Portfolio: British Music Collection: Music for Young Players
Application guide
Portfolio: British Music Collection: Music for Young Players
The British Music Collection is a publically accessible collection of over 40,000 scores, 21,000 recordings and other artefacts including books, programme notes and photographs housed at state-of-the-art archive centre Heritage Quay at the University of Huddersfield. It is closely related to the British Music Collection Online which provides a digital platform for an increasing section of the collection.
Within in the British Music Collection is a set of scores from the 1960s and 1970s called “Music for Young Players”. Published by Universal Edition and intended for classroom use, these scores aimed to encourage experimental approaches and connections to the new music of the time. These were designed to be accessible to both children with, or without, previous music experience -something that continues to be an important feature of much participatory music today.
In early 2017, composer Duncan Chapman created a Google Cultural Institute exhibition about the scores, which can be seen here:
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Sound and Music’s Portfolio scheme will enable you to develop your portfolio of work and gain vital artistic and practical insight and experience in working with children in a primary school setting.
The project
The British Music Collection and Sound and Music, in partnership with Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Heritage Quay, are seeking to identify two Yorkshire-based composers who wish to develop their practice as artists in education. The composers will select scores from the Music for Young Players series to use as starting points in two primary schools, work with children to create a realisation of these scores and make original, collaboratively composed companion pieces during the autumn of 2017. The new pieces will be performed in a specially curated event during the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in November 2017.
The selected composers will work within the following project structure:
- Attend and work with composer Duncan Chapman on the project launch event, which will entail all four groups of children coming together for a participatory workshop at which the project will be introduced and music-making will be led by Duncan.
- Plan and deliver up to 6 sessions at each of two schools, working with a class of children in each school to create a performance of the selected score and collaboratively make a new companion piece.
- Direct the performances of the new companion pieces at a specially curated event at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
As part of the Portfolio programme you will:
● Receive financial support
o a bursary of £500
o travel and accommodation expenses
● Receive mentoring support to help with the development of the work.
● Be invited to the British Music Collection 50th Anniversary Launch event in November 2017
● Join the 2017 New Voices cohort, featuring on the British Music Collection Each year all the residents on the Embedded, Portfolio programmes become our annual ‘New Voices’. As part of the scheme you will be provided with support in building a full British Music Collection profile, be invited to add your physical works to the British Music Collection archive at Heritage Quay, and be invited to a 2 day networking event in November 2017
● Be invited to contribute to The British Music Collection Online as curator, writer or profiled composer
Timeframe
21 April 2017Applications open
25 May 2017Deadline for applications
Mid-JuneNotification of interviews
June 19Interviews & selection (in Huddersfield)
July/AugustPlanning and mentoring
September 2017Launch event with schools
September – November 2017Visits to schools for workshops
November 2017Performance
November 2017 New Voices networking day
The school visits can be scheduled in consultation with the selected composers.
Selection process
A selection panel will shortlist individuals for interview after the call closes on Thursday 25 May 2017. The panel will consist of composer Duncan Chapman, a representative from Sound and Music and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival’s Education Manager.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview, taking place in Huddersfield. Travel grants can be provided on application to shortlisted candidates. The selected composers / creative artists will be chosen following the interviews.
Eligibility
● You must be based in Yorkshire (ie your home address and/or your main place of work is in Yorkshire) at the time of application and for the duration of the scheme;
● You must be 18 years old or over;
● You must not be in full time undergraduate education;
● You must be able to commit fully to the required schedule of the project;
● You are welcome to apply for more than one Sound and Music professional development scheme at a time but will only be able to participate on one. If you choose to apply to multiple Sound and Music professional development schemes, please submit separate applications for each call;
● You are not eligible for this call if you have previously completed a Portfolio residency. However you may apply for this residency if you are on another Sound and Music programme, providing that this residency presents a significant development opportunity for you;
● This programme is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, ACE and PRSF and as such you will not be able to apply to them for additional funding to support this work.
