Meet the 2026 Diaphonique Laureates

Sixteen years in, and Diaphonique has never been busier, bolder, or more in demand.

This June, Diaphonique's Artistic Committee met for the 16th time - and what they found on the table was proof of just how far the fund has come. Eligible applications to the 2026 Open Call doubled compared to last year, spanning music theatre, opera, circus, early music, electronics, AI and improvisation. From that pool, eight ambitious new collaborations have been selected to receive support involving artists from France, the UK and Ireland alike.

Since it was founded in 2010, Diaphonique had backed 136 projects, commissioned 160 new works, supported 330 composers, and granted £1,108,000 to cross-Channel musical collaboration. This year's cohort keeps that momentum going strong: 55.5% of the 117 artists involved are women, and the large majority of projects are genuinely co-led on both sides of the Channel — not simply a UK or French idea exported abroad, but real, reciprocal creative partnerships.

An independent evaluation by the British Council France recently confirmed what those numbers already hinted at: Diaphonique plays a vital bridging role between France, the UK and Ireland, one made all the more valuable in a post-Brexit landscape. It's a role the team has been actively building on, with a redesigned website, a new festival partnership scheme to help laureates get programmed faster, and, for the first time this year, a route for individual artists without a legal structure to apply directly, thanks to a new partnership with a representative organisation. A new Advisory Committee of volunteer mentors is also launching this summer to support laureates and future applicants year-round.

None of it would be possible without Diaphonique's partners : the Sacem, the Institut français, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, the Centre National de la Musique, the British Council France, Culture Ireland and the Fondation Francis et Mica Salabert, whose continued support keeps this work going.

Now, onto the reason you're really here: the eight projects joining the Diaphonique family for 2026.

1. Translations of the Night

London's Marsyas Trio (Helen Vidovich, Valerie Welbanks, Olga Stezhko), mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, composers Ewan Campbell (University of Cambridge) and Thierry Pécou (Normandy), and musicologist Nicolas Darbon (Aix-Marseille Université) come together for two major new commissions that meet the postcolonial history of Ravel's Chansons madécasses head-on — through new settings of African, Madagascan and Nahua poetry.

"Rather than shy away from the complex colonial history of Ravel's Chansons madécasses, the initial inspiration for this project, we seek to directly engage with the cultural repercussions of colonialism through contemporary musical settings of African, Madagascan and Nahua poetry written before, during or after colonisation." — Dr Ewan Campbell

"I hope my contribution, inspired by the wonders of the pre-Colombian civilisation reflected through Ancient Mexican poetry, will renew our thoughts and feelings about the heritage of colonisation." — Thierry Pécou

Expect concerts, public talks and family events in Cambridge and London in autumn 2027, followed by a residency and performances in Marseille — including a MUCEM concert with a pre-concert talk.

2. Notre Dame Reimagined: le Remède de Fortune

Here, the cathedral itself becomes an instrument. Drawing on Machaut and the courtly links between medieval Europe and al-Andalus, French and British composer-performer-visual artists Loré Lixenberg, Matt Barnard, Erin Robinson and Federico Reuben, alongside French composer Axel Chemla-Romeu-Santos, join Palestinian oud player and composer Habib Hanna Shehadeh to build a Gothic phantasmagoria where medieval polyphony, AI and immersive digital scenography converge.

"We are enormously grateful to Diaphonique, whose support makes it possible to realise a project that exists between composition, research and technological experimentation. It enables us to bring together artists from different disciplines and cultural traditions to create new work inspired by Notre-Dame, not as a monument to the past, but as a living space for contemporary imagination and exchange." — Loré Lixenberg

Catch the tour in York, Dublin and Paris in February 2027.

3. Fragile Fragments

Sonia Killmann (UK) and Mélia Roger (France) transform breath, body and environment into an immersive live soundscape for saxophone, voice, electronics and field recordings — an intimate, headphone-based listening experience built through residencies in Ireland, France and Scotland.

"We are delighted to work on this new commission together, exploring the microscopic sonic possibilities of environment, body and instruments. This new collaboration might open new ways of listening closely, creating an intimate relationship with the audience through headphones." — Sonia Killmann & Mélia Roger

Co-commissioned by Cryptic and Hexagone Scène Nationale, with Culture Works Galway as co-producer, the project runs from a residency in Galway (September 2027) through Grenoble and Cove Park, before premiering in Galway (June 2028) and touring to Glasgow's Sonica Festival and Hexagone, Grenoble.

4. Inspired by the Normans

Music@Malling marks the Year of the Normans with a festival woven through with new commissions from Thierry Pécou (France) and Stevie Wishart (UK), performed by Chamber Domaine and Ensemble Variances — plus a young composers' platform pairing the Royal Academy of Music, London with the École Normale de Musique de Paris.

