Friday 21 November
The 2025 festival opens at Huddersfield Town Hall with a major highlight: the World Premiere of a brand-new piece by Bryn Harrison, one of the UK’s most distinctive composers. Known for his intricate, time-bending music, Harrison’s latest work will be performed by the fantastic Explore Ensemble – setting the stage for a bold and memorable start to this year’s festival.
Explore Ensemble’s programme will also include the World Premiere of a new version of Canon mensurabilis by one of Lithuania’s most distinctive voices and respected composers, Rytis Mažulis. This intricate 20-minute work promises to further expand the evening’s sound world with Mažulis’ signature precision and beauty.
Later that evening, Ensemble Dedalus perform Motor Tapes by this year’s Composer in Residence, the American artist Sarah Hennies – a fascinating, physically charged piece that dives deep into memory, movement, and sound. Arguably her greatest work to date, Motor Tapes showcases Hennies’ singular approach to form and sensation.
Saturday 22 November
The Carice Singers present a beautiful vocal programme celebrating the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the most iconic and important composers of our times. The concert features the UK Premieres of Aletheia by Žibuoklė Martinaitytė and There Will Come Soft Rains by Joel Järventausta, alongside choral works by Lotta Wennäkoski and Perttu Haapanen, and two of Pärt’s powerful pieces: Sarah Was Ninety Years Old and The Beatitudes.
On Saturday afternoon, the Mivos Quartet return to Huddersfield with a compelling programme featuring the World Premiere of The Trees are Talking by Finnish composer Ville Raasakka, whose current practice explores the emerging field of bioacoustics, working in collaboration with biologists to compose pieces that resonate with the natural world. The concert also includes works by Madli Marje Gildemann, Raminta Šerkšnytė, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Raven Chacon, whose gripping work The Journey of the Horizontal People promises to be a standout moment.
Saturday’s programme also features a powerful double bill from French ensemble Onceim, featuring two compelling new works that blur the boundaries between sound art, improvisation, and contemporary composition. Christian Marclay’s most ambitious step into the sound world of contemporary music to date,; Constellation conjures a dynamic audiovisual experience rooted in his signature turntable techniques and graphic scores; while Genevieve Murphy’s Together We Feel And Alone We Experience explores intimacy and isolation through a richly textured sonic narrative. Together, these performances offer a bold, boundary-pushing moment in this year’s festival.
Later that evening we cross borders – literally and musically – with Across the North Sea, a special collaboration between hcmf// and Kraków’s Sacrum Profanum Festival. Featuring solo sets from two standout artists from Poland’s vibrant electronic community – Martyna Basta and Aleksandra Słyż – this unique project, part of the UK/Poland Season 2025, brings together two leading contemporary music festivals to spark new connections between experimental music and modern electronic scenes..
Sunday 23 November
Sunday opens with the Mivos Quartet performing Sarah Hennies’ Borrowed Light – a quietly powerful piece that unfolds with patience, exploring endurance and transformation through delicate sonic shifts. Wowing critics and audiences alike when it received its World Premiere at Darmstadt last year, this is the only planned UK performance of Borrowed Light to date.
Lady Sapiens follow with a bold and vibrant performance of Mingo Rajandi’s hcmf//-commissioned work of the same name. The Belgian-based Estonian bassist is one of the most exciting voices on today’s European music scene, moving fluidly between contemporary composition and jazz-based improvisation, and is joined by Elsa Bergman, Beate Wiesinger, and Berlinde Deman in an electrifying ensemble – featuring three double basses, serpent, voice, and electronics – that celebrates collective expression with fearless energy and rich, genre-crossing sound.
London Sinfonietta also return with an electrifying set of new works, including Mute by Laurence Osborn, UK premieres from Marta Śniady and Paweł Malinowski (as part of UK/Poland Season 2025) and the world premiere of Luis Fernando Amaya’s Mi libro es la Tierra: Rosa Ixchel – a vivid tapestry of myth, memory, and sound.
Bringing the opening weekend to a close, the Ensemble of the Estonian Electronic Music Society (EMA), present a rare rediscovery: Eestimaa rännakud (Estonian Landscapes) by Õie-Olinda Sachermann. Recently recovered from archive tapes, this pioneering suite from the 1950s–60s may mark the earliest known Estonian electronic work by a woman composer. EMA perform it using period-specific technology, alongside a wider programme that reflects their distinctive approach to live electronic music.
EMA transcend technological limitations, fosters sensitive musicianship, mutual responsiveness, and attentive listening, while delving into the expansive sonic potential of electronic instruments. Praised for their adaptability and musicality, the ensemble preserves a human touch often lost amid the buttons and sliders of electronic performance.
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Update: hcmf// shorts open call
After nine years, four dedicated talent development programmes, and the privilege of supporting 55 outstanding artists, we’re pleased to share that our Fielding Talent programme is entering a new phase of development.
Throughout 2025, we’ve been taking time to reflect on the programme’s achievements to date, establish clearer pathways for Fielding Talent artists to access support, and ensure that what we offer is aligned with our capacity and resources.
As part of this process, we have made the decision to pause the hcmf// shorts open call for one year. The opportunity will return in 2026, and we look forward to sharing a refreshed and improved version with you then.
Thank you for your continued interest and support – and keep an eye on our social media channels or sign up to our newsletter to be among the first to hear when the new call opens!