NEM INTERNATIONAL FORUM 2027

Composing the Future

Ecologies of Listening, Responsible Intelligences

International Call for Applications

An international creative collective bringing together four composers and two conductors

Application deadline: January 15, 2027, at 11:59 PM (Montréal time)
Announcement of selected participants: Late January 2027
Collective program: February to October 2027
Final residency in Montréal: October 22-30, 2027
Closing concert: October 28, 2027

An Invitation to Compose the Future Together

The Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) invites six emerging artists from around the world to take part in a unique experience of artistic creation, reflection, and collaboration. Bringing together four composers and two conductors, the 2027 NEM International FORUM offers an eight-month journey dedicated to exploring new forms of collective creation in contemporary music.

The FORUM is intended for early-career composers and conductors seeking to deepen their artistic practice within an international creative collective.

From February to October 2027, participants will form a creative collective working together over an extended period of time. Conductors will accompany the development of new works from their earliest stages, while composers will benefit from the perspective, experience, and engagement of future interpreters of their music, including the NEM musicians.

More than a professional development program, the FORUM offers a research-creation experience in which creation, interpretation, transmission, and collective reflection continuously inform one another.

The 2027 FORUM invites participants to reflect on how contemporary artistic practices can bring together listening, creativity, responsibility, and cooperation in a rapidly changing world.

The program will culminate in an intensive residency at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Music, home of the NEM's residency activities, during which the works will be rehearsed, refined, and premiered in performance by the NEM.

Theme

Ecologies of Listening, Responsible Intelligences

The 2027 FORUM is organized around the theme:

Composing the Future: Ecologies of Listening, Responsible Intelligences

In a world increasingly shaped by the interdependence of people, knowledge, technologies, and environments, artists are called upon to renew the ways they create, collaborate, and engage with society.

By ecologies of listening, we mean the networks of relationships that connect sounds, artists, communities, technologies, spaces, and environments through which music comes into being.

A work never emerges in isolation. It grows out of a complex network of relationships, dialogues, influences, and shared responsibilities.

Participants will be invited to explore questions that are shaping the future of musical creation, including:

• How do we create in a world defined by interdependence?
• How do we listen beyond the boundaries of our own discipline?
• How do we collaborate with artists whose experiences, expertise, and perspectives differ from our own?
• How can artistic practices remain attentive to the human, social, and environmental realities of our time?

Creating Together

Works do not emerge alone.

They arise from encounters, conversations, reciprocal listening, and collaborations that transform ideas into shared artistic experiences.

The 2027 FORUM places these interactions at the heart of the NEM's artistic and cultural project.

Over eight months, composers and conductors will be invited to develop a deeper understanding of the collective creative processes that characterize contemporary music today.

In a context where works take shape through ongoing exchanges among creators, performers, and institutions, creation becomes a space for dialogue, mutual adaptation, experimentation, and shared learning.

For composers, this approach involves developing a practice that remains open to the contributions of performers and to the practical realities of musical performance.

For conductors, it involves accompanying works in development, contributing to their artistic growth, and actively participating in the exchanges that shape their interpretation.

The FORUM as a Research-Creation Laboratory

The 2027 FORUM is part of a broader reflection on contemporary transformations in musical creation.

Through the encounter of composers and conductors from diverse artistic and cultural backgrounds, it becomes a privileged environment for exploring new forms of collaboration, transmission, and collective creation.

Ecologies of listening invite us to better understand the relationships that make the emergence of artistic works possible. The FORUM therefore seeks to foster a broader understanding of musical creation as a collective, relational, and evolving process.

A Collective in Dialogue

From February to October 2027, the six members of the collective will participate in:

• online group meetings;
• individual and group mentoring sessions;
• exchanges between composers and conductors;
• meetings with NEM musicians;
• conversations with artists, researchers, and international guests;
• educational activities connected to the Forum;
• an intensive residency at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Music;
• rehearsals and workshops leading to the final concert.

The FORUM is designed as a creative collective in which each participant is encouraged to develop their own artistic voice while actively contributing to the richness of the group's exchanges, reflections, and creative processes.

The experience is founded on the belief that some of the most meaningful discoveries emerge when creators, performers, and artists reflect together on the works they bring into being.

Two Pathways Within a Shared Project

A. Composer Pathway

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• be 35 years of age or younger as of January 15, 2027;
• be at an early stage of their professional career;
• demonstrate an active compositional practice;
• show a strong interest in contemporary music creation;
• be available to participate in collective activities from February to October 2027;
• be present in Montréal from October 22 to 30, 2027;
• be able to work in either French or English.

Application Materials

• application form;
• curriculum vitae;
• letter of motivation;
• scores and recordings of two representative works;
• contact information for two references.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated according to:

• artistic quality of submitted works;
• originality of artistic approach;
• artistic potential;
• openness to dialogue and collaboration;
• ability to contribute actively to a collective creative process;
• relevance of the application to the Forum's objectives.

