Some of our initiatives supporting composers have lasted for years, others have a finite span. Here we share details of some relatively recent ventures that we are proud to have presented, and that illustrate the kind of opportunities we can create with help from individuals or organisations with means who themselves want to support music-making. You can click each title to find out more.
If you’d like to talk about instigating a new venture, we would be so pleased to talk to you about creating something that has real impact, resonance and value. Please contact Harriet Wybor, our General Manager, to talk further.
BBC NEW GENERATION COMMISSIONS
For 20 years from 2001, we partnered with BBC Radio 3 commissioning over 40 new chamber works for their renowned New Generation Artists. Each new work had a public premiere and was subsequently recorded in the studio, before assuming on ongoing place in the artists' repertory. Composers include Eleanor Alberga, Django Bates, Sally Beamish, Richard Rodney Bennett, Francisco Coll, Brett Dean, Stuart MacRae, Dobrinka Tabakova, Augusta Read, Mark Simpson and Caroline Shaw.
BICENTENARY COMMISSIONS
For our 200th birthday in 2013, we set out to bring a number of significant new works into the world. Central among these was Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Frieze, inspired and partnered by Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which the Society also commissioned, performed at the BBC Proms by the National Youth Orchestra. Further works by Harrison Birtwistle, Magnus Lindberg, Wolfgang Rihm, Poul Ruders, Judith Weir, Thea Musgrave, Sally Beamish, Anna Meredith and Charlotte Bray were co-commissioned with the Britten-Pears Foundation, also saluting the centenary of Benjamin Britten’s birth. Young composers under 25 were also invited to apply for a range of smaller commissions.
COMPOSER IN THE HOUSE
Jointly-devised by the RPS with PRS for Music Foundation, Composer in the House residencies enabled composers and performers to enjoy more time exploring and collaborating together than means usually allow, and to share their creative processes with audiences. Four two-year residencies were planned with UK orchestras: Anna Meredith with sinfonia ViVa, Huw Watkins and the Orchestra of the Swan, Kenneth Hesketh with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and Stephen McNeff and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
ENCORE
A collaboration with BBC Radio 3, Encore shone a light on existing works that caught the imagination in their world premiere but had not been heard since. It ran for a decade, bringing fresh recognition to a wide range of chamber and orchestral works. A similar endeavour now continues with PRS for Music Foundation’s Resonate programme.
PULSE
The RPS's first ever film and music commission, Pulse brought together composer Dobrinka Tabakova and film-maker Ruth Paxton to create a new work for the PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music Biennial in 2014.
SOUND:VISION
Inspired by PULSE, the RPS joined forces with arts charity IdeasTap to give five young filmmakers and five composers the chance to create their own short film and music collaborations.
NOTES, STEPS, TIMELINES AND COLLABORATIONS
Made possible thanks to the RPS Drummond Lockyer Fund for Dance, this initiative enabled eight young composers and choreographers from around the UK to spend time together at Rambert Dance studios, learning more about each other’s disciplines and approach, and testing fresh ideas together.