Back to Clippings Archive main page

Like you probably, I am not really a fan of modern music. But just as we were heading off for our usual trail around town we suddenly realised that we should give the music a try.

After all, not only was the concert free but how often, we asked one another, do we get the opportunity to hear contemporary music here in Shropshire? The evening sounded so intriguing we had to give it a go.

Years later I have become quite a fan of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group’s (BCMG) annual visits to the county, and whose 2006 series is now underway (see below).

Don’t dismiss them without thinking, as we nearly did. Speaking from experience you cannot help enjoying the audience-friendly evenings – evenings that last year won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Audience Development.

The words ‘contemporary music’ might put you off, but you needn’t be worried. Some of the pieces sound like traditional classical music; others are intriguingly creative. But all are explained to you beforehand – sometimes by the composer themselves, who has flown in for the occasion!

What’s more, you can talk to the musicians during the interval over your free glass of wine. And if all that is not enough to encourage you to give the concerts a try, bear in mind that some of the pieces are only being performed for the third or fourth time ever - here in Shropshire!

It’s complete chance that the county benefits from all this, as I discovered when I quizzed BCMG’s artistic director, Stephen Newbold. The aim of the concerts is to cultivate an interest in contemporary classical music, and targeting one area, BCMG decided, was the way to do it. We might sometimes think of Shropshire as sleepy and remote, but here we struck gold.

It was Sir Simon Rattle and players from the City of Birmingham’s Symphony Orchestra that formed BCMG back in 1987. Nineteen years later the group has become one of Europe’s leading ensembles and has won several awards for their achievements.

Much of BCMG's work is centred on performing new pieces, and to their credit many have been commissioned with the help of funding they have nurtured from enthusiastic supporters, under BCMG’s Sound Investment scheme. Here, investors donate a modest sum and in return get invited to rehearsals and the first performance, as well as receiving a certificate to mark their contribution or a signed copy of the score.

Indeed, this year’s series includes a world premiere by a leading British composer, Simon Holt (concerts on 23rd April, at Chelmarsh and Edgton Village Halls) as well as a performance on African djembe drums by Adrian Spillett, Shropshire’s former Young Musician of the Year (19th March, Cleobury Mortimer).

As you will see from their list of venues, BCMG is committed to getting the widest possible audiences to attend its events, so they often play alongside children and perform in schools, and all their concerts are held in small towns and remote village halls.

Actually, there is one exception this year when BCMG team up with a tour by America’s leading jazz composer and trumpeter, Dave Douglas, for a concert in Shrewsbury’s Music Hall on 6th April.

Yes, I have to admit that some of the BCMG music has been a bit beyond me, and I cannot say I have bought a CD. (Rather refreshingly actually, there are no CDs on sale!) But all the evenings I have attended have been unforgettable experiences, and isn’t that what Saturday nights should be?

Tickets from the venues or from BCMG, Tel. 0121 616 2616



 

Back to Clippings Archive main page
top of page