Some excellent, insightful comments to digest from Jerry, Mike, and William.
With regard to the term "mock-up": I confess to personally not giving it that much thought, nor seeking a deeper sub-text to its meaning, insofar as it can imply an inferior end product to a live performance. I simply as a relative "newbie" to this world, used the vernacular of the common man (no pun intended, Copland!) to refer to an orchestral work rendered with virtual instruments.
Mike, your artistic goals, and approach to composition in my estimation, is the result of seeing "beyond the notes"; afterall, the movement to more modern forms of musical expression is due to the need for composers to continue to push the envelope, explore new sonic landscapes, and go beyond the conventional ideas of form and harmony, so vastly developed already. I completely respect this, but am to some extent grateful that my own personal proclivities are toward more conventional ideas of music, which is why I rarely explore extended techniques, and am inclined to write in a neo-classical/romantic style. So, the current tools on offer via VSL and others, typically meets my requirements. In fact, I am often daunted by the abundance of articulation offerings via the extended library, for which, if I ever get those extended libraries, may allow me to further explore areas of composition I'm not yet ready to explore.
Jerry, it strikes me that composers in general are introverts, and that we are quite comfortable as such. The problem with being "islands unto ourselves" as I see it, is that we may desire to control our own destinies and not rely on all those external social norms required to build a network and get our music performed publically, but in so doing, will limit the exposure our music receives to the few "fellow composers" that regularly comment on our music on forums such as this. It's clear that by posting our music on forums, we're all seeking some form of validation/feedback/commentary. In other words, we don't want our music to exist in a vacuum, or we simply would create it and never share it anywhere. So with that ideal in mind, I was happy to see you mention the desire of many composers to get the live performance and share their work in a public forum. This shared/communal experience is why people still go to movies, theatres, restaurants, etc. It is a powerful, transcendent experience that elevates the music to new heights. It's as addictive as a drug. As performers, my wife and I can make hundreds of youtube videos and put out recordings, but our greatest feelings of accomplishment come from sharing our music in live concerts and interacting with audience members. I want the same for my own compositions, which is why I continue to pursue this.
I recently read a quote from a new music presenter that stated, "If orchestras didn't play Mozart in his lifetime, we wouldn't be playing Mozart today." This is the only problem with not building an audience for our music in the "real world." My fear is that no matter the fact that we're "documenting" our works via recordings and sharing them on forums, they are not being shared on a scale large enough to build a "buzz". And further creating an alientation between composers and performers (for which I agree exists through faults on both sides of the coin) may do more long term harm to all of us (composers, performers, conductors, etc.) that will leave the overall state of the performing arts in ruin.
I'm learning so much from you guys. Thanks for continuing to share your poignant insights!
Dave