The Big Lockdown Music Survey: our Gateway Partners

Psappha – North

Psappha is the North West’s only stand-alone professional contemporary classical music ensemble. Founded in 1991 the group is dedicated to commissioning, performing and promoting new music – particularly by living composers and emerging musicians.

Throughout its 30-year career, Psappha has commissioned and premiered music by more than 500 composers and has performed across the UK and worldwide on five continents.

Psappha supports composers at all stages of their careers, inviting them to work with its core musicians to create, develop and present new work. The group also launched its own record label in 1997, and its catalogue of recordings are set for re-release in 2021 through its new relationship with NMC Recordings.

Visit Psappha's website here

Birmingham Record Company – Midlands

Birmingham Record Company presents eclectic and exciting new releases by artists who challenge, innovate and transform ideas of music today.

BRC celebrates off-beat work that sits between genres.  As well as 12-minute micro-operas, and Country-and-Western piano quintets, listeners re just as likely to find music structured around famous football matches, recordings of mechanical 1920s dancehall organs, and story-telling in yoga positions.

Since 2019, Birmingham Record Company has been exclusively distributed by NMC Recordings Ltd.

Visit Birmingham Record Company's website here

Spitalfields Music – Greater London

Spitalfields Music is a creative charity based in East London. It uses music to bring diverse communities together through high-quality performances, a national and industry leading artist development programme, and award-winning projects to local schools and community-led groups.

Visit Spitalfield Music's website here

Stapleford Granary – East

Stapleford Granary is a beautiful, small semi-rural arts centre 5 miles south of Cambridge. Their ‘culturally curious’ spirit underpins our programming choices: they are interested in good music played by good musicians presented in ways which encourage conversation about the arts. Whether it’s new voices, lesser-known composers or established classical repertoire, they aim to offer our audiences strong and imaginative combinations of works within a single programme and across their concert seasons.

Visit Stapleford Granary's website here

October House Records – South East

October House Records is a new label offering a curated selection of music every three months. Launched on 1st October 2021 with a distinguished artistic panel and nine exclusive new releases.

With our releases being exclusive to the site and 85% of the proceeds going directly to the artists, October House Records is a new streaming model founded to support all manner of creatives.

Visit October House Records' website here

Bristol Beacon – South West

Bristol Beacon is a music charity, renowned venue and award-winning music education hub.

With a city-wide programme of live music, creative learning opportunities and community engagement, they're here to help make space for music every day, with everyone. With you!

A place of welcome, warmth and light, they extend an open invitation to the city for everyone to come and share in the joy of live music and celebrate this in everything they do.

Their venue is currently undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation, due to complete in 2023, which will provide the city and the South West with one of the best performance and music learning spaces in Europe. 

Visit Bristol Beacon's website here

PRiSM – Data Partner

PRiSM is the Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music based at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. It is directed by composer, Emily Howard, mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy, and computer scientist David De Roure.  Funded by Research England, PRiSM ‘ …takes a lead in interdisciplinary and reflexive research between the creative arts and sciences, with a view to making a real contribution to society,  to developing new digital technology, and to addressing fundamental questions about what it is to be human and creative today.’

Bofan Ma is a Manchester-based composer-performer and multi-disciplinary artist. Having recently completed a practice-led PhD in composition at the RNCM, he is currently the RNCM PRiSM Post-Doctoral Research Associate, working closely with RNCM Experimental / Exploratory Music Research Centre (EEMRC).

Visit Bofan's website here