The National Concert Hall and Sounding the Feminists have announced a new commissioning scheme aimed at established and emerging female/female identifying musicians and composers from all musical idioms.

The new scheme is the second strand in a three-strand programme announced by the NCH and STF in March 2018. The first strand, a female composer concert series, was announced in August.

Established and emerging artists
There are two commissions under the scheme. The first is for established artists with a track record in composition. The scheme is seeking proposals for a 10–12 minute piece for an ensemble of up to 20 musicians. The commission award will be €10,000. The commission may include a score-based work for a specific ensemble; a non-score-based, improvised, electronic, sound-art or installation-style composition; new or experimental ways of conceiving music; collaborative works from more than one musician or composer or works from any musical idiom/genre.

The second commission, for emerging composers, is for a piece for an ensemble of up to six musicians. An emerging composer is defined as someone who has not yet had a professional performance of a work in Ireland, or a professional recording of a work and a professional commission. Artists who have undertaken two out of the three above can still apply. The five-minute piece may be written for instrumentation of the composer’s choosing. The commission award will be €2,500.

The deadline for submissions is 10 December. Shortlisted entrants will be invited to present their proposal to a panel made up of NCH, STF and an independent expert on the week commencing 7 January 2019.

The Female Commissioning Scheme is supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht together with Creative Ireland. 

For full details on the scheme and how to apply, visit https://www.nch.ie/Online/article/NCH-STF-Commissioning-Scheme