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Help to shape the future of music by joining CoMA’s commissioning scheme

 

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CoMA NW requires part-time conductor for run up to concerts

CoMA NW requires a professional musician to onduct the ensemble with the preparation and performance of their public concerts. Involvement will be one or two months before the performance and at the performance itself.

Please send your expression of interest to the email below or write to the address shown on the contact page.

CoMA office move

From 1 March, CoMA's contact details will be:

13 Wellington Way
Bow
London E3 4NE

020 7193 9787

Two CoMA works on the British Composer Awards shortlist

We are delighted to announce that two works which were written for CoMA have been shortlisted for the Making Music category of the British Composer Awards.

The Illusion of Progress by Howard Jones is written for flexible ensemble and percussion, and was submitted for the Open Score project in 2006. It was premiered by CoMA London conducted by Gregory Rose at Spitalfields Festival in June 2006 and subsequently performed in November 2006 at the BMIC Cutting Edge series.

Whippoorwill by Joanna Lee is written for voices and was submitted for the Open Score project in 2006. It was premiered in a workshop led by Sarah Leonard at the CoMA Summer School in July 2006.

The Illusion of Progress and whippoorwill are two of three pieces which have been shortlisted for the Making Music award, and the overall winner of the award will be announced at the British Composer Awards ceremony on 5 December. Many congratulations to Howard and Joanna for being shortlisted and best of luck in the final stage!

COMA NW 2007-2008 call for pieces - DEADLINE EXTENDED

Following the success of the 2006-2007 season’s submissions, pieces to be scheduled for performance by COMA NW at public concerts for the 2007-2008 season will also be subject to a formal submission process to take place at the start of the academic year. This year will see Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture so composers have an even better opportunity of making an impact on the contemporary music scene of the city.

Submissions should follow the guidelines below, which are modelled on the COMA library and Open Score project submission criteria.

**Submission criteria**

The piece/pieces should be up to 5 minutes long, for four flexible parts (one of which could be piano/keyboard), and playable by forces compatible with the size of the current COMA NW ensemble which is between 5 and 10 players-strong. Although composers can specify 'ideal' instrumentation, the piece should be playable by any combination of instruments covering the appropriate pitch range. In addition to the four parts the piece may include percussion. Legible or printed notation is essential and the piece must be within the technical capabilities of amateur performers. Each composer may submit any number of pieces and should indicate whether such pieces are already in the COMA library.

**Format**

A number of format possibilities are permissible. For example:
* A standard score and parts (including transpositions)
* A score in which everyone reads the same notes, regardless of transposition and clef
* A full score from which all players read. Would require scores covering transposed options
* A graphic score

**Selection**

Works must be in accordance with to the submission criteria above and the provision of the full score and parts as explained below. We are looking for works that display robust musical quality and relevance to today's developments in the field of classical music. Although submission is open to all composers and all submissions will be considered on their own merit, composers living the North West will be given precedence, as will composers who are COMA members active in the North West ensemble.

IMPORTANT: The work must be submitted complete of both score and parts in all required transpositions and in its FINAL edition, such that any technical problems have been resolved. Composers are strongly adviced to use the rehearsal and workshops run by CoMA NW before the deadline expires to check that their pieces can be played by our ensemble and to make any required ajdustment before they submit their work for selection.

**Deadlines**

Scores (two copies of full score and two copies of all parts, including transpositions if applicable) should reach the address below by the EXTENDED DEADLINE of the 23 November 2007. Later submissions will not be considered for public performance in the 2007-08 season, but, if sent by local composers, may be used in workshops and recording sessions during this season.


**Address**

Send TWO copies of the FULL SCORE and ALL parts, including transpositions required to:
Dr. Edward Venn, Music, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW

Acknowledgements of receipt will only be sent if the submission is accompanied by a self addressed and stamped envelope and the appropriate payment as follows:

COMA NW members: FREE
Non-COMA NW member: £10.00, cheques to be made payable to COMA North West

com>missionings scheme launched

CoMA's new fundraising programme, com>missionings, was launched on 11 October.

Through com>missionings, individuals and organisations can contribute to the cost of commissioning new pieces and see how funds are growing towards particular works.

For full details and to take part, visit the com>missionings pages on this site.

Call for duets - open to al composers

Date of issue: 1 August 2007

Coma North West and the Prescot Festival 2008 are issuing a CALL for PIECES for flexibly scored duets. The intention is to perform the successful duet commissions at the Prescot Festival 2008, part of the City of Liverpool Capital of Culture programme, as part of the CoMA NW concert event.

