CoMA celebrates 30th anniversary

Contemporary Music for All (CoMA) is set to celebrate 30 years of participatory new music making with a weekend of musical workshops and performances, talks and exhibitions at St John’s Smith Square from 15 to 16 July.

The celebratory weekend will open with a concert bringing together the organisation’s long-term collaborators to share their memories across CoMA’s 30 years. ‘Curious instrumentalists and singers’ are also welcomed for a now sold-out participation scheme across the whole weekend culminating in a closing concert which will include the premiere of a new commission by American composer Stephen Montague. The new work will be performed by participants alongside a massed ensemble of performers from resident CoMA ensembles.

Judith Weir, master of the King’s music, commented on the organisation's aims. She said: ‘A sea change is needed. If CoMA’s way of composing becomes closer to the norm, more people will be able to play new music, hear it in their locality, become familiar with it, and one day, love it.’

For the last 30 years CoMA has worked to provide opportunities for amateur musicians to participate in contemporary music making through workshops, residencies, summer schools and ensembles across the UK. The organisation also commissions works to add to its catalogue, a valuable source of repertoire for contemporary music for players and ensembles.