New music

17 Days – an exciting new commission for 2012

Crouch End Festival Chorus has announced its first commission of the new decade: 17 Days by James McCarthy (pictured). To be premiered at the Barbican on 5 February 2012, the work will be based on the dramatic events surrounding the 2010 Chilean mining accident from which – eventually – 33 miners were successfully rescued.

James has been keeping notes about the creative process of writing 17 Days; check out his entertaining Composer’s Blog – now with baby!

Become a New Music Patron and support 17 Days

Crouch End Festival Chorus greatly appreciates the support of a group of individual sponsors, each of them committed to new music. By becoming one of our New Music Patrons, you can share in the excitement and satisfaction of supporting the premiere of a new piece of music.

For your New Music Patron subscription of £120 you will receive:

• two free top-price tickets to the premiere of each commission
• information about the development of the piece as it progresses from commission to performance
• an acknowledgement of your contribution towards the staging of the premiere in our concert programmes and on our website
• an opportunity to purchase tickets to the world premiere of each commission at 20% discount
• an invitation to the dress rehearsal on the afternoon of the performance and, where possible, an opportunity to meet the composer
• an autographed copy of the choral score of the new work

To join the New Music Patrons scheme and support the premiere of 17 Days, please email our fundraising manager Anna Stuttard at fundraising@cefc.org.uk.

A proud history of supporting new music

Crouch End Festival Chorus is well-known for its innovative and adventurous programming. Over the past two decades, we have commissioned new music from a range of composers, some well known and others at the start of their careers.

One of Crouch End Festival Chorus’s first commissions was Howard Haigh’s 1990 work Saeta, which was revived in 2004 at the Barbican to critical acclaim. Since 2000 the choir’s continuing commitment to new music has resulted in 14 new works being added to the choral repertoire, including David Bedford’s The City and the Stars, which was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in 2001. As part of our 25th anniversary celebration in 2009, we commissioned Matthew Ferraro’s groundbreaking The Tension of Opposites, which received a standing ovation at its Barbican premiere.