A training programme for emerging composers and performers in Spain who are interested in strengthening their communications skills, building new networks and bridging the barriers between art forms.
In 2019 British Council Spain launched the #WeAreEquals Music Academy, an ongoing programme for emerging professionals from the electronic music sector, with the aim of providing them with specialist training and development to help them boost their artistic careers and prepare them to become future leaders of the sector.
With a new focus on classical/contemporary music, the British Council is delighted to announce the launch of a refreshed edition of the #WeAreEquals Music Academy, on this occasion in partnership with the Fundación Juan March and with the support of the British Embassy in Spain. The programme has been designed and developed by Arts&Parts, a British organisation specialising in the development and delivery of artist development activities and programmes for emerging musicians across a range of genres.
Delivered face-to-face and online, this new edition of the #WeAreEquals Music Academy is aimed at composers and performers interested in acquiring new techniques in the field of communication and PR delivered by sector professionals Katrina Duncan and Indy Vidyalankara; learning first-hand about the experience of entrepreneurial composers such as Kate Whitley and Philip Venables, whose work is carried out in collaboration with creators from very diverse artistic fields; expanding their contact networks; and meeting the talented British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, whose meteoric career is an example of how classical music can bridge the boundaries of art forms and classifications.
If you're an emerging talent and future leader of the classical/contemporary music sector apply now!
Where:
Fundación Juan March. Calle de Castelló, 77, 28006 Madrid
Programme:
Friday 10th March
- 10.00 to 10.30h: Introductions, welcoming words and housekeeping
- 10.30 to 13.00h: “Show and Tell”: a workshop session facilitated by Katrina Duncan using short audio-visual presentations prepared by the Academy participants in advance, in which they tell the group about themselves, their practice and what they’d like to achieve from this process (in person).
- 14.00 to 15.30h: "Telling your Story" – Field Notes from a Creative Industries Communicator with Indy Vidyalankara. Online ommunications session, including case studies and Q&A, facilitated by Katrina Duncan
- 15.45 to 17.15h: In conversation with.... Kate Whitely (in person). Facilitated by Katrina Duncan
Saturday 11th March
- 10.00h – opening words
- 10.15 to 11.45: Inspiring talk with Sheku Kanneh-Mason (in person). Facilitated by Katrina Duncan
- 12.00 to 13.30: In conversation with.... Philip Venables (online). Facilitated by Katrina Duncan
- 13.30h: lunch
- 15.00 to 15.30h: summing up and final words
Sunday 12th March
- 19.30h: Solo recital by Sheku Kanneh-Mason (Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid)
Deadline to apply:
20th February 2023 at 23:59 CEST. If your application is successful the British Council will cover the cost of your training. We'll inform you on 27th February if you've been selected. The training will be delivered in English.
Bios
Kate Whitley is a composer and pianist. She runs The Multi-Story Orchestra, which performs in car parks around the UK: “forget fusty concert halls, the future of music is emerging in a municipal car park” (The Times). Her pieces for choir and orchestra include "Alive to words" by poet Holly McNish, which won a 2015 British Composers Award or "I am I say" to words by Sabrina Mahfouz. Her piece "Speak out to words" by Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai was commissioned by the BBC for International Women’s Day 2017 in support of the campaign for better education for girls and has been performed by orchestras around the world.
The British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is already in great demand from major orchestras and concert halls worldwide. He became a household name in 2018 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle, his performance having been greeted with universal excitement after being watched by nearly two billion people globally. Sheku initially garnered renown as the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, and subsequently became a Decca Classics recording artist.
Philip Venables has been described as a “composer of ferocious dramatic instincts” and “an arrestingly original musical personality” by Alex Ross in The New Yorker and as “one of the finest composers around” by the Guardian. Philip’s output covers opera, music theatre, multimedia concert works, chamber music and song, an eclectic range of styles and influences, and themes such as social politics, violence, gender and storytelling.
We are grateful of the support of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía and AMCC (Asociación Madrileña de Compositores).
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, committed to fostering cultural exchange between the UK and the rest of the world. Its work in the Arts focuses on changing perceptions and encouraging greater equality, diversity and inclusion across the arts and society. It promotes creativity, innovation and excellence through the development of transformative and inclusive projects with the purpose of nurturing the construction and consolidation of global communities of collaboration.
More information: arts@britishcouncil.es