New Music Biennial 2025 FREE tickets available now!
- New Music Biennial 2025 will showcase both existing work and brand-new commissions
- The festival is ticketed and free to attend, taking place from 6-8 June 2025 in Bradford as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and 4-6 July 2025 at the Southbank Centre in London.
- Composers include: Halina Rice, Jasdeep Singh Degun, Ailís Ní Ríain, Shri Sriram, Uri Agnon, Xenia Pestova Bennett, Verity Watts, Linda Buckley, Alex Groves, Dali de Saint Paul, Maxwell Sterling, Charlie Hope and Rebecca Salvadori, Stef Conor, Emily Levy and Matthew Bourne, Rylan Gleave, Ellie Wilson, Hardi Kurda, Daniel Kidane, m3UNTITLED, GOMID, SIPHO.,Mark David Boden and Chisara Agor.
- Musicians and performers include: BBC Concert and BBC Symphony Orchestras, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Ailis Sutherland, Maxwell Quartet, Kenzo Jae, Scout Bolton, Dave Kane, DJ Woody, Onyx Brass, Drum The Bass, CoMA, Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble, Zubin Kanga, Ensemble 1604, All Unto Me, The Carice Singers, Fenella Humphreys and Sinfonia Cymru.
PRS Foundation, Southbank Centre and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture announce the full line-up of new works to be performed at the critically acclaimed, free festival, New Music Biennial 2025. Tickets are now available for both festival weekends in Bradford and London’s Southbank Centre. Presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3, and NMC Recordings, with support from Arts Council England, the 2025 edition will showcase 20 pieces – a mix of brand new commissions selected via open call, and recent stand out works premiered in the past four years.
The two festival weekends will feature performances across Bradford venues including one of the UK’s oldest concert halls St George’s Hall, The Underground, and new pop-up arts space Loading Bay, and at venues and performance spaces across the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre:
● Friday 6 – Sunday 8 June, Bradford
● Friday 4 – Sunday 6 July, Southbank Centre
Free tickets are now available via each organisation’s website.
Each festival weekend will be a PRS Foundation 25th Anniversary badged event and include a Beyond Borders commission – a cross-nations initiative supporting new work tours across the UK and Ireland, delivered in partnership with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts Council Ireland.
New Music Biennial performances will be broadcast exclusively on BBC Radio 3, including a special edition of the New Music Show on Saturday 14 June, with recordings available via all DSPs (including Apple Music and Spotify) through NMC Recordings following the festivals.
Since its launch as New Music 20×12 for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, New Music Biennial has spotlighted outstanding works by influential composers and creators like Anna Meredith, Mica Levi, Hannah Peel, Errollyn Wallen, Keeley Forsyth, Gazelle Twin, GoGo Penguin, Jessica Curry, Shingai Shoniwa, David Okumu, Mark Simpson, Martin Green, Eliza Carthy, Gavin Bryars, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Shiva Feshareki, and Sam Lee – many of which have earned awards, nominations and critical acclaim.
Bradford is alive with energy, creativity, and a deep sense of community, making it an inspiring backdrop for this year’s festival, alongside New Music Biennial’s spiritual home, Southbank Centre in London.
Each New Music Biennial piece is no longer than 15 minutes, spanning genres from contemporary classical, jazz, R&B, folk to global, sound installations and electronica. The festival creates a pop-up, interactive space where audiences can experience music they may not have encountered before, reaffirming that new music is for everyone and underscoring the vital role of commissioning in UK music today.
Pieces included in this year’s New Music Biennial 2025
Classical / Classical Contemporary / Orchestral / Choral / Avant-garde
“Chasing Sunlight” – A new audio-visual concerto for the violinist Fenella Humphreys and Sinfonia Cymru, exploring climate change’s impact on bird migration through live music and visual narrative created with asylum seekers in Bradford, through the BRAVE project.
