As part of its 20th Anniversary series, the Contemporary Music Centre held a half-day seminar on 'The Programming of New Music' on Tuesday, 7 March.

Eve O'Kelly (CMC), Francis Humphreys (West Cork Music), Judith Woodworth (National Concert Hall) and Niall Doyle (RTÉ Performing Groups) at the Contemporary Music Centre's seminar on 'Programming New Music' on 7 March 2006.

What is the best way to programme contemporary music? How do you reach out to audiences when presenting unfamiliar works? Are there barriers for listeners, whether real or imagined? And has anyone found the secret of success?

Difficult questions to answer, but certainly important for all involved in new music to examine. Fuelling the debate were presentations from Judith Woodworth (Director, National Concert Hall), Niall Doyle (Executive Director, RTÉ Performing Groups) and Francis Humphrys (Director, West Cork Chamber Music Festival).

Speaking from their own experience an attempt was made to find the best ways to develop audiences for new music, looking at the ways in which it is currently being programmed to see what works and what doesn't.

The seminar was attended by key representatives of the music sector who contributed to the debate.

Posted: 13 March 2006