Arts Award

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is an Arts Award Centre and Supporter Organisation. Arts Award is a range of unique qualifications that supports anyone aged up to 25 to grow as artists and arts leaders, inspiring them to connect with and take part in the wider arts world through taking challenges in an art form - from fashion to digital art, pottery to poetry.

Offered at five different levels, young people get to:

discover the enjoyment of creating and participating in any art form
develop their creativity and leadership skills
learn new skills and share them with others
get to work with or experience working with creative arts professionals
gain experience and knowledge to progress into further education and employment

As an Arts Award Centre, we offers a number of opportunities for young people to achieve their Arts Award. Young people attending Music Maze can work towards Arts Award Explore by participating in 3 or more workshops. BCMG staff and workshops leaders are trained to help guide young people towards achieving their Arts Awards. Please note, attendance at BCMG workshops alone is not a guarantee of achieving the award and there is a cost involved in completing the award.

BCMG offers a range of opportunities for young people to listen, create and interact with music in a safe and welcoming environment. As a Supporter organisation, we have activities and opportunities to help you complete your Arts Award at Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. Some of our Supporter events are free, others require you to buy a concert ticket.

For more information please contact [email protected].

To find out more about Arts Awards, visit the Arts Award Website.

BCMG Online Arts Award Resource

Latest

Bethan Morgan-Williams

Support a new commission from composer Bethan Morgan-Williams, the composer's first for BCMG and Sound Investment.
Daniel Kidane Day | Wigmore Hall

Join BCMG for our afternoon concert at Wigmore Hall's Daniel Kidane Focus Day. Hear Daniel's music, described by the Financial Times as ‘quietly impressive’ and by The Times as ‘tautly constructed’ and ’vibrantly imagined’ in one of the world’s great concert halls.
Secret Kiss | Birmingham

Join us in our Birmingham home, the CBSO Centre, for this ethereal performance. Intimate communication is the essence of this concert, a theme often touched on by music, featuring sensitive stories of connection. Join us in London's Wigmore Hall to hear one of Peter Eötvös’ (1944 - 2024) final ensemble works, depicting an intense and melodramatic encounter.
Secret Kiss | Wigmore Hall

Intimate communication is the essence of this concert, a theme often touched on by music, featuring sensitive stories of connection. Join us in London's Wigmore Hall to hear one of Peter Eötvös’ (1944 - 2024) final ensemble works, depicting an intense and melodramatic encounter.

Listen Imagine Compose Primary

Listen Imagine Compose Primary is a partnership action research project between BCMG, Sound and Music and Birmingham City University aiming to encourage more and better composing in primary schools funded by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Musicadoodledo

Musicadoodledo is BCMG's early years project, mixing listening, adult-framed and child-initiated music play. The project is led by Jenny Muirhead and BCMG musicians.
BCMG Young Composers

BCMG Young Composers is a project for young people in School Years 7 - 9 (ages 11 - 14). Through a series of four workshops, you will have the opportunity to compose new music for BCMG musicians guided by composer, Kirsty Devaney.
Listen Imagine Compose (secondary)

Listen Imagine Compose was an action research project investigating the teaching and learning of composing in secondary schools. Though the main project has now finished, activity still continues and resources are available.
Creative Composing Lab

July workshop. A day-long workshop for young composers aged 14-18 to compose music with and for professional musicians.
Music Maze

Free, creative and fun music workshops for children in School Years 3 - 6 (ages 7 - 11). All welcome, whether you play a musical instrument or not.
Creative Composing Lab

Creative Composing Lab is an exciting free opportunity for young people in School Years 10 - 13 (ages 14 - 18) to compose guided by the expert knowledge of professional composer David Horne.
Work Experience

BCMG welcomes secondary school pupils on work experience throughout the year, normally for a week-long placement. Click here to find out about the process of applying.
Artsmark

BCMG is an Artsmark Partner. Artsmark is a quality standard for schools and education settings awarded by the Arts Council.

Job Opportunities

Job Opportunities with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Creating music that reflects the beauty and challenges of our world today. Join our creative arts team and inspire all generations with new music.
Who are BCMG?

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group has a year-round programme of new musical experiences for everyone. Creating strange and beautiful sounds since 1987.
BCMG NEXT Study Programme

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire offer a unique training programme for music students and professional musicians looking for a career as performers of contemporary music.
Stephan Meier

Artistic Director
>Music & Maths Festival<

In celebration of composer Iannis Xenakis’s centenary, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group have created a festival for all senses. Join us on 29 May 2022 for a day of activity culminating in an evening performance of electro acoustic music by BCMG and BEAST.
BCMG Musicians

At Birmingham Contemporary Music Group's heart is an ensemble of superb musicians. Read more about them here.
T R E E Concert

Join us in exploring the connections between nature and humankind in the enchanting TREE Concert. Expect eco-friendly treats, insights from composers, and a dramatic performance from our amazing ensemble. Featuring the world premiere of Christian Mason’s new Sound Investment commission and the textural Concertini by Helmut Lachenmann.
Music in Dialogue

Take part in this musical fusing of continents and celebration of cultures with BCMG. With new live music from Rohan de Saram, Ondřej Adámek, Neel Kamrul and Shigeko Hata.
Music Maze

Free, creative and fun music workshops for children in School Years 3 - 6 (ages 7 - 11). All welcome, whether you play a musical instrument or not.
BCMG Nights | Birmingham

As the nights get darker and longer, we spend more time under the stars than any other time of the year. Join Birmingham Contemporary Music Group in the stunning new Symphony Hall foyer for an evening of nocturnal music this November.