Commissioned by Sinfonia Cymru, written by award-winning British composer, music director and producer, Mark David Boden
New work I Classical Contemporary I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“GLOW” – A shimmering, magical sound-world blending the Magnetic Resonator Piano with a contemporary chamber ensemble, weaving semi-improvised elements and field recordings with intricate extended techniques.
Commissioned by Northern Ireland’s premier new music group Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble, and written by the innovative composer-pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett, who also joins the ensemble on stage.
New work I Classical Contemporary I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Holocene” – An evocative and unconventional work for professional brass quintet, community brass and bowed cymbals, weaving raw and intricate soundscapes that push the boundaries of contemporary brass music.
Commissioned by Onyx Brass written by Paul Hamlyn award-winning Irish composer Ailís Ní Ríain.
New work I Classical Contemporary I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“N’dehou” – A new choral work, inspired by Cameroonian musicologist Francis Bebey’s n’dehou flute, invites the audience into a collaborative exploration of sound, blending multimedia and interactive performance
Commissioned by The Carice Singers, composed by acclaimed British composer, Daniel Kidane.
New work I Classical, Choral I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“MARCH” – A powerful and joyful exploration of the rhythms, dynamics, and emotions of political marching, blending monologue, mass protest, and an absurdist game show.
Commissioned by Contemporary Music for All (CoMA), written by Jerusalemite composer and theatre-maker Uri Agnon
New work I Classical Contemporary I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Ghost Weavers” – A contemporary work weaving Bradford’s wool heritage, folk song, and spoken testimonials into an immersive, multi-layered sound experience.
Commissioned by The Night With… written by Royal Philharmonic Society Prize-winning composer and singer Stef Conner
New work I Classical Contemporary I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Into the Night” weaves Indian classical traditions into an evocative orchestral soundscape, drawing on night time raags to capture the shifting moods and imagined landscapes that come alive after dark.
Commissioned by BBC orchestras, performed by BBC Concert and Symphony Orchestra.
Composed and performed by Royal Philharmonic Society award winning Sitar player and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun
New work I Indian Classical, Orchestral I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“DANCE SUITE” – A striking, cross-genre work for pianist, composer and technologist Zubin Kanga, fusing Baroque suite forms with hyper-pop energy, queer culture, and cutting-edge music tech to create a vivid collision of classical and electronic music.
Written by Ivor Novello-nominated composer and curator Alex Groves. Hosted by PRXLUDES, a contemporary music magazine dedicated to celebrating emerging composers.
Existing new works I Classical Contemporary, Electronic I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Nocturnal Sun” – An interdisciplinary project blending classical, electronic, jazz, avant-garde, and West African traditions with poetry and storytelling. The first movement, Dust, is a live performance with conceptual film, following a people’s final journey across an arid landscape under a dying star. Commissioned by MSCTY, written by award winning composer and multidisciplinary artist, Chisara Agor.
Existing new works I Dance Classical, Global, Experimental I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Penumbra” – An experimental performance blending improvised music, electroacoustic sound, video and lighting art, re-scored and reimagined for a new context after its 2024 UK tour.
Commissioned by Outlands Network, written by vocalist Dali de Saint Paul, electronic composer and double bassist Maxwell Sterling, and visual artists Charlie Hope and Rebecca Salvadori.
Existing new works I Classical, Avant-garde I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
Contemporary / Folk / Experimental
“Mercury Songs” – A subversive reimagining of British folk traditions with empowered female narratives, inspired by Bradford-born activist Julia Varley. A five piece vocal and instrumental ensemble combine dark orchestration and experimental soundscapes to explore themes of women’s rights in a post MeToo world. Commissioned by Spitalfields Music, written by award-winning performer-composer Emily Levy and groundbreaking musician Matthew Bourne.
New work I Contemporary, Experimental Folk I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Requiem” – A bold re-orchestration of raw album tracks by Leith-based composer, vocalist and Paraorchestra regular Rylan Gleave, brought to life by All Men Unto Me and a stellar cast of collaborators.
