Virtual & Live Music Project

Greetings!

My name is Rebecca Carovillano, a clarinetist, and alongside my husband, David, an accordionist, we have been making music together since 2003 as the duo, Acclarion.  What we do is pretty rare in the world of classical music and we've had to carve out our own path the entire time.  When you try to do something that's different or a little outside of the box, it can be daunting getting others to share the vision and support your efforts.  However, early on in our journey, we realized we weren't in music to get rich or famous; we were in it to share great music with audiences and make classical music accessible and enjoyable to many who might otherwise be intimidated by it. 

After 13 years as "musical missionaries", we can proudly say that we've stood by each other, through difficult financial challenges and artistic hurdles, never wavering in our mission to constantly create new music and share it with the world.  We have played hundreds of concerts for school children from large city schools to remote communities in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.  We have travelled for hours at our own expense to present concerts in retirement homes for appreciative audiences that are often forgotten by the community at large.  We have toured much of Canada and the United States, presenting concerts and workshops and always consistently trying to entertain and educate audiences about the rareness of our instrument combination and music. 

We have self-funded and released three CDs, all of which have been played extensively on the radio around the world.  While travelling to perform, recording CDs, and working alongside each other may all sound very glamorous, there is definitely a price that must be paid to follow one's dream.  All of our successes have been "legacy accomplishments."  We have chosen to look at life as an opportunity to share our gifts with others, as we feel it is our calling.  Managing our duo for 13 years has had all of the financial obligations and time commitments of running any small business, except that the rewards of "profits" are non-existent.  We have always done what we needed to do to "get by" and the truth is, this will always be the way for us and "non-commercial" artists in general. 

That said, we're at a crossroads in our career.  Two years ago, David began composing music for Acclarion and other instrument combinations so that we could take our duo to new places.  There is a limited number of opportunities for an accordion and clarinet duo, and we've exhausted many of them over the years.  Now, we are endeavouring to make music with string quartets and orchestras, so that we can reach new audiences.  Unlike a book author or screenplay writer that may wait to get a "book deal" or "movie deal" with simply an idea, we have spent two full years writing a large amount of music with absolutely no compensation for the thousands of hours of work and the thousands of dollars of equipment we've needed to acquire. 

Much like Acclarion has pioneered a great deal of repertoire for accordion and clarinet, we are now creating ground breaking music that pairs live musicians (us!) with virtual orchestras, string quartets, piano trios, brass quintets, and more!  All the music is already written.  Among the works is the 3 movement Indomitable Spirit, which is a double concerto for clarinet, accordion, and orchestra.  There's also the 3 movement Circus of the Mind which pairs us up with a string quartet.  Complimenting these large scale works are pieces for us with unique combinations including guitar, marimba, brass, percussion, and more.  Recognizing that it is beyond challenging for "classical music outsiders" like us to convince orchestras and string quartets to partner with us, we decided to prove to them that this music deserves to be heard by first recording it with virtual instruments.

This means that we have had to spend the past two years preparing scores, computer MIDI files, acquiring and testing various equipment as we "problem solve" a myriad of issues that have come up.  We're honestly tapped out financially and in terms of the time we can continue to devote to this project.

That's where you come in!  We need your financial (and emotional!) support to realize our dream of putting together our most ambitious recording ever.  We don't have any help from anyone.  We're learning the jobs of music engineers, virtual orchestrators, mastering engineers, sound designers, and more as we get closer to the recording stage.  The funds raised from this campaign will go to toward instrument repairs for my clarinets and David's accordion, which is a 50 year old instrument whose parts are harder to come by than fossilized dinosaur bones, recording equipment/software necessary to complete the project, CD pressings/print materials, website fees, photography fees, and other expenses directly related to the production and promotion of this one-of-a-kind recording.  Keep in mind that this recording is not a commercially lucrative endeavour; we still haven't paid back the costs associated with our first CD release in 2004!  We won't be "getting rich" once the album is out there; however, we hope that it will help fuel new live performance opportunities that will allow us to continue working in the arts for years to come.

We have always had the most frugal attitude in terms of maximizing our (minimal) resources.  The funds you so generously donate to us will be appreciated and respectfully used to help us "live".  If we don't receive enough support, we will still finish this project, like we have finished every other undertaking over the past 13 years; it just will take a lot longer (as in years vs. months).  We are setting a 3 month term to raise funds so that we're able to ascertain exactly where we stand and how best to proceed with the project.

As artists, we have given everything to our music, and in return, it has given everything to us.  It's difficult for us to reach out in this way, especially since we feel there are so many worthy causes that require financial support from generous people like you.  If you are able to support with your donation, you are letting us know directly that you value the music we have brought to you for the past 13 years; that you value the arts and would like to support those artists who devote their lives to their art; and that you are part of a small group of individuals that wants to be directly responsible for helping in the creation of new art.

Thank you so much for supporting us!  Please share this campaign with your social network and help us spread the word.

Visit our website:  Acclarion's Website