New Voices 2022 Registration

Application deadline: Applications are now closed

New Voices: an artist development programme for people creating new ideas, new sounds and new music.

Are you a composer or artist creating your own original music or sound?
Are you looking to explore your creative ideas and take the next step in your career?
Are you determined and excited to explore your artistic and personal development?
Are you looking to produce new work for new audiences?

Then this could be the opportunity for you!

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Related documents

Want to find out more? Read case studies from previous New Voices composers, pictured above:

Georgia Denham (New Voices 2020)

Gwen Siôn (New Voices 2021)

Supriya Nagarajan (New Voices 2018)

David Austin Grey (New Voices 2018)

1. What is New Voices?

New Voices is our artist development programme that supports composers at pivotal stages of their careers to explore new ideas, new sounds and new music.

Each project is unique from composer to composer and year to year and that excites us.

Each year we support eight composers over 18 months with coaching, mentoring and a financial grant to create a new piece of work and share it with new audiences.

New Voices is a unique opportunity for composers to take essential time to explore and develop their work. Whether you live in an urban or rural environment, whether you trained at a conservatoire or are self-taught, whether you produce electronic or acoustic work, or whether you have many years’ experience or consider yourself ‘emerging’. We know there isn't one model that will or should fit everyone.

Take a look at previous New Voices composers and their projects here

"This is the first time in my freelance career as a composer that I have received such sustained support and it has really made the difference. It has proven to me that with time, determination and with the right support, ambitious projects are possible. I now feel I can approach big venues and partners with more confidence than before."
Alice boyd new voices 2020

2. What does being part of New Voices involve?

If you are selected for New Voices, you will be working with us for c.18 months. During this time, you will create a new piece of work and present that work to an audience (live and/or digital). The programme is split into the following phases.

Discovery Phase – you will:

be assigned a Creative Project Leader to work with at Sound and Music
receive a bursary of £500 for this stage of the programme
receive additional access support (including financial) if you need this to participate in New Voices
meet the other New Voices at an in-person or online induction day (travel and expenses covered)
start developing your project ideas for a live and/or digital projects
begin coaching sessions with an accredited coach
choose a mentor
take part in residential and/or digital networking days with the other New Voices composers (travel and expenses covered)

Activity Phase – you will:

start working practically on your project
receive a bursary of £1,000 for this stage of the programme
receive a production grant of up to £6,000
decide who you want to reach with your work, how and why
develop and present the final public event for your project
take part in project evaluation

If you are interested in finding out more about coaching and mentoring view our Coaching and Mentoring toolkit here.

Finances

Participants on the New Voices programme will receive a £1,500 bursary and up to a £6,000 production budget to create a new work and share this with an audience.

Composers’ travel and expenses will also be covered for New Voices activity which we ask you to take part in, such as the induction and networking days. Travel and other expenses are covered through each composer’s production budget.

Accessibility

If you have accessibility needs and require additional support for applying please contact alex.noble@soundandmusic.org.

We can offer alternative application methods (e.g., via email), extensions for the application process, and can also offer financial support for anyone who needs to pay for additional access support, including at interview stage. We want to accommodate any access needs so please get in touch so we know how we can help.

Dimensions Award

There will also be the opportunity to apply for further support to develop a specific digital element to your work. This opportunity will be open to New Voices to apply to once they have started work in the Discovery Phase. More details on this process will be provided at the start of the programme.

Seed Award

Composers who are interviewed but not selected to join the full programme will each receive a Seed Award – a targeted package of support including two sessions with a Creative Project Leader, an option to receive coaching, and £100 contribution to support the research and development of a particular project.

For further information please see eligibility and selection criteria below.

3. How to Apply

Register first, apply later

1. The registration deadline has now passed and applications are closed. 
2. Receive application materials on 27 June 2022
3. 'Infrequently Asked Questions' sessions open to anyone who has registered (optional but recommended).
4. Submit application by 22 July 2022
5. 18 shortlisted candidates selected
6. Interview stage with panel
7. Eight people selected to join New Voices, 10 people awarded Seed Award.

