The line-up for the New Music Biennial 2025 has been confirmed.
Organised by PRS Foundation, Southbank Centre and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture — and presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3 and NMC Recordings, with support from Arts Council England — the free festival will be held from 6-8 June in various venues around Bradford before moving to London’s Southbank Centre from 4-6 July.
Since its inception as New Music 20x12 for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the New Music Biennial has showcased critically acclaimed works by composers and music creators such as Anna Meredith, Mica Levi, Hannah Peel, Errollyn Wallen, Keeley Forsyth, Gazelle Twin, GoGo Penguin, Jessica Curry, Shingai Shoniwa, David Okumu, Mark Simpson, Martin Green, Eliza Carthy, Gavin Bryars, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Shiva Feshareki and Sam Lee.
Following an open call for submissions, a host of brand new commissions will be presented at New Music Biennial 2025 alongside pre-existing new pieces that have been premiered within the last four years. These works span a range of genres — including contemporary classical, jazz, R&B, folk and electronica — with diverse programme 'highlighting the continuing important role commissioning new music has in the UK'.
As part of the organisation’s 25th anniversary celebrations, each weekend of the festival will be highlighted as a PRS Foundation-badged event and feature a Beyond Borders-supported piece.
Joe Frankland, CEO at PRS Foundation, said in a statement: ‘We’re incredibly proud of the New Music Biennial as a festival, community, platform and opportunity for composers and organisations commissioning new music, and so will be badging this event as one of PRS Foundation’s 25th anniversary highlights this year. As part of this I am delighted we could include a special appearance of a recent PRS Foundation Beyond Borders-supported piece in the festival line-up, another successful initiative we have been running for 15 years with support from the arts councils in all 4 UK nations and Ireland.
‘We’re very much looking forward to audiences attending the upcoming festival weekends in Bradford as part of their UK City of Culture year and at the Southbank Centre over the summer, to hear great new music and enjoy a snapshot of the talent there is across this country.’
You can find out more information about New Music Biennial 2025 here, and check out the full line-up below.
New works:
"Dhamaal - Core" - A high-energy fusion of South Asian, jazz and electronic traditions, creating an exhilarating and dynamic celebration of musical diversity.
Commissioned by Serious Trust and written by the Indian-born British composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Shri Sriram (Genre: Indian Classical / Jazz / Electronic).
"P E A C E” - A bold meeting of electronics, rap, double bass and historic audio, exploring what peace sounds like in 2025 through contrast and commonality.
Commissioned by Manchester Jazz Festival, devised by sound artist and audio producer Verity Watts as lead composer curating a team of four creatives/performers: Kenzo Jae, Scout Bolton, Dave Kane, DJ Woody (Genre: Jazz, Electronic).
"Bantam’s Drift" - A music and multimedia collaboration that deconstructs Yorkshire club music through soundscapes and visual experimentation to mythologise Bradford’s south Asian working-class culture.
Commissioned by Brighter Sound, written by underground audiovisual artist and DJ m3UNTITLED, and experimental duo GOMID (Nigerian-British vocalist Iyunoluwanimi Yemi-Shodimu and British producer Samuel Scott; Genre: Sound Art / UK Bass).
"Moth x Human" – A thought-provoking work for small ensemble and electronics highlighting declining UK biodiversity, sonifying moth activity data from environmental scientists at UKCEH into emotive, immersive soundscapes with acoustic instruments and live digital processing.
Commissioned by Oxford Contemporary Music and written by violinist, composer and creative director Ellie Wilson, supported by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (Genre: Sound Art / Electro Acoustic / Environmental Music).
“Mercury Songs” - A subversive reimagining of British folk traditions with empowered female narratives, inspired by Bradford-born activist Julia Varley. A five-piece vocal and instrumental ensemble combine dark orchestration and experimental soundscapes to explore themes of women’s rights in a post #MeToo world.
Commissioned by Spitalfields Music and written by award-winning performer-composer Emily Levy and groundbreaking musician Matthew Bourne (Genre: Contemporary / Experimental Folk).
"Requiem" – A bold re-orchestration of raw album tracks by Leith-based composer, vocalist and Paraorchestra regular Rylan Gleave, brought to life by All Men Unto Me and a stellar cast of collaborators.
Commissioned by Paraorchestra, written by Rylan Gleave under the moniker All Men Unto Me (Genre: Rock/Avant Garde).
