CMC is part of a project for young composers for the WASBE Conference this July.

Ireland will host the conference of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) this summer. As part of this year's conference, young Irish composers (aged 25 or under) will have the opportunity to write a new work for wind and/or brass and to share their experiences both with each other and with Irish composer Ian Wilson.

The conference will take place in the Irish National Events Centre, Killarney, Co. Kerry from 8-14 July, 2007. Further details of the workshops for young composers are available in our Opportunities section, and performances will be listed on our Calendar.

WASBE conferences take place biennially and provide a valuable international forum for conductors, composers, publishers and performers with a specific interest in music for wind instruments -- chamber music, wind ensembles and concert bands. Recent conferences have been held in Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, California and Austria. This year's conference includes fourteen main concerts given by ensembles from Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK & the USA, with a supporting programme of masterclasses, lectures, workshops, repertoire and research sessions, along with several composer symposiums.

A fringe festival of wind ensembles ranging in scale from quintets to full-scale concert bands will take place in Killarney’s public squares and in nearby Muckross House. Additional attractions include a marching bands competition and a night time parade of international bands after the final WASBE concert.

Composers Michael Ball and Fergal Carroll are both members of the local organising committee for the conference, which will include the premieres of works by Irish composers John Kinsella, Stephen McNeff and Ian Wilson.

Posted: 6 February 2007