Sound and Music

Whether you’re just browsing or are looking for new repertoire to programme, the Shortlist area in the SAM Network is a great place to discover new talent and listen to the next generation of composers and sonic artists.

The Shortlist is both a group of 90 composers and sonic artists including some of the freshest emerging talent in the UK, as well as a programme of discovery, promotion and professional development.

Each year a large panel of judges representing a diverse range of musical tastes selects up to 30 composers and sonic artists to join the Shortlist and receive performance, professional development and promotion opportunities for three years.

Since 1943 many of the UK’s leading composers have been ‘discovered’ and have received some of their earliest professional performances through The Shortlist. These include Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies, Richard Rodney Bennett, Judith Weir, Brian Ferneyhough, James MacMillan, Steve Martland, Benedict Mason, Joby Talbot, Tarik O’Regan, Claudia Molitor, Anna Meredith and Phillip Neil Martin.

More recently people from very different backgrounds have been selected for The Shortlist, including Tim Hodgkinson (founder of cult band Henry Cow) and sonic artists Michael Cullen, Ash Sargant and Dan Wilson.

The Shortlist will develop into a programme, along with programmes like New Voices, where outstanding creative talent in the UK can be developed into world class creators of new music and sound.

Application

The application process is open annually and the next application round will be announced in the autumn 2009 with the launch of Sound and Music's new pofessional development programmes.