Festival of Contemporary Music for All launches next week

Contemporary Music for All (CoMA) is set to kick off the fifth edition of its participatory new music festival next week, with events taking place across the UK and Europe (and online) throughout the month of March.

The biennial festival unites musicians of all backgrounds and levels for a series of workshops, talks and concerts designed to highlight a wide range of grassroots music making. The festival will also present the premieres of new works by artists including Uri Agnon, Angela Elizabeth Slater, Jasmine Morris, Giulia Lorusso and Fergus Hall.

CoMA CEO Tamara Kohler said: ‘The Festival serves as a vibrant catalyst for new music exploration and creation, bringing together amateur and professional musicians, creators, and sound explorers from over 20 locations across the UK and beyond. With 13 world premieres from some of the most exciting musical voices of this generation, we are proud to be one of the world's only multi-city music festivals, meaning you've got a chance to get involved wherever you are.’

Following an Introduction to Field Recording workshop in Huddersfield, the festival kicks off in earnest in Edinburgh with a concert featuring Plus Ensemble, a group made up of pupils from St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh. Other festival guests are set to include Limerick New Music Ensemble, a composers' collective supported by the Belltable Hub in Limerick City, RPS Inspiration award-winners Torbay Symphony and amateur string ensemble Nonesuch Orchestra which will perform side-by-side with students from Twyford CofE Academies Trust schools.

With concerts in Paris, Berlin, Belgium and Aberdeen, this year’s festival is set to have a broad reach. The 2024 festival will come to a close with a full day of events at London’s Queen Mary University including workshops directed by leading new music facilitators and performances by CoMA London, Sussex and Singers ensemble and THAMES Music Service.