25 YEARS
‘Unquestionably one of the finest international new music ensembles …’ The Independent
www.bcmg.org.uk
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is acclaimed internationally for its brilliant performances, ambitious commissions and the quality of its learning programme. Passionate ambassadors for new music, BCMG’s open, inclusive approach and imaginative presentation takes people of all ages on a journey through the rich and fascinating world of contemporary music. With its close links to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, from which many of its virtuoso musicians are drawn, BCMG provides the leading international example of how a world class new music ensemble and orchestra can flourish side by side.
‘BCMG’s capacity for innovation and imagination never ceases to surprise and delight.’ The Birmingham Post
BCMG conducted by Thomas Adès
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Reaching out from its Birmingham home at CBSO Centre, BCMG has taken
Inspiring performances
its vibrant performances to more than 175 venues in the UK, Europe, the US and India – communicating freshness, commitment and energy through its live performances and on radio, television, recordings and the web.
BCMG has reached more than 10 million people in 25 years:
CDs, MP3s and downloads
Radio and TV broadcasts
Concert audiences and workshop participants in the UK and abroad
Website and social media
BCMG has commissioned and premiered over 150 new works, championing them
Creating a repertoire
with over 550 performances in the UK and abroad. In this way BCMG is creating a repertoire of new music – made in Birmingham – for audiences now, in the future and around the world.
Hidden Variables Collin Matthews premiere 1989
Kai Mark-Anthony Turnage premiere 1990
Birmingham, London, Worcester, Lenox, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, New York, Chemnitz, Solihull, Bedworth, Montepulciano, Aldeburgh, Stantonbury, Rochester, Bicester, Wantage, Bishop’s Castle, Cleobury Mortimer, Oxford, Budapest, Perth, Cambridge, Manchester, York, Darlington, Carlisle, Newcastle, Copenhagen, Malmo, Vancouver, Bushey, Gateshead
Birmingham, London, Vienna, Sydney, York, Cologne, Salzburg, Winnipeg, Porvoo, Cheltenham, Ojai, Bristol, Dresden, Tallinn, Helsinki, New York, Nottingham, Gateshead, Carlisle, Vancouver, Florence, Berlin, Manchester, Chicago, Bregenz, Basel
Performances of just four BCMG commissions, given by the Group and other ensembles around the world:
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Musicians Wrestle Everywhere Judith Weir premiere 1995 Birmingham, Solihull, London, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Manchester, Oberlin, Copenhagen, Ann Arbor, Newcastle, Sunderland, Austin, Paris, Oxford, Malaysia Princeton, Turku, Ithaca, New York, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Huddersfield, Porto, Singapore, Cardiff, Bristol, Vancouver
International in outlook, BCMG enriches the cultural life of its city by bringing the
Bringing the best to Birmingham Concerto Conciso Thomas Adès premiere 1997 Birmingham, London, Frankfurt, Berlin, New York, Minnesota, Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Much Wenlock, Cleobury Mortimer, Edgton, Aldeburgh, Havana, Salzburg, Santa Cruz, Richmond, Montreal, Denver, Copenhagen, Lille, Petite Forêt, Waregem, Vienna, Athens, Los Angeles, Singapore, Tromsø
very best composers, performers and music from around the world to its home audiences in Birmingham.
‘BCMG works at the highest level, collaborates with the best composers and conductors world-wide, and yet has none of the stuffiness and elitism you sometimes find in groups of this kind. ‘ Ivan Hewett, Chief Music Critic, The Telegraph
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BCMG’s work with young people is integral to the Group’s mission and interwoven
Making music with young people
throughout its activity. Drawing on all the Group’s resources – the composers, the musicians, the repertoire – BCMG’s learning projects open ears to new soundworlds, fire musical imaginations, and are full of adventure and surprise.
‘It’s all about exposure to different sounds, different ways of hearing, playing, thinking about music.’ Parent of creative music workshop participant ‘Our work with BCMG is such an important partnership in leading the way in enriching the curriculum and is a wonderful model for how all projects should be run: a committed Birmingham arts group passionate about community education; superb practitioners; excellent administration; and the highest expectations.’
Chris Webb, Headteacher, Springfield Primary School, Birmingham Composer and workshop leader Ben Markland leads a BCMG Zigzag workshop at Hamstead Hall School, Birmingham
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Sound Investment is a pioneering funding scheme that shares the thrill of
Sharing in music’s future
commissioning new music – connecting audiences, composers and performers. This idea has changed the landscape for the creation of new works and has been taken up by ensembles in the UK and
Sound Investment, launched by BCMG in 1991, has so far raised £300,000 for new music.
across the world.
‘My interest has continued to grow from my first Sound Investment. It’s so exciting to be part of the whole experience of hearing music come to life – from its first rehearsal to its world premiere, knowing that this music has never been heard before, and to know that I’ve helped to make that possible.’ Janet Upward, Sound Investor 7
BCMG enables composers of all ages, at all stages of their careers, to create exciting
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Tansy Davies
Jeremy Clay
Patrick, comes to Feel The Buzz
in which their ideas can flourish.
Joanna Lee
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new music, providing a flexible environment
Dominic, comes to Zigzag Ensemble
Esme, comes to Music Maze
Supporting composers of all ages
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BCMG seeks out emerging talent, supporting the next generation of artists,
Developing talent
and providing inspirational experiences for young professionals beginning careers in the arts.
BCMG, in collaboration with Sound and Music, runs an annual Apprentice Composer-inResidence scheme, which offers an intensive and wide-ranging programme of activity for an emerging young composer to work with and write for BCMG across a year.
Harrison Birtwistle
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Elliott Carter
Howard Skempton
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Gyรถrgy Kurtรกg
Judith Weir
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Thea Musgrave
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Joanna Lee, BCMG/SAM Apprentice Composer-in-Residence 2012
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BCMG plays a key research and development role in music: supporting
Pushing the boundaries
composers to push the boundaries of their art, collaborate across artforms and create their most innovative work; and evolving learning practice and pedagogy by engaging with music education researchers at a national level.
With David Sawer’s Rumpelstiltskin, BCMG enabled a world-class creative team to realise a long-held dream: a new way of working, combining music, dance and theatre to produce a unique work of art, acclaimed by audiences and press alike.
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BCMG premiered David Sawer’s Rumpelstiltskin in 2009
Collaborating with a diverse range of partner organisations allows BCMG to
Working with others
harness outside expertise – enabling innovative artform development, reaching more people, pooling resources, and raising the profile of new music in the wider world.
Working with these partners, BCMG produced the European premiere performances of Gerald Barry’s opera The Importance of Being Earnest in 2012, bringing this stunning new work to audiences in London, Birmingham and internationally on BBC radio. ‘The most confident, volatile comic opera for a decade…’ Anna Picard, The Independent on Sunday 11
Acknowledgements Our work would not be possible without the generous support of individual donors, charitable trusts and foundations, partner organisations and statutory funders. We are particularly grateful to the following for supporting BCMG in our 25th anniversary season: BCMG Sound Investors BCMG Foundation Members
City of Birmingham Orchestral Endowment Fund, The Barber Trust, William A Cadbury Charitable Trust, The Hinrichsen Foundation Photographs: Clive Barda, Keith Pattison, Adrian Burrows, Mark Allan Design: www.weared8.com
BCMG, CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham B1 2LF Tel: +44 (0)121 616 2616 Fax: +44 (0)121 616 2622 Email: info@bcmg.org.uk Web: www.bcmg.org.uk Registered in England no. 2446126 Registered charity no. 1001474 VAT reg. no. GB 614 418 655