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HCMF - Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

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The UK’s largest international festival of new and experimental music, taking place over 10 days each November and featuring 50+ events including performances, exhibitions, talks and workshops, plus a year-round Learning & Participation programme. hcmf// is an annual, international festival of contemporary and new music, taking place over 10 days and consisting of approximately 50 events – includi

ng concerts, music-theatre, dance, multi-media, talks and film – with a related Learning & Participation programme devised and implemented to reflect the artistic programme and respond to regional need. hcmf// aims to provide life-changing and unique artistic experiences to as wide an audience as possible; to be an international platform for new music and related contemporary art forms in Britain; to enthuse existing audiences and draw in new ones through adventurous programming and informed, stylish presentation, and to be an active cultural partner within the region.

04/09/2026

Artist Spotlight: Riot Ensemble

Riot Ensemble returns to hcmf// with two UK premieres that move between virtuosic contemporary music, theatrical storytelling and surreal comedy.

The programme opens with a new work by Finnish composer , exploring musical energy through fragile, densely packed textures, eruptive sound masses, pressure, accumulation and release.

Then comes the UK premiere of Jonah Haven’s ‘naomi’, a 40-minute music-theatre work for 11 musicians, tape and soprano Juliet Fraser. Set in a world where apocalypses are marketed and sold by a multinational corporation, it follows a top salesperson whose encounter with a talking fox sparks an unexpected search for identity and meaning.

With satire and sincerity side by side, ‘naomi’ takes aim at consumer culture while asking what remains when everything — even the end of the world — is for sale.

Expect a performance that is humorous, unsettling and moving, from an ensemble renowned for championing ambitious new work and emerging voices.

📅 Friday 27 November, 7:30pm
📍 St Paul’s Hall
🎟️ Standard £35 // Solidarity £45.50 // Kirklees £33 // Under 30 £10

Buy your tickets here: hcmf.co.uk/programme/riot-ensemble-3/

Photo Credit:
Riot Ensemble © Matthew Johnson
Maija Hynninen © Maarit Kytöharju
Jonah Haven © Daniele Molajoli

03/09/2026

Artist Spotlight: + Schola Heidelberg

hcmf// 2026 opens with two UK premieres as Ensemble Proton Bern and Schola Heidelberg join forces for new works by Pinnock and James Dillon.

'In broken place, opening', Pinnock explores erosion as a musical force, translating the gradual processes of abrasion, corrosion and weathering into sound.

Dillon’s 'Lamentations :' centres on a crucifixion scene, combining vocal, instrumental and electronic forces. Drawing on chants that speak of grief, protest and solidarity, the work transforms ancient resonances into a powerful contemporary statement.

Two internationally acclaimed ensembles. Two contrasting works exploring time and human experience. A striking way to begin ten days of hcmf//.

📅 Friday 20 November, 6pm
📍 St Paul’s Hall
🎟️ Standard £35 // Solidarity £45.50 // Kirklees Resident £33 // Under 30 £10

Buy your tickets here: hcmf.co.uk/programme/ensemble-proton-schola-heidelberg-james-dillon-naomi-pinnock/

Photo Credit:
Ensemble Proton Berg © Mahdi Hosseingholi
Schola Heidelberg © Christine Funk
James Dillon
Naomi Pinnock © Rui Camilo

02/09/2026

Artist Spotlight: Arturas Bumšteinas, Lora Kmieliauskaite + Julija Bagdonavičiūtė

What happens when a forgotten weather diary becomes the score for a new musical work?

In the UK premiere of ‘Rainfair’, Lithuanian composer Arturas Bumšteinas transforms the daily observations of an 1868 weather diary into a remarkable exploration of repetition, chance and musical harmony.

Kept by Boston land surveyor and wood mill operator Peter M. Horn, the diary was discovered more than a century later in a Berlin flea market. Bumšteinas waited until 2026, when the calendar once again aligned with the original dates and weekdays, to transform its observations into sound.

Performers Lora Kmieliauskaitė and Julija Bagdonavičiūtė appear without their instruments, listening to recordings of themselves playing through loudspeakers while vocalising selected texts from the diary. Their music, recitations and songs are organised using random numbers generated from meteorological data.