B. Conductor Pathway

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• be 40 years of age or younger as of January 15, 2027;
• be at an early stage of their professional career;
• possess relevant conducting training;
• demonstrate significant conducting experience;
• show a strong interest in contemporary music creation;
• be available to participate in collective activities from February to October 2027;
• be present in Montréal from October 22 to 30, 2027;
• be able to work in either French or English.

Application Materials

• application form;
• curriculum vitae;
• letter of motivation;
• two recent conducting videos;
• contact information for two references.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated according to:

• clarity and quality of conducting technique;
• effectiveness of musical communication;
• artistic potential;
• ability to work collaboratively and support collective creative processes;
• commitment to contemporary music;
• relevance of the application to the Forum's objectives.

Participation Requirements

Selected participants will join the FORUM’s creative collective for the entire duration of the project, from February to October 2027.

Participation in the FORUM requires active engagement in the artistic, educational, and collaborative activities that structure the collective experience.
 

Commitments of Selected Composers

Selected composers agree to:

• compose an original work of 12 to 15 minutes (maximum) in duration for the fifteen musicians of the NEM;
• write for the following instrumentation (the available doublings will be sent to the selected participants):
  • 1 flute
  • 1 oboe
  • 2 clarinets
  • 1 bassoon
  • 1 trumpet
  • 1 horn
  • 1 trombone
  • 1 piano
  • 1 percussion
  • 2 violins
  • 1 viola
  • 1 cello
  • 1 double bass
• submit the conductor's score (written in concert pitch) and all orchestral materials to the NEM no later than August 31, 2027;
• participate actively in collective activities throughout the project;
• be present in Montréal from October 22 to 30, 2027;
• take part in rehearsals, workshops, artistic meetings, and residency activities;
• accept that the work composed for the FORUM will receive its premiere performance at the conclusion of the project;
• accept that the work will be recorded as part of Forum activities.

Commitments of Selected Conductors

Selected conductors agree to:

• participate actively in collective activities throughout the project;
• contribute to artistic discussions surrounding the development of the works;
• be present in Montréal from October 22 to 30, 2027;
• take part in rehearsals, workshops, artistic meetings, and residency activities;
• participate in the preparation and realization of the closing concert.

Important Information

• There is no application fee.
• The NEM will cover accommodation for the six members of the collective during the residency in Montréal.
• Participants remain responsible for their round-trip travel expenses to and from Montréal.
• Upon request, the NEM will provide support letters for scholarship, travel grant, and other funding applications related to participation in the Forum.

Final Residency in Montréal

The six members of the collective will gather in Montréal from October 22 to 30, 2027, for an intensive period of creation, reflection, and artistic exchange.

The residency will include:

• rehearsals with the NEM;
• workshops dedicated to the selected works;
• meetings with ensemble musicians;
• masterclasses;
• educational activities;
• discussions on ecologies of listening and collective creative processes;
• preparation of the final concert.

The works of the four selected composers will receive their world premieres as part of the 2027 NEM International FORUM. Two of these works will be conducted by the selected conductors, while the remaining works will be conducted by Jean-Michaël Lavoie, Artistic and Music Director of the NEM.

About the NEM International Forum

The NEM International FORUM is a space for creation, transmission, and research-creation dedicated to the future of contemporary music.

By bringing composers and conductors together within a single creative collective, it fosters new forms of artistic collaboration, new ways of listening, and new approaches to collective creation.

The 2027 FORUM invites a new generation of artists to imagine not only the works of tomorrow, but also the human, cultural, and artistic conditions that will allow those works to come to life.

Artistic Director of the Forum

Jean-Michaël Lavoie

Internationally active conductor Jean-Michaël Lavoie is Artistic and Music Director of the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM), Associate Professor, and Vice-Dean at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Music. He has led numerous contemporary music and opera projects in collaboration with some of the world's most prestigious institutions and ensembles, including the Wiener Staatsoper, Klangforum Wien, the Ensemble intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and numerous specialized orchestras and ensembles throughout Europe and North America.

He has also participated in major contemporary opera productions, notably at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the creation of Quartett by Luca Francesconi, as well as at the Opéra de Lyon and the Opéra national de Bordeaux.

His artistic, educational, and research-creation activities focus on the relationships among listening, creation, interpretation, artistic collaboration, and the development of collective practices in contemporary music. These reflections help shape the artistic and pedagogical direction of the NEM International Forum.

Contact

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM)
Montréal, Québec, Canada
info [at] lenem [dot] ca (info[at]lenem[dot]ca)

Applications from all regions of the world and from all cultural backgrounds are warmly encouraged.