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Home > Partnerships > Flagship Programmes > New Music Biennial > New Music Biennial – the background

New Music Biennial

What is it?

The New Music Biennial is a PRS for Music Foundation initiative that will support and provide a platform for talented organisations and music creators who are pushing the boundaries of new music in the UK. It builds on the success of our New Music Biennial 2014 and Cultural Olympiad programme, New Music 20×12, and will result in a world class programme of commissions, performed across the UK, broadcast by BBC Radio 3.

New Music Biennial will present new music across all genres, from classical and chamber opera, to jazz, folk and electronic. We aim to reach new audiences for contemporary music and encourage ideas for short works no longer than 15 minutes duration which could be performed in a range of settings.

A maximum of 20 grants of up to £20,000 will be awarded.

New Music Biennial aims to:

  • celebrate and showcase the talent of the UK’s music sector and to raise the profile of composers from every part of the UK
  • invest in excellent, new work which is performed more than once
  • engage and inspire all kinds of audiences by commissioning and presenting new music in a dynamic and unusual way
  • present a snapshot of the diverse and distinctive music which is created in the UK by composers at different stages of their career
  • support organisations which are developing local and regional audiences for new music
  • strengthen touring opportunities and working relationships between UK composers, commissioning bodies and performers