We are excited to offer one UK-based early career composer the opportunity to join Nadar Ensemble’s biennial Summer School, taking place in Antwerp in August 2023.

Over the course of the week-long programme, participating composers will have the chance to workshop and develop a 15-minute piece with Nadar Ensemble. This could be an existing piece that has not yet been performed, or a piece that you may currently be writing or working on; it could be a scored work (including all forms of graphic scores) or an idea that can be developed during the course of the week – but the final work must be ready for presentation at Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Warsaw Autumn and hcmf//, at each festival’s 2023 edition.

The successful applicant’s travel and accommodation costs will be covered by hcmf// and Nadar Ensemble, and they will receive a bursary of £1000 to cover any other costs/expenses.

 

Nadar Ensemble

 

Adventure, interdisciplinarity and above all a strong and critical contact with today’s world through (among others avenues) the use of new technologies: these are Nadar Ensemble’s main objectives, inspired by Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820-1910), whose pseudonym was Nadar. Nadar was not only a well-known photographer, balloonist, caricaturist, spy, art critic, and curator, but regularly organised informal ‘salons’ to which he invited artists, thinkers, writers and scientists, thus creating a true cross-disciplinary dialogue.

Since our 21st century is more and more inhabited by transmedia, digital natives and a networked generation, Nadar Ensemble is not only fascinated by contemporary music, but also by film, the visual arts, performance, theatre, installation art, and all that is contained – or not – by these categories. Nadar Ensemble wishes to develop forms of musical presentation that reflect this world, in an attempt to anchor new music more strongly in the present.

Nadar Ensemble has performed at the Darmstadt International Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Tzlil Meudcan (Tel Aviv), Ultima (Oslo), Musica (Strasbourg), Platforma (Moscow), Holland Festival, Opera Göteborg, Tfnm (Zürich), San Martin (Buenos Aires), Acht Brücken (Cologne), reMusik (Saint-Petersburg), Tampere Biennale, Gogolfest (Kiev), Cité de la musique (Paris) and Harvard University (Boston) and has been a guest curator at SPOR festival (Århus, Denmark). Although Nadar is Artist in Residence at DE SINGEL (Antwerp), its hometown is Sint-Niklaas – known for its famous hot air balloon festival!

 

Nadar Ensemble © Jesse Willems

 

The Summer School

 

Every two years, Nadar Ensemble organises a summer school for four young composers (‘young’ meaning at an early stage in their career) at and in collaboration with DE SINGEL International Arts Centre in Antwerp, Belgium. Over the course of a week, the composers have the opportunity to work with Nadar’s musicians and receive feedback from the artistic leaders. They will also be able to work with DE SINGEL’s technical team and Nadar’s production manager and sound engineer, enabling them to contemplate their use of electronics, sound, light, video etc. After each rehearsal there is time for reflection, after which the composers can choose to make adjustments to their scores, to change things in the set-up, work on the electronics etc.

For the 2023 edition of the Summer School, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Warsaw Autumn and hcmf// will collaborate to present the resulting works at each festival, enabling them to develop over multiple performances.

Instrumentation: cello, flutes, clarinets, piano/keyboard, percussion, guitars (composers can select a maximum of 4 musicians)

Dates: 21 – 27 August 2023 (applicants must be able to commit fully to these dates)

Venue: DE SINGEL International Arts Centre, Antwerp (Belgium)

 

How to apply

 

To apply, please email the following material to info@hcmf.co.uk with the subject line ‘Nadar Summer School application 2023’:

– A short biography (up to 500 words)

– A description of the work (c.15’) you would like to develop at the Summer School

Descriptions may be written (in Word/PDF format, one side of A4 max), or they can take the form of a short video (2 minutes max). Video proposals must not be in the style of a trailer/promo video, and should feature the applicant describing the project as per the guidelines above.

– Documentation of the work (such as excerpts of the score or demo recordings) where this content exists

– A maximum of two audio examples of existing works

– A completed monitoring form (click here to download)

Please send any audio/AV material in the form of web links – MP3/4 attachments will not be accepted.

 

Deadline: 12pm BST on Monday 17 April 2023

Applicants must be UK-based.

 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the callout, please contact us at info@hcmf.co.uk.