PRS for Music Foundation’s Beyond Borders programme

30 July 2015 - Press release

PRS for Music Foundation’s Beyond Borders programme launches call for proposals from organisations and groups based in the UK and Republic of Ireland
 
PRS for Music Foundation today launches the call for proposals from UK and Ireland based organisations wanting to co-commission or tour new music for the Beyond Borders programme.
 
Beyond Borders was established in 2010 to support high quality co-commissions and tours, stimulating collaboration between composers, performance groups and music organisations across the UK.  The programme awards up to £15,000 to co-commissioning and touring projects, including associated recording costs.
 
This will be the second year that Arts Council of Ireland joins PRS for Music Foundation, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales and Arts Council of Northern Ireland as one of the programme partners.
 
Previous Beyond Borders successes have included:
·         Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, with Taliesin Arts Centre, Irish Film Institute, Glasgow Film Theatre and Queens Film Theatre commissioned the critically acclaimed and Mercury-nominated Field Music to compose a new cinematic score to accompany a seminal silent documentary film, ‘Drifters’, by John Grierson.
·         Armagh Observatory, Outdoor Culture and The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge - aroundNorth is a multi-speaker sound installation by award-winning composer Robert Jarvis. Armagh Observatory in partnership with Outdoor Culture and The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge. This new composition was presented as a temporary installation in England and Northern Ireland in advance of its permanent installation at Armagh Observatory in 2015.
·         Oh Yeah Music Centre, Swansea Creative Hub and Welsh Music Foundation –Bringing together Belfast Composer and DJ Phil Kieran and Swansea experimental group White Noise Sound. A remix by Maya Jane Coles hit number 1 in Beatport’s electronica chart.
·         Cheltenham Music Festival, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts – Composer and performer Graham Fitkin was commissioned to write a disco-inspired work for the Fitkin Ensemble’s line-up of piano, harps, percussion, saxophones, trumpet, guitar, bass and vocals.  The piece was performed at Cheltenham Music Festival in July 2015 and will be performed at Swansea Festival of Music in October and the Arts and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall - MINIMAL weekend in 2016.
 
To apply, please visit http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/Partnerships/Flagship-Programmes/Beyond-Borders. Applications must be made by organisations which are commissioning or promoting new music with at least one other partner based in the UK or Ireland. The deadline for applications is 6pm on Monday 21st September 2015.

 
PRS for Music Foundation’s Executive Director, Vanessa Reed says, “I’m thrilled that we’re now launching the latest round of Beyond Borders, a cross-border programme which has supported many brilliant music projects over the past five years. This is a unique opportunity for organisations and groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland to seek funding that will enable them to work together on touring and co-commissioning, bringing new music to a broader audience.”
 
Leonie Bell, Director Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland, said: “Creative Scotland is very pleased to continue its support for Beyond Borders in 2015.  Given the quality of projects created since 2010, we are eager to see what new ideas are sparked by this call for proposals, and what collaborations can be kindled to power performances of new music across all genre to audiences throughout the UK.”
 
Arts Council of Ireland’s Paul Flynn comments, “The Arts Council of Ireland was delighted to participate in Beyond Borders 2014 which saw high quality collaborations celebrating the musical practices and traditions found all around these islands.  We look forward to engaging with the partnership in 2015 and to the quality proposals which the scheme will undoubtedly attract.”
 
Arts Council of Wales’ Suzanne Griffiths-Rees says, “The Arts Council of Wales are excited to be involved with Beyond Borders again this year.  It’s important for Welsh and Wales-based musicians to make work with artists from outside of Wales.  It is also important for them to be heard outside of Wales, and equally important for audiences to have the chance to experience music from other countries.”

Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music at Arts Council Northern Ireland comments, “Beyond Borders is an outstanding opportunity for our musicians to collaborate with other artists across the UK in new projects, gaining a platform for their music to tour and to be heard by new audiences.  The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to support this important artist development programme and look forward welcoming new proposals in 2015.”