About us
CoMA Manchester was revived in March 2020 during the National CoMA Festival. We are an inclusive mixed ensemble who welcome instruments as well as noise-making objects in our group. We have a lot of fun in our rehearsals, and we enjoy chatting as well as making music together!
We hold bi-weekly rehearsals at various venues in Whalley Range (South Manchester). If you’d like to join us, get in touch!

News
CoMA Manchester at Chorlton Arts Festival
Join CoMA Manchester at their “Allcomers’ workshop, during which they will open their doors to anyone who wants to give contemporary music a try in an inclusive environment. During this 90 minute workshop, they will rehearse two pieces for mixed ensemble, including parts for spoken voice, hand percussion (provided), and instrumental parts so anyone can join in!
At the end of the workshop, participants will be invited to perform these pieces in an informal concert, alongside repertoire by composers from the Royal Northern College of Music. The entire day is part of our ‘Streaming Blue‘ series and music has been chosen to reflect the environment, specifically Manchester’s rivers and parks. A ‘Streaming Blue’ exhibition will also be on display at the event, which contains the stories and sounds of local residents’ river use.
Allcomers workshop programme (12.15pm-1.45pm):
- Robert Ashley ‘she was a visitor’
- Tim Parkinson ‘Second Song for Many’
Performance (2pm)
- Robert Ashley ‘she was a visitor’
- Tim Parksinson ‘Second Song for Many’
- Helena Zyskowska, ‘Psithurism’ (world premiere)
- Tanguy Pocquet du Haut-Jusse, ‘En attendant, essayons de converser sans nous exalter, puisque nous sommes incapables de nous taire’ (world premiere)
- Alex Chapman, ‘The Erratic Adjengar’
More details and tickets to join us can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.hk/e/coma-manchester-at-chorlton-arts-festival-tickets-625956120607
Rehearsal Dates
Anyone is welcome, and if you’d like to join, get in touch! Make sure to get on our mailing list beforehand to get the most up to date information and rehearsal venues.
Here are the dates for our activities in Spring 2023.
- Sunday 21 May 1330-1615 General rehearsal
- Saturday 27 May Chorlton Arts Festival performance!
- Saturday 10 June General rehearsal tbc
- Saturday 24 June General rehearsal tbc
- Saturday 8 July General rehearsal tbc
CoMA Manchester will be observing a summer holiday from late July until the beginning of September 2023.
Past projects
Some recent projects have included:
2023
We are currently preparing for our appearance at Chorlton Arts Festival in May, premiering three new works by Tanguy Pocquet du Haut-Jusse, Alex Chapman and Helena Zyskowska (in partnership with PRiSM, RNCM) that we have workshopped and are currently recording.
2022
In March we premiered three new pieces by local composers at Contemporary Music for All Festival.
In September we premiered our first commission by Kelly Jayne Jones, as part of our Streaming Blue Festival. Generously supported by Arts Council National Lottery Projects Funding.
In October we travelled over to Sheffield to play at Music in the Round’s Sounds of Now event with CoMA Sheffield.
2021
In March we created an audiovisual programme for RNCM’s PLAY Festival.
In August performed a two day festival that connected audiences to their local blue and green spaces through exciting programmes of new music. Generously supported by Arts Council National Lottery Projects Funding.
To see some of our work, head over to our Youtube Channel.
Contact
Contact Ellen at manchester@coma.org
You can also find us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Upcoming events
no current events