Summer School 2025

Sunday 17th – Saturday 23rd August 2025

Thank you to everyone who took part in this year's CoMA Summer School and made it such a success!

The 2025 CoMA Summer School has now finished – to stay up to date with news of future events, sign up to our newsletter mailing list (link at the foot of our homepage).

The CoMA Summer School is a place for musicians of all abilities to come together for five full days of fun and exciting music-making! Filled with experimentation, workshops, performances and joyful music-making, the summer school is open to instrumentalists, singers and composers aged 18+.

The CoMA Summer School has been a much-loved annual event for many years, hosting premieres of many new works, and creating an environment in which countless musical friendships have flourished.

Click here to view or download a PDF brochure for the 2025 Summer School

Who can come?

Instrumentalists, vocalists and composers with at least one year’s experience of playing, through to advanced level are welcome to join the CoMA Summer School.

Some things to note:

Participants must be aged 18+
Previous engagement with CoMA is not necessary – new faces welcome!
Instrumentalists from all genres and traditions can take part, though you must be able to bring your own instrument (apart from pianists!).
An ability to read 5-line notation would be advantageous, but not necessary. If you would like further information, please email Francesca at francesca@coma.org.

What will we do?

Photo of the brass section of an ensemble, with a double bassist behind them.

A group of smiling young musicians sat in a line.

Photo from above of a man holding a double bass and a music stand.

Photo showing a happy crowd of summer school attendees in front of a tree.

Two young people playing cellos as part of an ensemble.

A group of smiling composers at a workshop. The tutor is pointing to something on the screen of a laptop at their table.

Activities will take place Monday 18th – Friday 22nd August (inclusive) and will include:

All participants joining together to form a large ensemble of instrumentalists and vocalists to play a new piece by Elif Karlidag, specifically commissioned for the Summer School
Rehearsal and performance of instrumental and vocal works from the CoMA Catalogue
A wide range of creative sessions run by expert tutors
Workshop opportunities and tuition from Elif Karlidag for composers
Nature activities such as woodland walks, bird watching & an Observatory visit
Food and drinks and plenty of socialising!
Closing concerts on Friday 22nd August at Keele Chapel, open to the public!

Click here for a draft CoMA Summer School 2025 Schedule Outline

CoMA Summer School 2025 Tutors

(Please note, specifics of the activity may vary and some tutors are tbc, yet this is a general picture of what the Summer School will offer. We kindly ask for your understanding)

Photo of Sarah Nicolls, wearing a yellow jumper and in a hallway made of wood.

Photo of Supriya Nagarajan, pictured outside and wearing a red, burgundy and gold sari.

Photo showing Loré Lixenberg widening her eyes at the camera and wearing a hat made from metal ring pulls.

Rebecca Miller smiling as she conducts an orchestra.

Photo of Janet Oates leading a workshop, with her right hard raised and sheet music in her left hand.

Photo showing a child wearing headphones and an adult in a woodland setting

Photo showing the composer Elif Karlıdağ, with her arms folded and wearing a red cardigan.

Experimental music theatre with Loré Lixenberg: Come and play a music theatre piece with the incredible soprano and composer, Loré Lixenberg. Loré will lead a variety of games and activities which bring drama, theatre and site-specific dimensions to music making. Find out more: www.lorelixenberg.art

Exploring Raga with Supriya Nagarajan: learn about the fundamentals of raga and how to sing/play raga on your instrument. Composer and vocalist Supriya Nagarajan will then lead participants to create/improvise a piece of music together incorporating elements of raga. Find out more: soundandmusic.org/discover/composer/supriya-nagarajan

Little Woodland Heights with Francesca Le Lohé: Learning music through trees and forests through music. Participants will make sound recordings in the surrounding woodland and create new music inspired by the trees using methods from the ‘Little Woodland Heights’ programme, created by composer Nick Roth. Francesca will deliver an age-appropriate version of the project specifically adapted for this Summer School. Find out more: www.coma.org/get-involved/projects/little-woodland-heights

Composition with Elif Karlıdağ: Summer School commissioned composer Elif Karlıdağ will coach composers to write a piece for soloist or small chamber ensemble to perform on the final day of the summer school. Summer School participants can also sign up to be part of the ensemble playing the composers new works. Additionally, Elif will run an open session on Tuesday for anyone wanting to try composing for the first time or learn some new techniques. Find out more: elifkarlidag.com

