ISCM World New Music Days 2023 in South Africa - Call for Works

7 February 2023 12:00 - 7 March 2023 23:00

The Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland – the Irish Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) – invites CMC-represented composers, and former Association of Irish Composers (AIC) members to submit their works for World New Music Days (WNMD) Johannesburg/Cape Town 2023.

ISCM World New Music Days festival is an annual international showcase of new music – representing contemporary work from across the globe, and this year it will take place for the first time ever in South Africa from 24 November to 3 December. There are 16 categories for which submissions are invited to be presented at the festival. 

Following the winding up of the Association of Irish Composers in 2022, the previous Irish Section of ISCM, CMC applied to become the new Irish Section, and the application was accepted at the organisation's last general assembly meeting in Auckland, New Zealand.

How to make a submission via the ISCM Irish Section:

Please see below for further information on the requirements, categories and guidelines. 

Submissions to the CMC ISCM WNMD call is free of charge.  All CMC-represented composers, and composers who were members of AIC in 2022 are eligible to submit works for consideration in the Irish call.

PDF iconSee the full guidelines for submission along with the list of categories in the call - Please read these through carefully.

Submit your application with all accompanying documents by 23:00, Tuesday 7 March through our online form. 

Application notes:​

  • Only one work per composer may be submitted, by either official submission or individual submission (see below for details of how to make an individual submission).
  • Priority will be given to works shorter than 10 minutes in duration, except where specifically noted in a category description, and composed after 2013, with the highest priority given to works composed after 2018.     
  • A panel will be convened by CMC to assess the applications. Up to six works across four of the categories will be selected by the panel.
  • Works that do not conform with the category requirements in regard to instrumentation or duration will not be considered.    

Deadline for applications 23:00, Tuesday 7 March 2023​

Late applications will not be considered. 

Queries: please contact Jonathan Grimes, jgrimes@cmc.ie 

British, Welsh and Scottish Calls

See below links to the ISCM World New Music Days 2023 - Calls for Works administered by our colleagues in the British, Welsh and Scottish sections. Please note, composers may submit one work in total for presentation at the festival.

Individual Submissions:​

Individual submissions may also be submitted by composers at their own expense. Individual submissions are not guaranteed a performance. Space in the festival for Individual Submissions is limited, but the festival will consider all submissions and perform those that can be included. For information on making an individual submission, please see the ISCM Website.

Apply