and a world premiere. Look for them on my full works list or in my Works for Sale with “(unperformed!)” at the end of the title. Click here to return to the table of contents.

How can I buy your music?

I currently only deliver scores in PDF format and fixed media in WAV (though MP3 is available on request if you need it specifically). To order a work that’s already available, head on over to my Works for Sale page. Pieces are listed in alphabetical order, and some are available for multiple instrumentations (same link). As long as there’s an Add To Cart button, you can order it and get it delivered to your inbox as soon as your payment is processed! If you ever purchase a piece and have trouble opening a file (or need something delivered in another format!), let me know and I’ll be happy to assist. On occasion, I do offer hard copies of my work; however, this is generally only when I’m at a conference, running a consortium for the work, or visiting a commissioner. If you’d like to inquire about this, drop me a line.

Some works are unavailable for instant sale and download through my website. This usually means either the work needs edits or I only offer the piece to performers with projects that align with its emotional content. Some of these will come available in time, but if you’re interested, I highly recommend filling out the form on that piece’s product page. It’ll let me know I need to prioritize cleaning those parts or start a conversation with you!

If you’re looking to just listen to recorded versions, I have formal releases available on my Bandcamp (which . . . y’know . . . 10/10 would recommend), releases by other performers on my Discography page, and other recordings from concerts and recitals are available on my SoundCloud and YouTube. I will be moving off YouTube in the near future, and at that point, all my videos will be housed on my Patreon. Join the free tier to access those! Click here to return to the table of contents.

The title of your piece I am playing is printed in all lowercase/all caps/etc. May I alter this for my program?

No! I am very open about the influence of text and writing on my music, and any choice to capitalize or not capitalize is an intentional, thoroughly considered one. Please respect my artistic decisions in these matters by faithfully rendering the title in your programs and marketing material. (For example, go to the garden is all lowercase, and KENOCHORIC is in all caps.) Click here to return to the table of contents.

Can you come talk to my class/ensemble/studio/organization?

Most likely! I offer guest lectures, clinics, workshops, and presentations on a variety of topics related to queerness, new music, working with living composers, power dynamics, and more. Check out the Services page to book some time to talk, or use the current email address available on my Contact page to pitch me an idea. Click here to return to the table of contents.

Can I hire you for other things?

Yes! Check out my Services page for information on lessons, lectures, workshops, clinics, studio recording, and other projects. For gigs and other things that require an answer pretty soon, the easiest way to reach me is by email, using the current email address available on my Contact page.

I don’t, as a rule, field any requests on social media, ESPECIALLY Facebook Messenger. If you hit me up there, just know I may not reply, as I don’t have social apps on my phone much anymore. If I do, I’ll ask you to send me an email. It’s much easier to keep track of our conversation (and the specifics of your project) there! Click here to return to the table of contents.

Identity Questions

How do I correctly use your pronouns?

Currently, I publicly use e/they pronouns, meaning both e/em/eir/eirs/emself or eirself* and they/them/their/theirs/themself or theirself should be used to refer to me. If you’re new to multipronoun sets, I recommend practicing as much as you can, even if that’s just talking with a friend. Some multipronoun users have a preference for one of the two or more pronouns they specify. Because I’m genderqueer, I find both of mine to be important ways I reflect my gender linguistically. Please use both e and they when referring to me. Some folks alternate every other pronoun, but if that’s a difficult adjustment, every other sentence also works really well! (I do that in my bio, for the most part.) Bare minimum, I’d recommend shooting for swapping at least every other paragraph (or, if you’re really really unsure, please use they/them exclusively). Using any pronouns beyond e and they (unless I’ve recently or conditionally given you permission otherwise) is misgendering.

One small note: if you’re reprinting my bio, please never rewrite it to only use one set of pronouns unless we have been in direct contact and I’ve given you specific instructions to do so. If you’re playing my work and talking about it, our shared audiences should be meeting me as I choose to represent myself, not some distorted, dishonest version. If you knowingly misgender me without my permission, I WILL put you on blast publicly, and I very likely won’t let you play my work again. Don’t do it.

*These are called Spivak pronouns, in case you’d like to do more reading on them. Click here to return to the table of contents.

What title should I use for you?

Mx. (pronounced “mix”) is a pretty commonly used gender-neutral honorific, and it’s the one I prefer. However, I only really lean on titles when students (generally my own) are involved, and anytime I sign off on an email with my first name—not my default signature, but the actual closing—you’re 100% good to first-name me from there on out unless we run into something situationally weird. Click here to return to the table of contents.

What if I have to talk about your gender?

I’ve put longer explanations here before, but just use genderqueer or genderfluid (or both!). These are accurate and usually (slightly) less likely to prompt follow-up questions than more specific terms.

Yes, I am a trans composer, and trans is a word you can happily use to describe me, either in combination with or independently of genderqueer and genderfluid. Mix and match to your heart’s content with my full approval!

And a reminder: Please don’t put me on your all-women-composers concert. If you’d like to include my work in something like this, you’re actually having a gender-marginalized-composers concert (yay!), and you should also get rep from trans women, trans men, more (and different types of) genderqueer and nonbinary people, and folks using various demographic-specific genders! Click here to return to the table of contents.

What if I have to talk about your orientation?

Please feel free to use either aroace, gay, or Not Straight(TM). You may use these in combination as well. Again, you can choose your own adventure through these, but please stick with your choice. Or, if you want to sum up gender and orientation things in one go, I’ve got a great word for you: queer. Click here to return to the table of contents.

I messed up! What do I do?

Shit happens! As long as you’re not doing it maliciously, there’s really just two important things to do here: correct yourself (or accept correction if it’s offered by someone else) and continue working to get things right consistently. Ideally, that looks something like this:

You: “I talked with Eris today, and he—I mean, they told me about a new piece they’re writing!”
or
You: “I talked with Eris today, and he told me—”
Someone else: “e!”
You: “Right, thanks! E told me about a new piece e’s writing!”

If you’re misprinting my name in your program or presenting me on a women composers concert, that’s… a bigger, less fun thing. Most of y’all likely haven’t played me before, so getting it right the first time is going to be easier, but if you’re cut/pasting from old programs when you play my work again, please make sure the right name and pronouns exist anywhere they show up and that you’re paying attention to where you’re bringing my music. (If you pulled my bio off my website, remember to check that, too.)

If you interact with me on a regular basis, the above applies, but know that despite me granting folks (relatively long) adjustment periods, continued misgendering does cause me distress. I will always try to work with you on it as best I can, but in my experience, positive and fulfilling connections tend to fizzle out after one to two years if I am still being somewhat consistently misgendered. Click here to return to the table of contents.

Where can I read your writing on queerness?

Here’s a list to get you started (hopefully I remember to update it):

I run the risk not only of dealing with queerphobic hate but also of people who have long looked to me as an advocate and authority on women in music deciding that maybe I don’t count anymore. . . . [but] this is who I am. This is who I’ve been as long as most of you have known me.

-from my coming-out post, May 16, 2020