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If you think the New Voices programme might be for you, then the first step is to register your interest in working with us.

We will collect this information with your permission, in order to help us understand more about those who are interested and whether we’re getting our message out to the whole of the new music community. It will be treated confidentially and will not be used to inform the later application process. You can find out more about this in our Data, Protection and Privacy Policy here.

The deadline for completing a registration form is 11.59pm on 24 June 2022. Before you register make sure that you fit the selection criteria.

Selection criteria:

To be eligible to apply for New Voices you must:

be over 18 years old
not be in full or part-time education (in any subject) during your time on the programme
have been based in the UK for the last two years
plan to remain resident in the UK for the 18-month duration of the programme
provide two recordings of your works
not have been on our New Voices, Embedded, Pathways or Portfolio programmes previously
not be currently on one of our other Artist Development programmes (e.g., Composer-Curator or Adopt a Music Creator)

Please note that New Voices is designed as an artistic and professional development programme for individuals. It is not designed for working with groups or collectives. We welcome applications from individual members of groups or collectives, but you must apply as an individual.

Application

Everyone who has registered for New Voices will be sent a link to the application form in July 2022.

We will ask you to let us know a bit about where you are with your work, why this is the right time for you to be part of New Voices, what kind of project you would like to develop and who you would like to have experience it (live or digitally). We’ll also ask you to give us some examples of your work for the panel to listen to or watch.

You will be able to apply through a written form or video application – details will be sent to you when the application period opens. You’ll be asked about your access needs and if you need another format for your application.

Selection

All applications will be reviewed by a selection panel including experienced composers and industry professionals, alongside members of the Sound and Music team. Every year we ask different people to be part of this panel.

The panel will select 18 composers who will then be invited to come to an interview. From the interviews, eight composers will be selected to take part in New Voices 2022.

For New Voices 2022 we will be looking to allocate:

six places on the programme to people who have less than 10 years’ non-continuous professional practice (i.e. including career breaks or time away from composing). This is not an age restriction – New Voices is open to composers of any age
two places will be available to composers at any stage in their career
one place (minimum) to a D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent composer

See our Fair Access Principles for our code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes.

4. How we make our final decisions

Selection to be part of the New Voices programme is, unavoidably, a competitive process since we are committed to being open to anybody to apply. An independent and diverse panel of experienced experts will be involved in this process, they will listen to your work and read your application; and they will help Sound and Music to find a representative and talented group of people to work with and support.

We will make our final decisions based on the following: 

We are looking for people who have original ideas and the ambition to create truly unique, high quality work, in whatever form.

As part of New Voices, you will need to be ready to undertake self-reflection and evaluation in order to make the most of your involvement. You’ll need to be able to reflect on your work, why you do it, who it is for and when you feel it has been successful. We can help you with this, but it must be something that you are interested in exploring.

If you are receiving other artist development or residency support during the period of New Voices, we will ask you to tell us in your application what additional needs New Voices would support you with.

Sound and Music is committed to making the New Voices cohort representative of wider society in terms of gender, ethnicity, disability and socio-economic background. Such a group that brings together a wider variety of backgrounds is hugely exciting for us artistically, as well as allowing us to commit to fairness and equality for all. Read our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy here.

"My project simply would not have been possible without the New Voices programme. Perhaps most importantly, it allowed me to dream of, create, and realise a project that challenged me in so many new ways."
Alex Ho
New Voices 2018

6. Covid-19 adaptations

We understand planning for the future is incredibly challenging at the moment, but Sound and Music is committed to supporting composers to develop, make and share work.

Our programmes, including New Voices, are designed to be flexible and are intended to support individuals to find new ways of thinking and working, both for now and for the future.

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch about New Voices 2022, you can contact Fiona Allison, Creative Project Leader, Fiona.allison@soundandmusic.org.

We look forward to hearing from you!