Celebrating half a century of new music and sound

The British Music Collection is 50! 

On the 7th November 2017 the British Music Collection will celebrate its landmark 50th anniversary.

Custodians of the collection Sound and Music, the national charity for new music, are thrilled to launch 12 months of #BMC50 activity. This will range from live events to edit-a-thons, guest curators to composer showcases and much, much more....

“This amazing resource has been part of my career for half a century. I used it in the sixties to find out about new music and to meet other composers. In the seventies and eighties, as BMIC, it became a wonderful library and a place that hosted concerts as well. When I taught in London I often sent students there - the only place for discovering new scores. I have continued to use it, either online or in its superb archival spaces in Huddersfield.

I salute the 50th anniversary of the British Music Collection with delight.” – Professor Nicola LeFanu, composer 

A year long celebration 

To mark this significant date in British cultural history, Sound and Music will put composers in the British Music Collection at the heart of the celebrations, highlighting the heritage of extraordinary music created in the UK and the wider cultural impact of its creators, as well as drawing out more marginalised voices, including those of women, black and minority ethnic and disabled composers.

Throughout the #BMC50 year audiences will also be introduced to contemporary New Voices, a growing community of composers working with Sound and Music to create new music and sound across the country, whose work is featured in the British Music Collection as part of its commitment to the heritage of the future.

To find out more and support #BMC50, visit Sound and Music's website.