“Chasing Sunlight” - A new audio-visual concerto from the violinist Fenella Humphreys and Sinfonia Cymru, exploring climate change’s impact on bird migration through live music and visual narrative created with asylum seekers in Bradford through the BRAVE project.
Commissioned by Sinfonia Cymru and written by award-winning British composer, music director and producer Mark David Boden (Genre: Classical Contemporary).
"GLOW" - A shimmering, magical sound-world blending the Magnetic Resonator Piano with a contemporary chamber ensemble, weaving semi-improvised elements and field recordings with intricate extended techniques.
Commissioned by Northern Ireland's premier new music group Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble and written by composer-pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett, who also joins the ensemble on stage (Genre: Classical Contemporary).
"Holocene"- An evocative and unconventional work for community brass and bowed cymbals, weaving raw and intricate soundscapes that push the boundaries of contemporary brass music.
Commissioned by Onyx Brass and written by Irish composer and writer, Ailís Ní Ríain (Genre: Classical Contemporary).
"In Conversation: N'dehou" – A new choral work inspired by Cameroonian musicologist Francis Bebey’s n’dehou flute, inviting the audience into a collaborative exploration of sound, blending multimedia and interactive performance.
Commissioned by The Carice Singers and composed by acclaimed British composer, Daniel Kidane (Genre: Classical / Choral).
“MARCH” - A powerful and joyful exploration of the rhythms, dynamics and emotions of political marching, blending monologue, mass protest and an absurdist game show.
Commissioned by Contemporary Music for All (CoMA) and written by Jerusalemite composer and theatre-maker Uri Agnon (Genre: Classical - Contemporary).
"Threads of Sound: A Woollen Heritage"- A contemporary work weaving Bradford’s wool heritage, folk song and spoken testimonials into an immersive, multi-layered sound experience.
Commissioned by The Night With... and written by Royal Philharmonic Society Prize-winning composer and singer Stef Conner (Genre: Classical Contemporary).
New pieces written by Halina Rice and Jasdeep Singh Degun will be performed by BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra (Genre: Orchestral), while a new piece written by Shae Universe and commissioned by The Blues Project (Genre: R&B) will also be performed.
Existing new works:
"DANCE SUITE" - A striking, cross-genre work for pianist, composer and technologist Zubin Kanga, fusing Baroque suite forms with hyper-pop energy, queer culture and cutting-edge music tech to create a vivid collision of classical and electronic music.
Written by Ivor Novello-nominated composer and curator Alex Groves, hosted by PRXLUDES, a contemporary music magazine dedicated to celebrating emerging composers (Genre: Classical Contemporary / Electronic).
“Penumbra” - An experimental performance blending improvised music, electroacoustic sound, video and lighting art, re-scored and reimagined for a new context after its 2024 UK tour.
Commissioned by Outlands Network and written by vocalist Dali de Saint Paul, electronic composer and double bassist Maxwell Sterling, and visual artists Charlie Hope and Rebecca Salvadori (Genre: Classical / Avant-garde).
"Nocturnal Sun" - An interdisciplinary project blending classical, electronic, jazz, avant-garde and West African traditions with poetry and storytelling. The first movement, Dust, is a live performance with conceptual film, following a people’s final journey across an arid landscape under a dying star.
Commissioned by MSCTY and written by award-winning composer and multidisciplinary artist Chisara Agor (Genre: Dance Classical / Global / Experimental).
“Thar Farraige (Over Sea)” – A contemporary chamber music piece weaving Irish and Scottish traditions, exploring love, loss, migration and the meaning of home, performed by Brìghde Chaimbeul, Ailis Sutherland and the Maxwell Quartet. This piece was supported by PRS Foundation’s Beyond Borders in partnership with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts Council Ireland. It premiered at The Duncairn in Belfast and is promoted by Moving on Music.
Commissioned by Chamber Music Scotland and written by Irish art music composer and musician, Linda Buckley (Genre: Folk / Contemporary / Traditional).
“Voice Notes” - Celebrating the voices of those who have experienced displacement, this piece features telephone messages from refugees and migrants, combined with electroacoustic sound manipulation and directional speakers.
Presented by Another Sky Festival and written by the composer, sound artist and improviser Hardi Kurda and the librettist Sarah Jackson, with Compass Collective, Counterpoint Arts & New Writing North (Genre: Global / Diasporic / Electroacoustic).
