Adopt a Composer
£25,000 to help amateur groups adopt a composer
Following eight highly-successful years, the Adopt a Composer scheme
is to continue in 2009/10, thanks to £25,000 from the PRS Foundation.
The scheme, run by Sound and Music and Making Music, enables voluntary
music groups to have a new piece of music especially composed for them
by some of the UK’s most talented young composers. BBC Radio 3 has
also committed to recording performances of all the resulting work from
this year’s scheme.
The decision to continue follows a recent independent review that showed
an overwhelming positive response from participating ensembles and the
unique opportunity for professional and artistic development such collaboration
allows.
Once selected, six groups and six composers from around the UK are arranged
into pairs, and each pair is mentored by an established professional composer.
Over the course of 12 months, they work together to produce a work that
is tailor made for the skills and interests of the group members.
For many groups, this is their first encounter with contemporary music
and the world of the composer. For the composers, this is often their
first work for a large-scale group, working in the community. Each project
culminates in première performance, which will be recorded by BBC
Radio 3 for broadcast later in the year.
Adopt a Composer is managed by Making Music and Sound and Music, and funded
by the PRS Foundation. For more information contact Sarah Robinson at
Making Music on 020 7422 8291 or by email at sarah.robinson@makingmusic.org.uk.
