Concertino for Scavengers shortlisted for ISCM World New Music Days
- JJMM
- Oct 22
- 1 min read
Tonia Ko’s Concertino for Scavengers has been shortlisted to represent Britain at the 2026 ISCM World New Music Days Festival in Bucharest.
Members of the ISCM British Section Board submitted six composers to be considered for the 2026 festival, one of which will be selected for performance at in Romania in May.
The piece, written for cellist Louise McMonagle, situates the cello in a ‘mini-concerto’, where the orchestra lives within the electronics part and is reactive to her playing. The piece is titled Concertino for Scavengers because the soundscape is made up of small crumbs and debris of orchestral instruments: knocks, pops, scrapes, and air sounds. The soloist also begins the piece in this space, where pizzicato technique is magnified to highlight taps and releases of the left hand from the fingerboard. As the piece continues, she accumulates an invisible ensemble around her to fill up the 360-degree space, then gradually discards bits of the ‘orchestra’ like a discerning scavenger.
The ISCM World New Music Days Festival will take place in Bucharest  between 23 - 30 May 2026.