Supported by Paraorchestra, written by Rylan Gleave (under the moniker All Men Unto Me).
New work I Rock, Avant Garde I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Thar Farraige (Over Sea)” – A contemporary chamber music piece weaving Irish and Scottish traditions, exploring love, loss, migration, and the meaning of home, performed by Brìghde Chaimbeul, Ailis Sutherland and the Maxwell Quartet. This piece was supported by PRS Foundation’s Beyond Borders in partnership with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts Council Ireland and premiered at The Duncairn in Belfast and promoted by Moving on Music. Commissioned by Chamber Music Scotland, written by Irish art music composer and musician, Linda Buckley.
Existing new works I Folk, Contemporary, Traditional I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
Electronic / IDM / Experimental
“Dhamaal – Core” – A high-energy fusion of South Asian, Jazz, Electronic traditions, creating an exhilarating and dynamic celebration of musical diversity.
Commissioned by Serious Trust written by the Indian-born British composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Shri Sriram
New work I Indian Classical, Jazz, Electronic I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“P E A C E” – A bold meeting of electronics, rap, double bass, and historic audio, exploring what peace sounds like in 2025 through contrast and commonality.
Commissioned by manchester jazz festival, devised by sound artist and audio producer, Verity Watts as lead composer curating a team of four creatives/performers: Kenzo Jae, Scout Bolton, Dave Kane, DJ Woody.
New work I Jazz, Electronic I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“The Path” – An immersive exploration of constancy and change, where shifting landscapes and steady progress converge to form something entirely new.
Commissioned by BBC Orchestras, composed by the electronic music producer and live AV artist working at the intersection of art, music and technology Halina Rice, performed by BBC Symphony and Concert orchestras
New work I IDM, Experimental I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
Sound Art / Electro Acoustic
“Bantam’s Drift” – A music and multimedia collaboration that deconstructs Yorkshire club music through soundscapes and visual experimentation to mythologise Bradford’s south asian working-class culture.
Commissioned by Brighter Sound, written by underground audiovisual artist and DJ m3UNTITLED, and experimental duo GOMID (Nigerian-British vocalist Iyunoluwanimi Yemi-Shodimu and British producer Samuel Scott), supported by Opera North.
New work I Sound Art, UK Bass I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Moth x Human” – A thought provoking work for small ensemble and electronics highlighting declining UK biodiversity, sonifying moth activity data from environmental scientists at UKCEH into emotive, immersive soundscapes with acoustic instruments, live digital processing and animated film. Commissioned by Oxford Contemporary Music, written by violinist, composer and creative director Ellie Wilson, supported by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
New work I Sound Art, Electro Acoustic, Environmental Music I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
“Voice Notes” – Celebrating the voices of those who have experienced displacement, this piece features telephone messages from refugees and migrants, combined with electroacoustic sound manipulation and directional speakers.
Presented by Another Sky Festival, written by the composer, sound artist and improviser, Hardi Kurda and the librettist, Sarah Jackson, with Compass Collective, Counterpoint Arts & New Writing North.
Existing new works I Global, Diasporic, Electroacoustic I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
R&B
“Yearn” – A powerful medley of rousing vocals and melodies blending rock and soul, exploring vulnerability, yearning, and an authentic masculinity rarely heard in today’s musical landscape and cultural discourse.
Produced by The Blues Project, the UK’s leading platform for R&B and soul, written and performed by rising R&B artist SIPHO.
New & existing new works I R&B, Soul I Tickets & previews: Bradford I Southbank Centre
Discover twenty compelling new works at New Music Biennial, presented by PRS Foundation, Southbank Centre, and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. FREE tickets available for festival weekends: 6-8 June 2025 in Bradford and 4-6 July 2025 at London’s Southbank Centre.
Explore recordings from previous New Music Biennial commissions here: https://nmc-recordings.myshopify.com/collections/new-music-biennial
