Songwriter or songwriting team for HIV music project, The Sunday Boys

 

The Sunday Boys are a low voiced, open access LGBTQ+ choir based in the city of Manchester. We are looking for two songwriters or songwriting teams to each create a song for an upcoming gig at The Lowry in April 2023 exploring lived experiences of HIV in song.

 

Working with HIV support organisation George House Trust, and theatre-maker and HIV activist Nathaniel Hall, we are programming a range of music, alongside four new monologues, exploring four eras of the HIV pandemic:

 

• Pre-medicine (1980s and early 90s)

• Advent of medication (90s-2016)

• U=U/PrEP (2016-present day)

• The future.

 

As part of this project two new songs will be commissioned to capture contemporary experiences of living with HIV in collaboration with people from across Greater Manchester and the North.

 

The successful songwriter or songwriting teams would collaborate with participants in Greater Manchester in late 2022 before each delivering a final draft of their song for early Jan 2023 for The Sunday Boys to rehearse. The song may involve soloists, however the work should be predominantly written for a choral setting and for piano accompaniment. This could include a choral arrangement of something that has a soloistic feel, like a contemporary pop song, for example. Our programme will draw from a wide range of music but will generally orbit around popular music and musical theatre. We would like our newly commissioned songs to fit within these genres.

 

Songwriters or songwriting teams with experience of collaboration and co-creation are encouraged to apply, however, mentorship and support will be available for those who have not worked in this way before. 

 

We particularly welcome applications from people who are currently underrepresented amongst the choir’s membership including those from the global majority, women, and trans people. We particularly welcome applications from people living with or affected by HIV.

 

The performance is scheduled for Sunday 2nd April 2023 at The Lowry.

 

We are currently in the process of preparing an Arts Council England bid and looking for someone to be named on the application. Because this work is currently not guaranteed, and we are aware of the constraints on artists’ time, we ask interested writers to fill in this short form telling us about them and their work:

 

Fill in the form here

 

We will potentially invite a handful of artists to a short interview arranged at a mutually convenient time. Fee will be discussed with successful artists and will be in line with industry standards.

 

Applications close 9AM Monday 16th May

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