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.

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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

1992

Chris Shurety (CoMA founder) starts weekly meetings with Simon Foxley and Sarah Gall to plan the inaugural CoMA Summer School

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