Flexible duets extends the concept of flexible scoring encouraged by CoMA to works for two artists. We ask composers to allow for their piece being able to be rendered by a variety of two instrument combinations, including voices, although they can, if wished, indicate their preferences. Parts should be playable by amateurs in the range of ability from Grade 5 to Grade 8.

The deadline for submission of duets is 31st January 2008, for performance in June 2008. Composers should submit BOTH the FULL SCORE and PARTS in 2 COPIES, including transposed parts as needed.

Entry open to absolutely everyone and is FREE for all CoMA members nationwide – from all other composers we ask a £5.00 administrative fee payable on submission.

Although CoMA NW is committed to giving an opportunity to be played to all submitting composers complying with the requirements of this call, we reserve the right to exclude the pieces that cannot be played because of circumstances beyond our control. The final selection will be carried out in conjunction between the Prescot Festival organiser and the CoMA NW ensemble artistic director shortly after the deadline has elapsed. Submissions should be sent to:

CoMA North West,
124 Church Lane,
Culcheth,
Warrington WA3 5DP

with payment, if applicable - cheques to be made payable to ‘CoMA NW’.

Electronic document submissions, in .pdf or .doc format only (strictly NO .sib files!) and not exceeding 1 MB in size, can be sent to the email below , but please note that this is only accepted as a submission on receipt of the submission fee, where this is due.

Contribute towards East Midlands Ensemble's 10th Anniversary Commission

East Midlands CoMA Ensemble

10th Anniversary Commission

2007 marks the tenth anniversary of the East Midlands CoMA Ensemble, and to celebrate ten years of inspiring and innovative music-making we are commissioning a new work. We are delighted that Dave Smith, internationally recognised composer and founder member of the Gavin Bryars Ensemble, has accepted the commission. Dave has long-standing links with the East Midlands and has worked with CoMA both on a regional and national level. In 2006 his series of linked pieces “Whiskies of Islay” was performed at the CoMA Summer School.

Through a very generous donation, we have some of the funding for this commission in place, and are now looking to find the remainder – this is where you come in! We are looking to raise £400, and any donation, no matter how large or small, would be extremely welcome to help us achieve our aim of bringing a brand new work by a major English composer to life.

In addition to the heart-warming knowledge that your gift will have helped to enrich the cultural life of the East Midlands, we can also offer the following incentives to encourage generous donations:

Gifts of £20: donor will receive one ticket to the premiere.

Gifts of £40: donor will receive two tickets to the premiere, plus a CD of the work.

Gifts of £100: donor will receive a personal performance of the piece by the E. Midlands Ensemble (to be arranged at a mutually convenient time and venue) plus two tickets to the premiere and a CD of the work.

The latter option is terrific value for money, and could be the perfect gift for that special someone!

The work will be given its premiere performance at the Wirksworth Festival in Derbyshire on Tuesday 11th September 2007.

Donations (made payable to CoMA East Midlands Division):

East Midlands CoMA Ensemble
c/o Antony Clare
19 Charles Avenue
Lenton Abbey
Nottingham
NG9 2SH





Dave Smith (born in Salisbury, 19th August 1949) is an English experimental composer and musical performer. He read music at Magdalene College, Cambridge. In the 1970s, Smith was a member of the Scratch Orchestra and a performer/composer in ensembles with John Lewis, Michael Parsons, Howard Skempton, John White, Gavin Bryars and Benedict Mason. In the 1980s he was a founder-member of the English Gamelan Orchestra and Liria, the first British groups to specialise in , respectively, Javanese classical and Albanian folk musics.
Up to 1977 his music was largely minimalist (process music or systems music). His style developed into a highly eclectic pool of ideas chronicled in a long series of recital-length Piano Concerts, works which encompass an entire concert with varieties of styles.
Smith has taught at Kingsway-Princeton College (1973-84) and De Montfort University (1980-97) and currently lectures in music at the University of Hertfordshire. His work with students has resulted in a large number of arrangements, in particular, for tuned percussion orchestra. He is an active member of COMA (Contemporary Music for Amateurs) for whom he has composed works for large, flexible ensembles such as "Murdoch or Fred West - which is best? Reconsidered" (2000), and "Whiskies of Islay" (2006).

Conductor needed for Belfast ensemble

Vacant Position: Conductor needed for CoMA belfast ensemble. There are roughly 10 in the ensemble and all are really enthusiastic to do gigs. We rehearse on a Thursday evening in Queens University Music Department. The group mainly plays student compositions, free improvisations and pieces from the CoMA Library.