ABOUT MCML
What is MCML?
The Montreal Contemporary Music Lab (MCML) is a twelve-day intensive workshop in the performance, creation and exploration of music and sound. The MCML encourages the development of the new and experimental music community, and helps to establish lasting relationships between participating artists. Each summer since 2012 (excluding 2020), MCML has welcomed approximately 40 emerging artists from the local, national and international community who are eager to experiment and challenge themselves with sound. In addition to the creation and public presentation of works created during the lab, participants have access to lectures, guest artist concerts, workshops and other artistic and professional development activities.
MCML is not a traditional competition, festival or residency; rather, it is an opportunity for artists to meet and exchange outside the traditional professional music circuits. MCML is an organization dedicated to creating a safe space where compassion and respect are fundamental values and the basis for all interactions.
Who should apply?
Any emerging or mid-career musician/artist for whom experimentation is a driving force in their artistic creation, or who wishes to learn about new and/or experimental music. They can be performers, composers, sound artists, artists from other disciplines who wish to integrate music and sound into their practice, etc. We are looking for candidates who are open-minded and respectful of the diverse experiences of their colleagues. Since projects will be created as a group, applicants must demonstrate an interest in collaboration. No matter what your level is, do not hesitate to send us your application!
History
The Montreal Contemporary Music Lab was founded in 2011 by seven emerging Montreal musicians and has, since its inception, welcomed more than 300 musicians/artists from Montreal, Canada, and abroad. The volunteer organizing team is always comprised of emerging musicians/artists who renew themselves regularly and work to make their community flourish.
Since its first edition in 2012, MCML has had the opportunity to create several local partnerships, notably with the Suoni Per il Popolo festival, the Société Québécoise de Recherche en Musique (SQRM), the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music, Media and Technology (CIRMMT), the concert society Codes d'accès, Concordia University and the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique de Montréal.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Montreal Contemporary Music Lab takes place in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, the traditional unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka people, guardians of the Eastern Gate of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This territory was acquired by genocide, and occupied by systemic violence. The classical and contemporary music we play and the cultural institutions and funding agencies that support them are part of that violence.
The continuation of the colonial system is recognizable today through, among other things, our continued prejudice against and neglect of Indigenous peoples, the interminable inability of our government to provide clean drinking water and accessible health services in many communities, and the laxity of our authorities in the face of the disappearance and murder of Indigenous women, girls and non-binary people from the territory it claims.
Being informed and educated is an active step towards resistance to the insidious forms of contemporary colonialism. If you have ideas, questions or suggestions for action, we are open to talk about them.
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