We’re launching an ISCM Newsletter!
Something transformative happens when we come together each year and share with each other musical experiences from our respective places. For many of us, the conversations we engage in between official meetings and concerts are the heart and soul of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Every year when we gather, people ponder how we can keep these conversations going throughout the rest of the year. This new ISCM Newsletter is an attempt to address this wish. It is an opportunity to share important news as well as to describe events that can inspire all of us.
Romania Announces Works Chosen for the 2026 ISCM World New Music Days
SNR-SIMC, the Romanian Section of the ISCM and the host of the 2026 ISCM World New Music Days Festival titled “Columna Infinita”, has announced the works that have been selected for performance on the festival, which will take place in Bucharest from 23 to 31 May, from the official submissions from ISCM member organizations as well as from individual…
“New Music Islands” presents music from Faroe Islands, Aotearoa New Zealand, Gotland, and Canary Islands
Following discussions at the World New Music Days in Portugal 2025, the Faroe Islands Section, New Zealand Section (CANZ), Gotland Section (VICC), and COSIMTE (ISCM Affiliated Associate Member from the Canary Islands) are presenting the project “4 Islands”.
One more week to submit works for the ISCM World New Music Days 2026 in Romania
There’s just one more week before the Call for Works for the ISCM World New Music Days 2026 (Romania) closes on 1 October! Until then we are looking forward to receiving submissions from both ISCM Sections, Members and individual composers. If you are a composer and your work has not been submitted by an ISCM Section or…
Pedro Lima Wins 2025 ISCM Young Composer Award
Pedro Lima Soares (b. 1994 in Braga, Portugal) has been awarded the 2025 ISCM Young Composer Award for his postmodern composition You Should (Should!) Be Dancing scored for chamber ensemble with electronics which received its world premiere performance by the Remix Ensemble of Porto’s Casa da Música under the direction of Ilan Volkov during the…
Jacqueline Fontyn & Karin Rehnqvist Named Honorary Members of the ISCM
Composers Jacqueline Fontyn and Karin Rehnqvist have been named Honorary Members of the International Society for Contemporary Music in a unanimous vote by the delegates to the 2025 ISCM General Assembly at the O’culto da Ajuda in Lisbon on 3 June 2025 during the 2025 ISCM World New Music Days in Portugal. Jacqueline Fontyn, born…
MATRIX has Assembled a Playlist with New Music from Portugal to Celebrate the 2025 ISCM World New Music Days
MATRIX, the Flemish Section of the ISCM, has a tradition of compiling music playlists in celebration of upcoming events, such as the ISCM World New Music Days. In the weeks leading up to the upcoming festival in Portugal MATRIX posts a daily listening suggestion on their social media networks. The playlist is a great way…
Call for Scores Announced for 2026 ISCM WNMD in Romania
The Union of Composers and Musicologists from Romania (UCMR) and ISCM Romania are proud to organize again the World New Music Days festival in 2026 (Bucharest, 23-31 May), after a break of 27 years. We are looking forward to put a light on the wonderful diversity of the musics of the world, as well as on…
The World Mourns the Passing of Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025)
Music lovers around the world are mourning the passing of composer Sofia Gubaidulina who died at the age of 93 on 13 March 2025 at her home in Appen, Germany after a long illness. Born on 24 October 1931 in Chistopol in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (which is now the Republic of Tatarstan…
ISCM General Assembly Unanimously Supports Romania’s Bid to Host the World New Music Days in 2026
On 4 March 2025, during an extraordinary general assembly of the International Society for Contemporary Music held over Zoom, the delegates unanimously voted in support of the ISCM Romanian Section’s bid to host the 2026 ISCM World New Music Days in Bucharest, Romania. Subtitled “Columna Infinita” after the famous sculpture by 20th-century Romanian art icon…