At CoMA, we have a wide range of accessible contemporary repertoire for you to choose from. Our Music Sales and Catalogue Manager, Emory Southwick, has curated a selection of pieces from our Catalogue written by women.
Score and recording available here
Thalassa is the second innermost moon of Neptune, and the seventh largest. It orbits Neptune every seven and a half hours. This piece is in the form of a passacaglia with a short coda for five-part open score ensemble with glockenspiel, percussion, and piano.
Score and recording available here
Grey is about the experience of depression and the feeling of hopelessness, specifically ‘greyness’ taking over one’s mind and body. The main aim of the piece is raising awareness of mental health problems, especially depression. It is designed for three improvising instruments, or three instrumental groups of any kind (marked 1, 2, and 3.) This piece won the second place prize at the KNM Ensemble Call for Scores in 2023.
This piece was written for CoMA, involving a great sense of freeness surrounding the interpretation of seemingly conventional notation. This piece derives entirely from one of Mozart’s Piano Variations, consisting only of cut-up pieces of Mozart’s music, combined with graphic elements. Conventional aspects of notation have physically been taken out of context, warped and reframed, perhaps making us reconsider what certain aspects of notation actually mean.
This short piece for four-part instrumental ensemble focuses on listening and elements of choice to create a rich texture. The ensemble starts by playing the first chord together, and after that, players begin to move independently from the ensemble, following the conductor’s instructions.
Score and recording available here
This four-movement piece features body percussion, singing, and intriguing melodies to create an atmospheric and driven piece. It’s based on the thirteenth-century hymn, La Bouvier, which recounts the tale of a cattle herder returning home and discovering his ill wife lying by the fire.
Score and recording available here
A piece in four short movements, Four Nightmares works well for any size of instrumental ensemble and requires little rehearsal time to perform. Each movement offers the freedom for contemplation with its spacious scoring.
Score and recording available here
The title of the piece comes from a well-known Estonian children’s song. It tells the tale of a duck who was driving a train and fell asleep on the way. It’s an eight-part open score work for instruments, with a piano and percussion part. The piece is a fantastically rhythmically driven and playful piece, where performers pick three pitches to form their part.
Elaine Levene, our CoMA Leeds Musical Director, wrote this short fanfare in 2014 for CoMA Leeds. It was also performed at the CoMA Gala festival at St. John’s Smith Square in celebration of CoMA’s 21st birthday, alongside 20 other fanfares. It’s a perfect piece to slot into any instrumental concert, with little rehearsal time needed.
Score and recording available here
This fun and energetic piece features four elided movements inspired by four dances: the Argentine Tango, Cha Cha Cha, Paso Doble, and Jive. It’s a rhythmically driven and exciting piece that works as well for a small four-part ensemble with percussion and piano as a full orchestra.
Score and recording available here
When is a captivating piece that weaves elements of well-known cello music with contemporary styles to form a piece for cello solo, four-part open score, and piano. It was written as an homage to the composer’s grandfather who was a passionate amateur cellist. The cello part features scordatura, where the lowest string is tuned down a semitone.
Questions? Looking for specific instrumentation?
Get in touch with our Music Sales and Catalogue Manager, Emory Southwick, at emory@coma.org
