The London Sinfonietta has been awarded a £100,000 grant by the Cockayne Grants for the Arts to be used for the commissioning of work and as performance funds for new music, according to the ensemble's public release.
The city's contemporary chamber orchestra will be utilizing the grant as funding for a series of eight total commissions, each of which will be premiered by the ensemble in upcoming programs.
In fulfilling this plan, the orchestra will be selecting representative composers with the foremost consideration of inclusivity, intending to mirror the diversity found in London's culture effectively.
After the eight pieces' premiere, they will be joining the ensemble's expansive collection of over 470 commissions throughout its five-and-a-half-decade-long history.
Continuing London Sinfonietta's Championing of Classical Music
Of the award, London Sinfonietta's CEO and current Artistic Director Andrew Burke said that it "confirms the faith" of the ensemble's key stakeholders in the organization and in "contemporary classical music" as a whole, through the exploration of thematic sounds that are relevant to "schools, young people, and communities."
"The compositions that we have commissioned over the years have since influenced other music creators and artists from across contemporary society and inspired ever-increasing audiences who discover and are moved by these innovative approaches to sound," he continued.
"We are pleased and proud - with Cockayne's extraordinary support - to be able to plan a longer-term future for this tradition," Burke concluded.
Similarly, Cockayne's Executive Director Jo Hedley expressed the expansive contribution of the London Sinfonietta as a champion of "avant-garde music" for more than 50 years.
"At a moment when art is needed all the more to comment on and make sense of the rapidly changing world around us, Cockayne is delighted in this, its 10th anniversary year, to support London Sinfonietta forge into the future with a special £100,000 Anniversary Commissioning Grant," said Hedley.
