New Music 20×12

20 new commissions enjoyed by over 250,000 people. Over 120 performances all over the country.

New Music 20×12 brought together a fascinating line-up of composers, performers and organisations to put new music at the heart of the Cultural Olympiad and is an exhilarating snapshot of new music which took place across the UK through 2012, and at the Southbank Centre on one weekend in July.

The programme consisted of 20 outstanding new works, each lasting 12 minutes. All of the New Music 20×12 commissions were broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and were performed around the UK, enabling as many people as possible to enjoy excellent new music as part of our celebrations of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Read the full evaluation report.

The 20 new pieces of music were commissioned by organisations from across the UK to celebrate the talent and creativity of the country’s musical community. As long as they were committed to stimulating the creation and performance of exciting and groundbreaking new music we wanted to hear from them. New Music 20×12 gave them the opportunity to present an idea for a new commission, in any musical genre.

A distinguished judging panel of new music experts, chaired by BBC Radio 3’s Roger Wright, selected our final 20 organisations and composers.

Many thanks to the generous funders and patrons who made New Music 20×12 possible.

New Music 20×12 Weekend Celebration

On one weekend in July 2012 all 20 New Music 20×12 commissions came together at London’s Southbank Centre. Most of the performances were free, with opportunities to get involved in composer workshops and debates. Paul Morley from BBC’s The Culture Show described the event as “…a real success story.” See photos from the event here.

Watch interviews with the New Music 20×12 composers on our Youtube channel.