With field recordings from music-school corridors woven into the work, 'Rainfair' explores ideas of repetition, interpretation and the relationship between musical notation and performance.

📅 Sunday 22 November, 1pm
📍 Huddersfield Town Hall
🎟️ Standard £20 // Solidarity £26 // Kirklees Resident £18 // Under 30 £6

Buy your tickets here: hcmf.co.uk/programme/rainfair/

Photo Credit:
Arturas Bumšteinas © Laura Vanceviciene
Julija Bagdonavičiūtė © Jonas Šopa
Lora Kmieliauskaitė © Artūras Morozovas
Rainfair

01/09/2026

Artist Spotlight: Kris Kuldkepp // Opus 58

Sound is never still in this late-night double bill bringing together Estonian experimental musician and performance artist Kris Kuldkepp with Lithuanian improvised music duo Opus 58.

Centred around turntables, Opus 58’s performances evolve through found objects, toys, piezo-amplified materials, miniature violins and whatever else finds its way into their growing collection. Rotations, repetitions and circularities create a sound fascinated by the fragile beauty of things coming apart.

Kris Kuldkepp’s World Premiere 'Morphology for Loving Ears' explores the relationship between double bass and live electronics. Through extreme dynamics, carefully positioned microphones and playful sound directionality, the familiar instrument is transformed into a post-industrial sound vortex, blurring the boundaries between instrument, technology and environment.

A late-night encounter with sound, space and experimentation.

📅 Friday 20 November, 10pm
📍 Bates Mill Blending Shed
🎟️ Standard £20 // Solidarity £26 // Kirklees Resident £18 // Under 30 £6

Buy your tickets here: hcmf.co.uk/programme/kris-kuldkepp-opus-58/

Image credits
Kris Kuldkepp © Herlander Almeida
Kris Kuldkepp © Inês de Lima
Opus 58 © Adelė Vozgirdaitė
Opus 58 ©Adelė Vozgirdaitė

27/08/2026

Artist Spotlight: Lauri Supponen

We’re delighted to welcome Helsinki-based composer and performer Lauri Supponen as our Composer in Residence for hcmf// 2026, continuing our partnership with Music Finland.

Supponen’s work refuses to sit neatly inside the concert hall. Moving between composition, performance, installation, electronics and visual art, he creates music that is constantly shifting, collaborative and open to its surroundings.

Across the festival, audiences can encounter Supponen in a number of different guises — as composer, performer and collaborator.

Highlights include the World Premiere of 'East' (performed by Zöllner-Roche Duo), commissioned by hcmf// for accordion and clarinet; the UK Premiere of 'Picea' (performed by Marie Schreer) for violin, electronics and live video; 'Ave Maris Stella', a spectacular concert-installation (performed by Saxtronauts); and SYKLIT, a new trio bringing together techno, percussion, video and reworked material.

One composer. Multiple perspectives. A residency woven throughout hcmf// 2026.

📅20–29 November 2026
📍 Huddersfield
🎟️ Tickets available here: hcmf.co.uk/2026-programme/

Photo: Lauri Supponen © Tuomas Tenkanen

26/08/2026

Landscapes and lyrics: Anselm McDonnell

Northern Irish composer Anselm McDonnell is unafraid of contradiction. His musical upbringing combined rock guitar with a fascination for “Bach, Beethoven, Birtwistle” — a combination that continues to shape his eclectic approach to composition.

His work brings together lyrical melody and noise-based textures, while drawing on politics, folklore, heritage and the environment. From his acclaimed rap opera 'Politics of Imagination' to his first symphony 'Guid Friday/Aoine an Chéasta', McDonnell’s music explores the tensions between seemingly opposing ideas.

For hcmf// 2026, McDonnell returns to landscape and environmental change with 'Retrogressive Thaw Slump', a new work commissioned by the festival. Named after a geological phenomenon caused by melting permafrost, the piece takes inspiration from landscapes collapsing as climate change destabilises the ground beneath them.

Performed by Collegium Novum Zürich, with Dominik Blum of Steamboat Switzerland on the Huddersfield Town Hall organ, the work reflects McDonnell’s fascination with the ways landscape can become a site of psychological, political and environmental conflict.

From Irish history to Siberian permafrost, McDonnell’s music finds connections between the personal and the planetary — asking what happens when the structures we rely on begin to shift.