Inclusive music making with Sonic Bothy: The award-winning Sonic Bothy Ensemble collaboratively explores, composes and performs experimental and new music radically shaped by accessibility. The members will draw on their rich experience and share inclusive techniques, and create a new piece of music together with the participants. Find out more: www.sonicbothy.co.uk

Simple Melodies Shrouded in Strange Sounds with Sarah Nicolls: Come learn some easy hacks for working with electronics and explore what combinations of acoustic and electronic sounds interest you. Find out more: sarahnicolls.com

Global Grooves: Samba! Learn to play samba music on drums provided by Global Grooves facilitators – or join in on your instrument or even dance along! Find out more: www.globalgrooves.org/whats-on/samba-batucada

Art sessions with Chris Shurety: Create visual artworks in response to the music of composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987) with sculptor and CoMA founder Chris Shurety. Your artwork could be the stimulus for improvising musicians in an exhibition event on the final day of the Summer School!

New Sounds For Community Choirs with Dominic McGonigal: Explore vocal pieces composed by Dominic McGonigal, with interesting harmonies, complex rhythms and multi-part textures notated to be accessible to community vocalists. Open to anyone who wants to sing.

ALL sessions are open to all instrumentalists (including pianists, guitarists and percussionists) and singers.

CoMA Summer School 2025 Conductors
Jon Hargreaves: Jon Hargreaves is a well-respected conductor, composer and arranger, with a wealth of experience in contemporary music and supporting professional through to emerging musicians. Jon will conduct the massed ensemble for Elif Karlidag’s piece and 1-2 additional instrumental pieces for performance in the closing concert. Find out more: jonhargreaves.net

Janet Oates: Dynamic composer-vocalist Janet Oates will teach and conduct vocal pieces from the CoMA catalogue for performance in the closing concert. She will also perform and workshop new pieces by composer participants. Find out more: janetoates.co.uk

(Unfortunately Rebecca Miller has had to withdraw from the CoMA Summer School, as previously advertised)

How much is it?

Early Bird Ticket: £800 CLOSED

General ticket: £900 CLOSED

Final release: £950 CLOSED

5 day locals ticket: £575 CLOSED

Tuesday 19th August 2025 ‘drop in’ day ticket: £120 CLOSED

This fee includes:

6 nights of accommodation (all rooms are ensuite with a small double bed)*
3 meals daily + tea/coffee/refreshments
admission to all music activities at the Summer School.

*5 day locals ticket and ‘drop in’ day ticket do not include accommodation.

15% Student Discount (proof of ID required).

Use the discount code SS25STUDENT to receive a 15% discount on all full-price tickets.
You must also upload evidence of your full-time student ID.

Deposits

There is the option to reserve your ticket by paying a 20% non-refundable deposit. Full payment for all tickets must be made by 11.59pm on Thursday 15th May 2025.

Spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come-first-served basis – so book soon to avoid missing out!

Getting there + accessibility

Participants are responsible for organising their own travel to the Summer School.

By train:

The nearest railway stations to Keele are:

Stoke-on-Trent (5 miles / 8 km away)
Crewe (12 miles / 19 km away)

The university is a 10-minute drive/taxi ride from Stoke-on-Trent station or 30 minutes by bus number 25, going from outside the station. CoMA will provide a shuttle bus service from Stoke-on-Trent train station to Keele University at specific intervals.

By car:

Keele is between Junctions 15 and 16 on the M6 motorway, and is just west of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. We are halfway between Manchester and Birmingham. There is plenty of parking on site.

How will we get around the venue? Is Keele accessible?

The accommodation, dining hall, rehearsal and workshop rooms and the Chapel (performance space) are all within 0-10 minutes walking distance of each other over even ground. There is step-free access to all the buildings we will use, which all also have accessible gender-neutral toilets and lifts. There are adapted rooms in the accommodation blocks. More detailed information can be found here:

https://www.accessable.co.uk/keele-university

CoMA is committed to ensuring the Summer School is open to all to attend. If you have any specific concerns or access needs you would like to discuss, please contact Francesca (CoMA Project Manager) at francesca@coma.org.