A month of premieres from BCMG including four supported by its Sound Investment scheme

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

Over three concerts in November, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) will be premiering five works, four of which were commissioned through BCMG's Sound Investment scheme. The three concerts will feature new works by Edmund Hunt, George Lewis, Julian Anderson and Melinda Maxwell which involved live electronics, motion sensor technology and improvisation.

Edmund Hunt's The Waking of Angantry, uses live electronics alongside a 15-strong ensemble and BCMG premieres the work at a concert, Illusions (6/11/2022 at the CBSO Centre) alongside music by Richard Baker, including The Tyranny of Fun. Inspired by the electronic sounds of the 1980s New York gay disco scene, the piece hints at the menace behind the hedonistic atmosphere and uses live electronics and motion sensor technology.

Later in November, BCMG is presenting a weekend of new music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. BCMG’s NEXT musicians join the Thallein Ensemble for a celebration of the music of George Lewis, a pioneer in experimental electronic music (18/11/2022). BMCG NEXT is a collaboration between BCMG and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire offering a training programme for music students and professional musicians looking for a career as performers in contemporary music. 

The weekend continues with oboist and composer Melinda Maxwell's premiere of her new piece Janus (19/11/2022) for improvising musicians, Maxwell is interested in exploring the space between composing and improvisation. The final event of the weekend, American Dream (20/11/2022) will feature work by American composers, the premiere of George Lewis' Breaking, and the UK premiere of Elliott Carter's The American Sublime, alongside the premiere of Julian Anderson's Nunca vi Granada. 

Full details from the BCMG website.