Sound and Music actively seeks to encourage a diversity of applicants to its programmes. If you are selected, we will do our best to accommodate any particular needs you may have. A copy of our Equality Policy is available on our website here:
How to apply:
Applications are submitted online here:
Link to typeform here
You will receive confirmation of your application once it has been submitted; please contact if you don’t receive a confirmation. Please note that late submissions will not be accepted.
There are four questions in the application form:
Q1: Please tell us about why you are interested in this project?
Tell us a bit about the work that you create and why you create it? What would make the biggest difference to you moving forward with your work? What is it about working with the Music for Young Players scores in particular that interests you?
Q2: How might you draw on the historical context the Music for Young Players scores provide?
The Music for Young Players scores were created and published at a specific point in the evolution of music education in the UK. What elements of the scores do you think are relevant today, and what ideas would you draw on in your work in primary schools?
Q3: How do you envisage collaborating with the primary schools? Please note that this is a residency opportunity where ideas will develop throughout the project. This section does not need to read as a fully-fledged project proposal, we just want to know what your initial points of departure should you be successful in your application.
Q4: Please explain how this opportunity represents a significant development opportunity for you. We would like to know about your experience of working with children and young people to date and how, by doing this project, you will be able to develop your practice as an educator.
Q5: What are your other commitments for 2017?
You will also be asked to include:
- Your music CV and including a list of key works/collaborations. Please submit as a .docx (Word) file for accessibility reasons, with a maximum word count of 350 words;
- Your biography (no more than 100 words) in .docx format only. See this guide from the Australian Music Centre for help with writing a concise biography;
- Scores (or other notated material) and/or streamed audio recordings of two examples of your work. These should best represent the type of approach you wish to take when developing work on this residency e.g. if you intend to work with written/notated material, please provide (an) examples(s) of this. For audio/visual material please do not send files or Dropbox links. We are asking composers/music creators to provide links to their work on Soundcloud for its accessibility and privacy features. For information about uploading files with privacy settings please click here.
- A completed equal opportunities form – which will follow on from the online application form linked to above.
NB: Please include your full name at the beginning of the title of every attachment you send. Please also include your name and the opportunity you’re applying for in the header of each document.
Deadline for applications: noon Thursday 25 May 2017
For any queries regarding this residency please contact Judith Robinson at Sound and Music on or 020 7759 1808.
About the Partners:
About The British Music Collection:
The British Music Collection consists of an online element, and an offline, physical element:
a) The British Music Collection Online: A discovery platform for new music in the UK. It grows all the time as more and more composers contribute their work, and as a diverse group of curators weave its content together in unique and original ways.
b) The British Music Collection physical archive– a publically accessible collection of over 40,000 scores, 21,000 recordings and other artefacts including books, programme notes and photographs housed at state-of-the-art archive centre Heritage Quay at the University of Huddersfield. The British Music Collection celebrates its 50th Anniversary in November 2017.
About Heritage Quay:
Heritage Quay is the official archive for the University of Huddersfield, acting as the guardian of the archives of other organisations, families and individuals dating back over 200 years – including the British Music Collection. Their 21st-century role is to collect and secure the future of archives, both digital and physical, to preserve them for generations to come, making them as accessible and available as possible.
During 2012-2017 £2 million funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund alongside funding from the University of Huddersfield has been invested in transforming the archives.
About Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival:
hcmf// is an annual, international festival of contemporary and new music, taking place over 10 days and consisting of approximately 50 events – including concerts, music-theatre, dance, multi-media, talks and film – with a related Learning and Participation programme devised and implemented to reflect the artistic programme and respond to regional need.
hcmf// aims to provide life-changing and unique artistic experiences to as wide an audience as possible; to be an international platform for new music and related contemporary art forms in Britain; to enthuse existing audiences and draw in new ones through adventurous programming and informed, stylish presentation, and to be an active cultural partner within the region.
Sound and Music’s vision is to create a world where new music and sound prospers, transforming lives, challenging expectations and celebrating the work of its creators. Our work includes composer and artist support and development, partnerships with a range of organisations, live events and audience development, touring, information and advice, network building, and education. We champion new music and the work of British composers and artists, and seek to ensure that they are at the heart of cultural life and enjoyed by many.
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