Psappha to close following Arts Council funding cut Manchester contemporary music ensemble says shortfall ‘too great a challenge’
Psappha, the leading contemporary music ensemble, has announced that it is to close after having had its entire Arts Council England (ACE) funding cut last November. In a statement, the Manchester-based group has revealed that the loss of the funding, which constitutes around 40 per cent of its overall annual income, ‘has ultimately proven too great a challenge for an organisation of our size and scale to overcome. We’ve worked tirelessly behind the scenes and considered every possible alternative, but we haven’t identified a realistic new funding model that would allow us to continue working to the high standards we’ve set ourselves.’
Founded by percussionist Tim Williams in 1991 to commission, perform and promote new music, Psappha has enjoyed many illustrious moments over its three decades in existence, including, in 1995, the appointment of Peter Maxwell Davies as patron, solidifying the strong relationship the group enjoyed with the composer. The ensemble has commissioned over 500 works in that time, and has made several recordings, some on its own label, others for Metier and NMC. It says it will remain committed to completing its current ‘Composing For…’ scheme – which offers assistance to 24 composers in the early stages of their career – as it winds its operations down over the summer.
In the meantime, while Manchester loses an instrumental ensemble, it may be gaining an opera company. English National Opera (ENO), which has been told that it will receive no further ACE funding unless it decamps from London, says it has shortlisted five cities for its new home – Birmingham, Bristol, Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham – and will be shortly whittling the list down to three. ‘All the cities have brilliant stuff going for them,’ says ENO chief executive Stuart Murphy, while remaining elusive about the exact criteria that will be used to make the final choice. ‘We haven’t said it all depends on who will put in the most money, or which is the biggest catchment area for population, or the youngest area. It’s a whole combination of stuff.’