Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham, tours nationally and worldwide and has appeared several times at the Proms in London. Musicians from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra formed the ensemble in 1987, with Simon Rattle as its founding patron. Since then BCMG has premiered over 150 new works and won numerous awards, including the 2004 Royal Philharmonic Society Audience Development Award, the 1995 Gramophone Award for Best Orchestral Recording, the 1993 Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Ensemble Award, the 1993 Prudential Award for Music, and The Arts Ball 2002 Outstanding Achievement Award. Thomas Adès was the first music director of BCMG, from 1998 to 2000. The current artistic director of BCMG is Stephan Meier, who succeeded Stephen Newbould. John Woolrich and Oliver Knussen were artists-in-association with BCMG. Past chairs of BCMG have included Stephen Saltaire, who served in the post from 2000 to 2015. In December 2015, BCMG announced the appointment of Christoph Trestler as its new chair.
Sound Investment
The SoundInvestment scheme is a partnership between BCMG, the composers whom it commissions to write new pieces and BCMG's audience. Members of the public are invited to "invest" in a new commission by paying a sum of money, currently £150, to purchase Sound Investment Units in the new work and so contribute to the costs involved in commissioning new pieces. For each commissioned piece, a certain number of Units are available, typically 30-50. Sound Investors are kept informed about "their" work's progress and are invited to attend rehearsals, as well as the first public performance. They are also able to purchase either a signed copy of the score or receive a signed copy of the score's title page. Composer Colin Matthews, who has had four works commissioned by BCMG, has called the Sound Investors "a remarkable group...although the only return on their investment is a signed copy of the score.
Composers and works commissioned
1990: Simon Holt: "Lilith" 1992: Geoffrey Poole: The Magnification of the Virgin 1992: David Lang: My Evil Twin 1993: Elena Firsova: Distance 1993: David Sawer: The Memory of Water 1994: Detlev Muller-Siemens: Phoenix 1994: Errollyn Wallen: Are you worried...? 1994: Colin Matthews: ...through the glass 1995: Philip Cashian: Chamber Concerto 1995: Aaron Jay Kernis: Goblin Market 1995: Judith Weir: Musicians Wrestle Everywhere 1996: Sally Beamish: A Book of Seasons 1996: Osvaldo Golijov: Last Round 1996: Howard Skempton: Delicate 1997: Thomas Adès: Concerto Conciso 1997: Peter-Paul Nash: Symphony No. 2 1997: Gerard McBurney: Desire 1998: Simon Bainbridge: Guitar Concerto 1998: David Lang: The Passing Measures 1999: Alastair Greig: Play 1999: Bent Sørensen: Sinful Songs 1999: Stuart MacRae: Portrait 1999: Kenneth Hesketh: The Circling Canopy of Night 2000: Gerald Barry: Wiener Blut 2000: Colin Matthews: Continuum 2000: Thea Musgrave: Lamenting with Ariadne 2000: John Woolrich: Bitter Fruit 2001: Poul Ruders: ABYSM 2001: Edward Rushton: Palace 2002: Gerald Barry: Dead March 2002: Marc-André Dalbavie: Palimpseste 2002: Mark-Anthony Turnage: The Torn Fields 2002: Simon Holt: Boots of Lead 2003: Param Vir: The Theatre of Magical Beings 2004: Philip Cashian: Three Pieces 2004: Michael Wolters: Neighbours for a Night 2005: Julian Anderson: Book of Hours 2005: Huw Watkins: Rondo 2005: Judith Weir: Psyche and Manimekelai 2005: Howard Skempton: Ben Somewhen 2006: Philip Cashian: Skein 2006: Morgan Hayes: Violin Concerto 2006: Dave Douglas: Blue Latitudes 2007: John Woolrich: Going a Journey 2007: Tansy Davies: Falling Angel 2007: Elvind Buene: Garland 2007: Brett Dean: Wolf-Lieder 2007: Johannes Maria Staud: One Movement and Five Miniatures 2007: Nicholas Sackman: Concerto in Black 2008: Gerald Barry: Beethoven 2008: Luke Bedford: Good Dream She Has 2008: Kevin Volans: The Partenheimer Project 2009: Francesco Antonioni: Ballata 2009: Helen Grime: A Cold Spring 2009: Simon Holt: Capriccio Spettrale 2009: Richard Causton: Chamber Symphony 2009: Vic Hoyland: Hey Presto!... moon - flower - bat 2009: David Sawer: Rumpelstiltskin 2010: Charlie Usher: Slow Pan 2010: Michael Wolters: I see with my eyes closed 2011: Jo Kondo: Three Songs Tennyson Sung 2011: Dominic Muldowney: Six Cabaret Songs 2011: Silvina Milstein: de oro y sombra... 2012: Tansy Davies: Nature 2012: Alexander Goehr: To These Dark Steps / The Fathers are Watching 2012: John Woolrich: The Mustering Drum 2013: Richard Baker: The Tyranny of Fun 2013: David Sawer: Rumpelstiltskin Suite 2013: David Sawer: The Lighthouse Keepers 2014: David Lang: Crowd Out 2014: Param Vir: Raga Fields 2015: Ivo Nilsson: Rapidità 2015: Gerald Barry: The Importance of Being Earnest 2015: Melinda Maxwell: FRACTURES: Monk Unpacked 2016: Edmund Finnis: Parallel Colour 2016: Michael Zev Gordon: Seize the Day 2016: Benedict Mason: Horns Strings and Harmony 2016: Richard Baker: Hwyl fawr ffrindiau 2016: John Woolrich: Swansong 2016: Luke Bedford: In Black Bright Ink 2016: Zoë Martlew: Broad St. Burlesque
