Wigmore Hall today [5.10.2020] announced an international call for composers to apply for a lockdown commission. The scheme has only two eligibility criteria: that composers must be aged 18 or over and that those who have been commissioned by Wigmore Hall before cannot apply. Following the application process, the Hall will select 12 composers, who will each be awarded a paid commission to write a new work which reflects their lockdown experience.
John Gilhooly, Director of Wigmore Hall said:
“For some, lockdown has been a time of anxiety and despair, of isolation and crisis, of discrimination and inequality. For others it has been a time of renewal and reflection, resolve and occasionally joy.
By commissioning 12 new works, we want to reflect all of these and many other situations. This is not just a reaction to the pandemic, but to any world or political events in this period that have inspired composers.
Since 2005, Wigmore Hall has commissioned or co-commissioned over 500 new works from composers all over the world. We are looking for new voices in this project, so if you have already been commissioned by Wigmore Hall, then unfortunately you will not be eligible for this scheme.
If you have not yet been commissioned by Wigmore Hall, please visit our website and make an application.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, and in particular we would like to encourage applications from female, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), disabled and LGBTI composers, as they are under-represented in our commissioning efforts so far.”
Applications will be reviewed later in the autumn by a panel chaired by John Gilhooly (Director, Wigmore Hall) comprising Freya Waley-Cohen (composer), Laurence Osborn (composer), Daniel Kidane (composer), Toks Dada (Classical Programme Manager, Town Hall Symphony Hall Birmingham), James Murphy (Chief Executive, Royal Philharmonic Society), Richard Baker (composer) and Errollyn Wallen (composer). The new works produced by the selected 12 composers are scheduled for première at Wigmore Hall from January 2022 onwards.