The Contemporary Music Centre will represent the Irish Section of the ISCM from 2023

Photo © Frances Marshall

The General Assembly of the ISCM has voted in favour of CMC’s application to become the Irish Section of the organisation.

The vote was taken at an ISCM General Assembly meeting held on 23 August during the 2022 World New Music Days Festival, which is hosted this year by Te Rōpū Kaitito Puoro o Aotearoa/ The Composers Association of New Zealand (CANZ).

The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is an organisation for the promotion and exchange of new music. Founded in 1922, the network includes more than 60 organisations in over 50 countries on every continent. Central to the organisation’s activities is an annual festival of new music held in a different location every year. The festivals are programmed from nominated works submitted by members, with each full and associate member submitting up to 6 works across a range of categories set by the festival organisers. 

CMC had been a full associate member of ISCM since 2020, while the Irish Section was represented by the Association of Irish Composers (AIC). CMC’s election as the Irish Section follows the decision by the AIC to wind up its activities earlier this year, with both organisations agreeing to CMC applying to take over this role with ISCM. CMC’s full membership will come into effect from 2023. 

CMC Director Evonne Ferguson said:

The Association of Irish Composers has facilitated significant opportunities for composers in Ireland as representatives of the Irish Section of the ISCM for many years. CMC acknowledges the achievements of the AIC in this role and looks forward to carrying forward this legacy in 2023. 

The support of Culture Ireland has been crucial to these international opportunities, this year composer Ryan Molloy received funding to attend the World New Music Days Festival, representing the AIC at General Assembly Meetings and attending concerts, including the performance of his work Ogham.

The 2022 World New Music Days Festival runs from 23 - 30 August in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Ōtautahi Christchurch. The programme includes performances of music by Irish composers Ann Cleare, John McLachlan and Ryan Molloy, read more about the festival here.

For further information on this, please contact Jonathan Grimes, CMC’s Head of Content, jgrimes@cmc.ie.