25 YEARS

www.bcmg.org.uk

‘Unquestionably one of the finest international new music ensembles …’ The Independent

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‘BCMG’s capacity for innovation and imagination never ceases to surprise and delight.’The Birmingham Post

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 conducted by Thomas Adès

Inspiring performances

Reaching out from its Birmingham

home at CBSO Centre, BCMG has taken

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:

Concert audiences and workshop participantsin the UK and abroad

Radio and TV

broadcasts

Website and

social media

CDs, MP3s and

downloads

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Creating a repertoire

BCMG has commissioned and premiered

over 150 new works, championing them

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 VariablesCollin Matthewspremiere 1989Birmingham, 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

Kai Mark-Anthony Turnage premiere 1990Birmingham, 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

Musicians Wrestle Everywhere Judith Weirpremiere 1995Birmingham, 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

Performances of just four BCMG commissions, given by the Group and other ensembles around the world:

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Concerto Conciso Thomas Adèspremiere 1997Birmingham, 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

Bringing the best to Birmingham

International in outlook, BCMG enriches

the cultural life of its city by bringing the

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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Composer and workshop leader Ben Markland leads a BCMG Zigzag workshop at Hamstead Hall School, Birmingham

Making music with young people

BCMG’s work with young people is integral

to the Group’s mission and interwoven

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

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Sound Investment, launched by BCMG in 1991, has so far raised £300,000 for new music.

Sharing in music’s future

Sound Investment is a pioneering

funding scheme that shares the thrill of

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

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

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BCMG enables composers of all ages, at all

stages of their careers, to create exciting

new music, providing a flexible environment

in which their ideas can flourish.

Supporting composers of all ages

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BCMG seeks out emerging talent,

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BCMG, in collaboration with Sound and Music, runs an annual Apprentice Composer-in-Residence 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.

Joanna Lee, BCMG/SAM Apprentice Composer-in-Residence 2012

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Pushing the boundaries

BCMG plays a key research and

development role in music: supporting

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.

BCMG premiered David Sawer’s Rumpelstiltskin in 2009

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‘The most confident, volatile comic opera for a decade…’ Anna Picard,The Independent on Sunday

Working with others

Collaborating with a diverse range of

partner organisations allows BCMG to

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.

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 InvestorsBCMG 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 AllanDesign: www.weared8.com

Acknowledgements

BCMG, CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham B1 2LFTel: +44 (0)121 616 2616 Fax: +44 (0)121 616 2622Email: 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