The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a

new music New music may refer to: Musical styles and movements Pre-20th century * Ars nova, musical style in 14th-century France and the Low Countries * '' Le nuove musiche'', collection of monody by Giulio Caccini * New German School, music style in late 1 ...

festival held annually in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured major international figures of experimental and avant garde music, including guest composers such as

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

, Jonathan Harvey,

Helmut Lachenmann Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann (born 27 November 1935) is a German composer of contemporary classical music. His work has been associated with "instrumental musique concrète". Life and works Lachenmann was born in Stuttgart and after the end of ...

and Sir

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

. Its programme also includes improvisation, installation, sound sculptures, happenings, new technology and free jazz. The festival is held across several venues in the town, including the

Lawrence Batley Theatre The Lawrence Batley Theatre is a theatre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England which offers drama, music, dance and comedy. The theatre is named after Lawrence Batley, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist, who founded a nationwide cash a ...

, Huddersfield Town Hall, St Paul's Hall, St Thomas's Church and th
Creative Arts Building
of the

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...

. There is also a Festival Hub which offers refreshments, CDs and free live shows every morning of the festival. The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival archive is held at th
University of Huddersfield Archives
at Heritage Quay.

History

The festival was founded at the suggestion of Richard Phillips, then music officer of the Yorkshire Arts Association. Richard Steinitz, a composer and lecturer at Huddersfield Polytechnic (later to become the University of Huddersfield), was appointed the festival director. The first concert was held on 13 October 1978. Steinitz was succeeded as director by Susanna Eastburn in 2001 and guest director

Tom Service Tom Service (born 8 March 1976) is a British writer, music journalist and television and radio presenter, who has written regularly for ''The Guardian'' since 1999 and presented on BBC Radio 3 since 2001. He is a regular presenter of The Proms f ...

in 2005. The current director is Graham McKenzie, who was appointed in 2006. In 2005, the festival was held from 17 to 27 November. In 2006 the festival took place from 17 to 26 November. On the event list was

Kitchen Motors Kitchen Motors is an Iceland based think tank, record label and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows. Kitchen Motor ...

, and Psappha. The 2008 festival ran from 21 to 30 November. A highlight was the performance of several

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

pieces by the Ascolta ensemble with guests. The 2009 festival ran from 20 to 29 November. Jonathan Harvey was composer in residence, and the festival also featured the

Arditti Quartet The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. T ...

Nieuw Ensemble The Nieuw Ensemble ( or ; English: New Ensemble) is a Dutch musical ensemble. It was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, str ...

and

musikFabrik The Ensemble Musikfabrik (music factory ensemble) is an ensemble for contemporary classical music located in Cologne. Their official name is Ensemble Musikfabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. (Ensemble Musikfabrik of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

. The 2010 festival ran from 19 to 28 November. The composer in residence was

Rebecca Saunders Rebecca Saunders (born 19 December 1967) is a London-born composer who lives and works freelance in Berlin. In a 2017 ''Classic Voice'' poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000, Saunders' compositions received the third highest total ...

. In 2011 Bent Sørensen became composer in residence. The composer in residence for 2012 was

Maja Ratkje Maja can refer to: Places * Maja, Croatia, a village * Maja, Banten, a subdistrict in Lebak Regency, Banten, Indonesia ** Maja railway station * Maja, West Java, a subdistrict in Majalengka Regency, West Java, Indonesia * Maja River, a tributar ...

References

External links

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Website
Huddersfield Music festivals in West Yorkshire Contemporary classical music festivals Jazz festivals in the United Kingdom Electronic music festivals in the United Kingdom Electroacoustic music festivals Music festivals established in 1978 1978 establishments in England {{england-stub