1992
Chris Shurety (CoMA founder) starts weekly meetings with Simon Foxley and Sarah Gall to plan the inaugural CoMA Summer School
Overview
CoMA was established in 1993 to encourage and provide opportunities for amateur musicians of all abilities to take part in contemporary music making. That year, the first Summer School featured new commissions by Diana Burrell, Michael Finnissy and William Sweeney. The aim was to create a repertoire of contemporary music accessible to amateur players and to establish regional ensembles throughout the UK.
CoMA ensembles carry out a range of activities including performing commissioned repertoire, improvisation and holding workshops for amateur composers. CoMA has featured in various prestigious events including Bath, Huddersfield, St Magnus and Spitalfields music festivals. CoMA London was programmed in the British Music Collection’s Cutting Edge series for three years.
CoMA has built up a unique collection of more than 900 works, used by colleges, schools and outreach programmes as well as by CoMA’s own and other ensembles. CoMA’s commissioned works have featured prominently in the British Composer Awards.
CoMA’s Key to Change conference at the South Bank Centre in 1997 established CoMA’s reputation in promoting participation in contemporary music. In the same year CoMA became Music Winner of the Prudential Award for the Arts in recognition of its leading role in this field.
CoMA celebrated its 30th birthday in 2023 with an anniversary weekend at St John’s Smith Square, London, featuring workshops, an exhibition, concerts by CoMA ensembles and a massed participatory performance, including the premiere of a new work by Stephen Montague.
In recognition of its work, CoMA was awarded National Portfolio Organisation funding by Arts Council England in 2023. CoMA continues to develop and diversify its activities and is currently extending its international links as a core part of its programme.
CoMA (Contemporary Music for All) is a company limited by guarantee, registered in the England & Wales (no. 3429608). It is also a charity in England & Wales (no. 1067282) and in Scotland (no. SC051561).
Timeline of Key Events
1993
The first CoMA Summer School
1995
Premiere of ‘Dark Sun’ by Stephen Montague at the CoMA Summer School, Bretton Hall, West Yorkshire
1997
CoMA hosts the Key to Change Conference at the Southbank Centre: Addressing the role of the amateur musician in contemporary music
CoMA is awarded the Music Award of the Prudential Award for the Arts
1998
CoMA is invited to take part in the International Society for Contemporary Music ‘World Music Days’ Festival, under the Artistic Directorship of Gillian Moore
2004
CoMA Open Score Project is launched, inviting guest artistic directors to commission a collection of flexibly scored works from notable composers
2011
KNM Campus Ensemble is launched – our first permanent European ensemble
2012
CoMA Maastricht is launched in the Netherlands, our second permanent ensemble in Europe
2014
CoMA hosts 21st Birthday Gala at St John’s Smith Square
2016
CoMA Festival launches at Kings Place
CoMA releases its first publication – CoMA Open Score Anthology
2020
CoMA hosts its first online Summer School
2023
30th Anniversary celebration weekend at St Johns Smith Square
2023 CoMA releases ‘The CoMA Story’ Documentary
2024
Connect The Dots composer development scheme launched.
Little Woodland Heights programme for children aged 8-11 launched.
From Then to Now