Read full profile and book your tickets now via the link in our bio.

Profile by Tim Rutherford-Johnson

Photo Credit:
Anselm McDonnell © Martin Johnson
Anselm McDonnell © Cormac O’Kane
Collegium Novum Zürich © Saskja Rosset

24/08/2026

More than half of this year’s Full Savers have already gone! 👀

If you’re planning to join us for all of hcmf// 2026, now’s the time to get yours. Once they’re gone, they’re gone — so don’t miss your chance to experience the full festival at our biggest saving.

Tickets🎟️: hcmf.co.uk/programme/hcmf-2026-full-festival-saver/

20/08/2026

All in the family: Cassandra Miller

Canadian composer Cassandra Miller has spent much of her career exploring repetition, imitation and the ways music can carry memories from one person to another.

For 'Three Songs', her new work for Quatuor Bozzini, Miller turns to something deeply familiar: childhood songs. Asking each member of the quartet to share a favourite tune from their childhood, she selected three songs rooted in their French, French Canadian and Italian backgrounds — transforming fragments of these melodies into a work about family, memory, comfort and connection.

Miller’s relationship with Quatuor Bozzini stretches back to 2009, when she took part in their Composers Kitchen scheme. Since then, the quartet has premiered four of her works, becoming an important part of her musical life and creative identity.

Now, five years after 'Thanksong', Miller returns to the quartet with a work shaped by their shared history and the songs that have stayed with them.

'Three Songs' is an hcmf// 2026 co-commission, performed by Quatuor Bozzini.

Read the full profile and book your tickets now: hcmf.co.uk/all-in-the-family-cassandra-miller/

Profile by Tim Rutherford-Johnson

Photo Credit:
Cassandra Miller © Benjamin Ealovega
Cassandra Miller © Pete Furniss
Quatuor Bozzini © Michael Slobodian

06/08/2026

We are delighted to share the programme for hcmf// 2026, with booking now open for all ticketed events.

The UK's leading festival of contemporary and experimental music returns for its 49th edition this autumn, running Friday 20 – Sunday 29 November. Across 10 days, Huddersfield once again becomes the destination for new music, with a programme of world and UK premieres, major commissions, installations, talks and workshops, bringing together internationally renowned artists alongside bold new voices.

'Any edition of hcmf// which is bookended by new works from James Dillon and Rebecca Saunders must go down as a very special year in the festival’s history! In between, Finnish composer Lauri Supponen receives the platform his work now demands in a carefully co-curated programme that showcases the depth and diversity of his practice. Hamburg-based Estonian double bassist Kris Kuldkepp digs deep to force the listener to reconsider the possibilities of the instrument, while Artisans and Ensemble for New Music Tallinn nod to a reassessment of the potentialities offered by the contemporary music ensemble – and with a very special midweek programme, we celebrate the anniversary years of Finnissy @ 80, Reich @ 90, and Feldman @ 100.'

Graham McKenzie, hcmf// Artistic Director

Tickets available now, with Standard, Solidarity, Kirklees Resident and Under 30 tiers, plus Festival Saver passes for the best value.
hcmf// 2026: Friday 20 – Sunday 29 November

Book your place at the forefront of sound: hcmf.co.uk/2026-programme/

Image credit: Lauri Supponen

07/07/2026

School’s Out! Summer Holiday Workshops 2026:

🎚 DJ Skills | 4–5 Aug
🎙 Creative Audio Production | 11–12 Aug
🔊 Introduction to Live Sound | 18–19 Aug
🎬 Scoring Music for Film | 25–26 Aug

No previous experience is needed – just curiosity. All equipment and a hot lunch are provided.

🎟 £13.50 per two-day workshop
✨ Free places are available for young people receiving free school meals.

Whether you're interested in DJing, recording, live events or composing for film, these workshops are a chance to explore new skills, make music and meet like-minded people.

Find out more and book your place via the link in our bio. For questions, contact Nathan at [email protected].

Supported by Kirklees School's Out! – Holiday Activities and Food Programme, funded by the Department for Education.

Advance booking required; secure your place at the link in our bio.

Address

Room RS1/10, University Of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
HD13DH

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+441484430528

Website

https://hcmf.co.uk/2025-programme/

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