Sam Buttler chosen as Associate Composer for The Ripieno Players

Nathan James Dearden talks about his new work Three Postcards , composed as part his 2018/19 Making Music Adopt a Composer collaboration with Swansea Philharmonic Choir. "When writing for voice or grouped voices, I have always considered the text’s relationship to musical form and structure, which often guides harmonic decisions and the pacing of the music, but have never had the opportunity to work as closely to the source of the text – the poet. This is a key aspect of the music making process that I feel can be overlooked; amazing when you consider how significant, if not the most significant, the element of the text can be for vocal music. As part of the workshops with the Swansea Philharmonic Choir and conductor Jon Rogers, we have created three responses in the form of 'postcards' to the city of Swansea, marking the 50th anniversary of Swansea being given city status and the choir’s 60th anniversary. Two of the responses have already received a preview performance during the process, and all three will be premiered as a set in December." read more

Lucy McPhee has been named as one of five composers chosen from 43 submissions to this year's The Night With... Call for Scores which takes place in Glasgow in November. The workshop will take place at 4pm on 24th November in the Scottish Music Centre. It is free to attend but registration is esential. Do so here: https://www.musicglue.com/the-night-with-dot-dot-dot/events/f2ce6c49-3d0b-40f8-8452-e53917da5e67 One work will be chosen for première during The Night With... the Hermes Experiment on the 25th, 26th and 27th in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Book your tickets from www.thenightwith.com The Night With… is a charity (SC048739) based in Glasgow presenting salon style concerts of interesting music in intimate, informal venues across Scotland and further afield. Run by Matthew Whiteside , it provides development and commissioning opportunities for young and emerging composers.

Sound and Music launches the essential findings of its National Music Educators' Survey, revealing the significant barriers faced by young people looking to compose and create their own music. The first report in the UK to focus specifically on creativity and composing, Can Compose offers unique perspective on an area often overlooked. Drawing on responses from over 500 educators, the report found that: 97% agree there should be more opportunities for students to compose their own music 42% report a fall in young people’s confidence to compose between Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) and Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) Only 27% of school teachers signpost to external opportunities , meaning few young people are able to progress their talent or interest Over 600 barriers reported that prevent young people from creating their own music in the UK Near unanimous agreement that creating and composing should be a central element of music education Analysis highlights the urgent need for change in perceptions, provision, policy and practice. In response, the report offers 21 key recommendations for the sector to address these urgent issues. READ THE REPORT IN FULL: http://soundandmusic.org/sites/default/files/projects/files/2019_SoundandMusic_CanCompose_SurveyFindings-FINAL.pdf