PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre have announced the call for proposals for their critically acclaimed New Music Biennial. Presented in partnership with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, BBC Radio 3, NMC Recordings and with support from Arts Council of England, New Music Biennial 2025 will comprise 20 new pieces of music: consisting of brand new works selected from an open call as well as a chance for audiences to see repeat performances of outstanding works premiered within the last 4 years.
New Music Biennial includes new music from across all genres: from classical and chamber opera to jazz, folk and electronic. Each work is no longer than 15 minutes in duration in response to the New Music Biennial’s aim to create a pop-up, interactive way for audiences to discover new music.
The deadline for applications from organisations for new commissions or to present existing pieces of new work is 4th November 2024 and the winning compositions will be selected by a prestigious and diverse panel of judges. The final programme will be announced in early 2025.
Organisations looking to apply can find out more and submit an application through the PRS Foundation website here.
Through 2024/25 the new pieces will be composed and rehearsed and all twenty commissions will receive public performances at two celebration weekends; in Bradford as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture across 6th – 8th June 2025 and in London at Southbank Centre over 4th – 6th July 2025.
In addition to the performances the New Music Biennial will be broadcast across BBC Radio 3 and pieces will be available through NMC Recordings following the festivals.
The 2025 festivals come after the tenth anniversary of the New Music Biennial in 2022 following its launch as New Music 20×12 as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Since 2012 the initiative has seen critically acclaimed pieces by composers and music creators including Anna Meredith, AFRODEUTSCHE, Mica Levi, Matthew Herbert, Hannah Peel, Errollyn Wallen, GoGo Penguin, Jessica Curry, Shingai Shoniwa, Aidan O’Rourke, David Okumu, Mark Simpson, Eliza Carthy, Gavin Bryars, Rakhi Singh, Gazelle Twin, Mark Anthony Turnage, Shiva Feshareki, Philip Herbert, Martin Green, Roopa Panesar and Sam Lee with many pieces receiving award nominations.
You can find out more about previous New Music Biennial composers and the pieces on the New Music Biennial microsite here.
Joe Frankland, CEO at PRS Foundation said, “Since 2012, our award-winning New Music Biennial has showcased a myriad of brilliant pieces of new music by some of the most exciting music creators from across the UK. We’re delighted to be launching the open call for pieces to be included and created for our 2025 New Music Biennial, taking place in Bradford and at the Southbank Centre, and we very much look forward to seeing who applies this year.
Each edition of the New Music Biennial brings not only incredible music across a number of genres but also so many incredible moments from the live performances, that live on beyond the festival, via radio broadcasts and in recordings. And its thanks to our ongoing partnerships with our friends at Southbank Centre, BBC Radio 3, NMC Recordings and City of Culture teams and the vital support from Arts Council England that we’re able to bring this unique celebration of new music from the UK to audiences.”
Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director at Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture said: “The New Music Biennial is a snapshot of what’s happening at the boundary pushing edges of contemporary music right now, and to be showcasing that in a district that is as forward looking as Bradford, couldn’t be more pertinent.
We’re delighted to premiere the best new music across a broad variety of genres for free, and through partnering with PRS Foundation, we’re building Bradford and Yorkshire’s connections to national institutions and organisations, we encourage everyone to apply!”
Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director Mark Ball said: “We are thrilled the New Music Biennial returns in 2025 for an innovative new programme from leading creatives and composers across the UK. To be able to host this free music festival at the Southbank Centre is a huge privilege, and we hope it will bring audiences far and wide to come together and connect through the power of music. We are also delighted to be collaborating with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and look forward to seeing the applications and discovering the extraordinary ideas that artists want to share with us.”
Sam Jackson, Controller, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, says: “The BBC is one of the most significant commissioners of contemporary classical music in the world. We are thrilled to support New Music Biennial on Radio 3, as we broadcast performances from the next UK City of Culture, Bradford, and from London’s Southbank Centre – showcasing this wonderful celebration of musical creativity.”
Cathy Graham, Executive Director with NMC Recordings Ltd said: I remember the very first New Music Biennial so well and have been involved with all of them in some way. I am really delighted to be part of this exceptional celebration once more, this time in my role as Executive Director of NMC Recordings.
NMC has been the New Music Biennial digital partner since the initiative started in 2012 and over 70 of the works performed at the festival have been released on NMC and are available on digital and streaming platforms worldwide. As with all our recordings, these are available in perpetuity and become part of our living archive of UK and Irish composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. We are proud and excited to join our distinguished partners Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, Southbank Centre, BBC Radio 3 and the PRS Foundation for this year’s New Music Biennial.
