New Musical Biennial 2022: call for submissions

PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre have announced the call for proposals to the New Music Biennial 2022.

The biennial will showcase 20 new pieces of music: ten new works selected from an open call and ten pre-existing New Music Biennial works from across the last 10 years, to mark its launch back in 2012.

Submissions are invited from across all genres. Each work must be no longer than 15 minutes, in keeping with the aim to create a pop-up, interactive way for audiences to discover new music. 

This year's edition invites composers and commissioning organisations to create a response to the challenges of the last year, exploring the role music can play in understanding and recovering from these difficult times.

The deadline for applications is 13th September 2021 and the winning compositions will be selected by a prestigious and diverse panel of judges. The final programme will be announced in October 2021.

All 20 commissions will receive public performances at two celebration weekends; in Coventry as part of Coventry UK City of Culture in April 2022 and in London at Southbank Centre in July 2022.

Find out more and submit your application through the PRS Foundation website.

Joe Frankland, CEO at PRS Foundation said: 'We’re delighted in to bring the New Music Biennial 2022 to Coventry UK City of Culture in addition to its spiritual home at Southbank Centre in its tenth year. 

'Over the last decade the New Music Biennial has seen more than 80 composers and music creators create phenomenal and critically acclaimed pieces of music that have entertained and moved audiences at the weekend festival events in London, Glasgow, Hull and through additional performances across the UK.

'Each open call we are always excited by the submissions we receive as they highlight the fantastic creativity, imagination and sheer talent we have here in the UK for music creation. 

'We look forward to seeing the submissions for our New Music Biennial 2022 and sharing the winning pieces alongside pieces from New Music Biennials over the last 10 years with audiences in Coventry, London’s Southbank Centre and the wider country next year.'

For more information about the New Music Biennial visit www.newmusicbiennial.co.uk