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A blog from the Sound and Music Team

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29 October 2020

On Black History Month 2020

This is the third consecutive year that Sound and Music has released data regarding applicants to our programmes from backgrounds who have experienced racism. It is still surprisingly rare for organisations to be open about such data. Which is a shame, since an honest acknowledgement about where we are as organisations, and where we are […]

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5 June 2020

We paused, we must now act – how fair access has to be at the heart of the new normal

On 25 February 2020, Sound and Music launched our Fair Access Principles. Developed and tested over many months with composers and partner organisations, their aim is to remove the many non-musical barriers that can prevent composers from fairly accessing artist development opportunities and programmes. Less than a month later, the UK went into lockdown, causing […]

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6 March 2020

Where Next for Gender Equality?

Every year since 2016, Sound and Music has marked International Women’s Day and the month of March by using it as a springboard to showcase the work and lives of ground-breaking, inspiring and significant composers past and present across our programmes, websites and in our communications. These composers are women (we’ve had an interesting discussion […]

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8 March 2019

On International Women’s Day 2019

By Susanna Eastburn, Chief Executive, Sound and Music A version of this blog also appeared in the Guardian on the 8 March 2019. Two years ago today, Sound and Music (the UK’s national organisation for new music) made a public pledge to achieve gender equality across all of our work with composers and artists, under […]

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12 June 2017

Some Thoughts on Coaching and Mentoring

“Mentoring is for the mentee. Most of all for the mind of the mentee. I think that Mentoring needs to focus on and develop the mentee’s finest independent thinking about their work, their career, their life, their dreams. The Mentor’s perspective is an important ingredient in this special relationship. But it feeds. It is not […]

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6 March 2017

50:50 by 2020

To mark International Women’s Day 2017, Sound and Music make the following commitment: By March 2020, at least 50% of the composers we work with will identify as women ***************************************************************** It’s hard to pinpoint cause and effect, but in conversations with other female leaders in the sector, a number of us have noticed a creeping […]

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21 February 2017

Want to work with us? Call for partners

We’re changing the way we select partners. We want to work with partners who share the same values as us, specifically around diversity, including gender, along with a shared approach to audience development and data insight. We want to work with partners who can create a supportive and valuable experience for composers. From ensembles, soloists, […]

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19 December 2016

Thoughts on the New Voices networking day

Earlier this month, Sound and Music got together with a number of the current New Voices cohort in Birmingham to talk, learn and share… “From musical guilty pleasures, ethics around digital publishing, or Morris dancing with live electronics (a ‘serious’ concept or not? You decide…), I left the New Voices networking days feeling incredibly stimulated […]

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8 June 2016

An insight into the Adopt A Composer scheme

I’ve worked on Adopt A Composer for a few years now and it’s one of my favorite projects. It’s a project that really puts new music in front of new audiences, a project involving very deep collaboration and a real sense of shared achievement between composer and ensemble. Many composers have used it as a […]

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14 May 2016

Learning from artists – let’s try it.

Audience Development When writing about audience development in the context of art organisations, the first question that springs to mind is whether there is anything left to say. Personally, the prospect of another workshop, seminar or even the very words ‘audience development’ makes me sigh. It isn’t that I’m bored of discussing this topic − […]

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5 January 2015

7 new opportunities for composers and those working in new music in 2015

At the start of this year we are delighted to open up 7 new opportunities for composers and those working in new music. Some are live right now – so get your applications in soon, otherwise, watch this space for the others, to be announced on our website soon. Apply to receive a Francis Chagrin […]

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16 December 2014

Artistic Collaboration & Neuro-Linguistic Programming

On 22 September this year my colleagues Hannah Bujic, Nicole Rochman and myself ran an experimental session for composers and performers exploring the notion of collaboration, and how we might all do it better. This session took place at The Southbank Centre and featured young performers on the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Future First scheme, composers […]