PRS for Music Foundation launches new initiative which supports the best British orchestral music of the past 25 years

07 July 2016 - Press release

PRS for Music Foundation has launched Resonate, the new fund and resource which encourages professional orchestras to programme into their repertoire the best pieces of British music from the past 25 years. Resonate is a partnership between PRS for Music Foundation, the Association of British Orchestras (ABO) and broadcast partner BBC Radio 3.

Support of up to £10,000 is available to UK orchestras who want to rehearse, programme, tour or promote a piece of music from the Resonate database which includes the huge number of works commissioned by UK orchestras in recent years. This database is now live and can be accessed at: http://resonate.abo.org.uk.

Support will be given to up to 12 orchestras per year who can demonstrate a commitment to presenting high quality contemporary UK repertoire which they will promote with the Resonate brand as part of a season, tour and longer term audience development programme.

Resonate aims to inspire more performances, recordings and broadcasts of outstanding UK repertoire, as chosen by UK orchestras, whilst strengthening approaches to programming contemporary repertoire for the benefit of audiences, composers and players in the UK and overseas.

The Resonate database has been created to demonstrate the scope and quality of new music already commissioned by UK orchestras and to give these orchestras a chance to revisit pieces which would strengthen their programming of contemporary British music for orchestras. The long term goal of Resonate is to establish a recognised body of works and increase audiences’ familiarity with the music of the UK’s most talented composers.

Vanessa Reed, Executive Director, PRS for Music Foundation said, “Whilst we all enjoy the excitement of hearing a brand new piece, it’s clear that audiences will never have the chance to get to know music unless more of it is toured and imaginatively programmed way beyond its first performance. That’s why we’re launching Resonate and focussing, in this three year pilot, on the huge number of brilliant pieces for orchestra that deserve more exposure. I look forward to following the programming of new pieces selected for this new initiative and to working with ABO and BBC Radio 3 to amplify its impact amongst potential participants and audiences across the UK.”

Mark Pemberton, Director, ABO said “The ABO is delighted to be working in partnership with the PRS for Music Foundation on its Resonate programme. For many years we have been aware of the challenge for our members of programming repeat performance of new works, and the financial help available from this funding scheme will undoubtedly make a difference, creating more opportunities for British composers to establish a foothold in contemporary repertoire.” 

Edward Blakeman, Head of Music Policy and Programming at BBC Radio 3 said, “Contemporary music is the lifeblood of classical music and guarantees the future of the art form for audiences and orchestras alike. As the most significant commissioner of contemporary classical music, BBC Radio 3 is delighted in our 70^th anniversary year to be the broadcast partner for this initiative with the PRS for Music Foundation and the ABO. Resonate will enable audiences in the concert hall and our millions of listeners on-air to rediscover a whole range of important works that reflect the rich heritage of orchestral composition in the UK in recent decades.”

Resonate receives additional support from The Foyle Foundation and the Boltini Trust.