Ar hyn of bryd mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
Ar hyn of bryd mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
Ar hyn of bryd mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
hyrwyddo a dathlu cerddoriaeth Cymru
promoting and celebrating the music of Wales
+44 (0)29 2063 5640
MEDAL Y CYFANSODDWR
‘Cymru Fydd’
Open call for composers and music creators
Deadline for applications: 10:00 on Tuesday 7 January
The Medal y Cyfansoddwr theme this year is Cymru Fydd.
In recognition of the centenary of the birth of Islwyn Ffowc Elis, one of Wrexham’s finest writers, we are inviting music-creators to respond to his epic novel Wythnos yng Nghymru Fydd (there’s more about the novel at the bottom of this call).
Medal y Cyfansoddwr – Cymru Fydd is a pathway offering three composers a paid opportunity to write for a chamber ensemble from Sinfonia Cymru. Three composers will be selected to work with three extraordinarily versatile string players Simmy Singh (violin), David Shaw (violin/viola) and Garwyn Linnell (cello). Simmy, David and Garwyn play strings with a difference: they are comfortable stretching into the widest range of genres, using loop pedal, shruti box, hand percussion and their own voices. Take a look at some of their work here, here and here.
The three selected composers will work with Simmy, Dave and Garwyn in workshops over six months, leading up to the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham, where their resulting works will be performed at the final day of the National Eisteddfod in the Pavilion on Saturday 9 August 2025. One of the three composers will be awarded the Medal y Cyfansoddwr and a £750 prize.
Each will receive £500 for their participation in a combination of in-person workshops and online contact. Applications are welcomed from music-creators from across Wales, cross-genre, and travel expenses (within Wales) will be covered for any artists needing to travel to the workshops (Cardiff) and performance (Wrexham).
The pathway is delivered by Tŷ Cerdd in partnership with the National Eisteddfod, Sinfonia Cymru and Welsh Music Guild, working with composer mentor Pwyll ap Siôn across six months.
Artists will be offered the opportunity for their completed works to be published by Tŷ Cerdd.
All applicants must be available for the following workshops/ performances:
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Tuesday 28 January 2025 – kick-off workshop #1 (Tŷ Cerdd Studio, Cardiff)
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Monday 28 April – workshop #2 (Tŷ Cerdd Studio, Cardiff)
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Monday 30 June – workshop #3 (Tŷ Cerdd Studio, Cardiff)
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Saturday 9 August - workshop/ rehearsal/ performance (Eisteddfod in Wrexham)
PARTICIPANTS
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Genre While this opportunity is for music-creators and composers who use music notation, we warmly encourage applications from artists working in any musical style.
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Welsh music-creators Applications are welcomed from music-creators from across Wales. If you’re creative musically and fit one or more of the following guidelines, you are eligible to apply:
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born in Wales, or
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with one of your parents born in Wales, or
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who can speak or write in Welsh, or
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have lived or worked in Wales for 12 months prior to 31 August 2025
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Access and inclusion
In line with our commitments to our Cornerstones, we are keen to receive applications from individuals who are under-represented or have faced neglect or exclusion from the arts community. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and neurodiverse people, artists who are Black, Asian and from the global majority, LGBTQ+ people, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
If you would like to inquire about or arrange access support with applying to this opportunity, please contact please contact Freya Dooley. We invite the music-creators we work with to share and discuss access riders at any stage in the project.
APPLICATION FORMATS
Written applications are submitted through Airtable.
Audio and video applications are also welcomed. If you need help creating a link to your video, Freya Dooley or enquiries@tycerdd.org for support.
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Welsh language: Workshops will be run bilingually, and participants are welcome no matter where they are on their journey with the Wesh language. Successful candidates will demonstrate a commitment to the language and appreciation of its importance to this project.
If you’re interested, but you have some questions…
…we can chat with you directly by phone or Zoom. Email Freya Dooley or enquiries@tycerdd.org us to arrange a call. We want to remove as many barriers as we can – so if there’s anything you’d like to talk to us about, let us know and we will try to help to find a solution.
HOW TO APPLY...
…upload the following information to our PORTAL. Applications are welcomed in Welsh and English.
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Personal details: your name, email address, mobile number, address, confirmation that you are over 18
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Tell us about your practice: Tell us about your practice as a composer creator and what you’ve been most proud of. (Max 200 words)
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Why would you like to be part of this pathway? How do you think this pathway will benefit your practice? Tell us how it builds on your previous experience and what you hope might change and develop through taking part? (Max 250 words)
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Why is Welsh language and culture important to you as a music creator? How might you respond to the theme of Cymru Fydd in a new piece? Tell us about your relationship to Wales and its language.
Thematically, the novel Wythnos yng Nghymru Fydd is the starting point for this pathway– and we want the most imaginative approaches to this theme. Perhaps the novel’s theme inspires hope, perhaps fear? There’s more info on the novel as a footnote to this call. If you’ve not read the novel yet, there’s time to try… -
Do you have any access requirements? Tell us if there is any support or any conditions you need to enable you to participate in the pathway. NB: we invite you to share your access riders / requirements with us at any point in the project.
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Examples of your work: please attach 2 links or attachments to your music and the corresponding 2 scores
(NB: for the audio please send links rather than sound or video files; if you need help creating links, let us know.)
Audio and Video applications: Record your answers to questions 2-5 above (up to 5 minutes’ duration), and upload a link to your recording, adding the information requested in questions 1 & 6 to the upload form. If you need help creating a link to your video, email us for help.
TIMELINE & SELECTION PROCESS
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Deadline for applications: 10:00 on Tuesday 7 January
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The panel (Pwyll ap Siôn; Elen Elis from the National Eisteddfod of Wales; Deborah Keyser from Tŷ Cerdd) will meet shortly after the deadline.
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We’ll let you know the outcome by Friday 10 January.
Pwyll Ap Siôn is a Welsh composer. Until 2024 he was a professor in Music at Bangor University..
Sinfonia Cymru is a flexible orchestra dedicated to developing the skills and careers of talented professional musicians aged under 30.
Welsh Music Guild’s purpose is advancing the understanding and appreciation of the music of composers of Welsh origin and the composers of any nationality resident in Wales.
Wythnos yng Nghyrmu Fydd is a science fiction novel written by Islwyn Ffowc Elis and published in 1957.
Set in the 1950s, the narrator Ifan Powel takes part in a time travel experiment and lands in Cardiff in the year 2033. He is hosted by a family and for five days is taken on a journey around Wales. He finds that Wales has secured self-government and is prosperous economically, and socially harmonious; everyone is bilingual in both Welsh and English. He falls in love with the daughter of his host family, Mair, and when he returns to Wales in the 1950s his longing for her makes him want to return to 2033. The scientist conducting the experiment cautions him against this as the future is not set and Ifan may therefore encounter a very different future if he travels again, but after Ifan begs for his help, he agrees to send Ifan back.
However, when Ifan returns, he finds a totally different Wales. In this dystopian future, the Welsh language has died out and traces of Welsh identity have all but disappeared. Indeed, even the country's name has been changed to ‘Western England’. Violence and social tensions are also commonplace. Ifan only stays here for two days to look for Mair, but when he finds her, he discovers that her name in this future is Maria, and she has no memory of him.
After returning to the present for the second time, the scientist explains to Ifan that both scenarios that Ifan encountered are possible for Wales and that it is up to the Welsh people which one comes to pass. This converts Ifan into a Welsh Nationalist (he had previously been opposed to Nationalism) and he swears to do everything within his power to ensure that the Wales that he visited first is the one that will be realised.