"West Malling and its surrounding area have many Norman buildings and a rich history involving England and France. It is great that this can be expressed through contemporary music in concerts and outreach, with new works placed into their historic context alongside music from across the centuries." — Thomas Kemp, Artistic Director, Music@Malling

The festival runs in West Malling from 24 September to 3 October 2027, with further concerts in London, Paris and Normandy that October.

5. Ensemble Nist-Nah ft. Church Andrews & Matt Davies

A first-time meeting between Nantes' hybrid gamelan/percussion outfit Ensemble Nist-Nah and UK duo Church Andrews & Matt Davies, exploring new tuning systems, rhythmic structures and the blurred line between composition and improvisation — acoustic and electronic sound worlds colliding in one expanded ensemble.

Look out for residencies and concerts in Nantes and Le Havre in early October 2027, followed by Todmorden, Manchester, Bristol and London (Café OTO) in mid-October.

6. Collectif Rotule ft. Safehouse Collective

On either side of the Channel, Collectif Rotule (Dieppe) and Safehouse Collective (Brighton) — two collectives quietly keeping experimental and improvised music open and alive — meet for a residency at L'Inattendu, Dieppe (18–20 March 2027), complete with schools outreach and participatory performances in public spaces around the city, before heading to London and back across the water to Rose Hill, on the Dieppe–Newhaven ferry route.

7. Signals

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Ensemble C Barré (Marseille) team up for co-commissions from Tristan Murail and Misato Mochizuki, paired with a mentoring programme for three emerging composers led by associate composers from both ensembles.

"This brand-new artistic and human encounter will be brought to life by the works of particularly inspiring composers based in France and the United Kingdom. It will also foster a collaboration with three young British and French composers, each of whom will create a piece for our musicians through a series of masterclasses led by our associate composers; these works will be premiered alongside our concerts." — Sébastien Boin, conductor and director of Ensemble C Barré

A combined ensemble of 17 musicians performs two public concerts in 2027, at CBSO Centre Birmingham and in Marseille.

8. Legato 2

The second edition of this composer-development programme brings together Festival Ensemble(s) in France and Red Note & sound in Scotland, giving six emerging composers the chance to create new work under mentors Jérôme Combier and Laura Bowler.

"We're extremely excited that Diaphonique have funded the second edition of this project. We were very keen to build on the successful first edition, and give more young composers the opportunity to benefit from an in-depth experience, while continuing to deepen the links and understanding between partners." — Fiona Robertson, Sound Festival Director

The programme runs from July 2027 to September 2028, moving from a composition course at Aberdeen's soundfestival (October 2027) to world premieres at Festival Ensemble(s), Bagnolet in September 2028.

Congratulations to all eight laureates!

Diaphonique can't wait to follow these projects from first rehearsal to opening night and beyond. Follow us for updates as each project develops, and stay tuned: applications for the 2027 Open Call open in March.

Discover all the funded projects —>

lovejourney: lovemusic collective & Diaphonique

Collective lovemusic is Strasbourg-based and was founded in 2018 by Emiliano Gavito and Adam Starkie. It has grown into a renowned new contemporary music project and continues to compose and perform new pieces across Europe. Its members are multi-european, fostering a diverse and inclusive cultural exchange spanning the european music scenes. 

Lovemusic's core is fuelled by pure collaboration: with one another, and with the composers they commission pieces from. Emiliano and Adam aim to break out of the traditional contemporary music mould and conventional methods of working. 

Their steady seamless and natural growth signifies the space in the new music industry that was patiently waiting to be filled by them.

“The human connection is very important to us.”

— Adam & Emiliano

How do they work differently?

Lovemusic's practice is human. Spending time together and really listening to one another reflects their non-hierarchical methods. Their practice informs their values. All voices are heard, each idea considered. All share the experience of settling in another country, which connects and inspires them (along with a deep mutual creative appreciation). Decisions are taken collectively and in a democratic way. 

The safe space created by lovemusic has rejected the traditional values of the contemporary music scene that puts aside human connection and hearing all voices. These stable values now allow them to collaborate fluidly, without barrier: any idea becomes possible. Different people bring different ideas. With every person comes a new musical aesthetic. Each project is an opportunity for inspiration and learning, sharing writing processes and individual experiences. 

In essence, lovemusic feeds a hungry space of mutual respect, creative appreciation, open-mindedness and outside of the box collaboration.

Even rehearsals lead to creative outputs:

Take for instance their most recent Diaphonique show: the Sad Album with Laura Bowler. During the run-through, dramaturge Sam Redway created an imaginary big red button. Every time the button was hit, they would stop, change, and do something different. This brought the show to life. Improv made its way into the rehearsal and dramatically altered the show. A lot of things came from that one and half hour session! 

Diaphonique has been there since (almost!) the beginning.

Diaphonique promotes cross-channel collaborative projects. Some members of collective lovemusic live in the sphere of being from the UK and working on developing the French scene and English scenes – so the identity of the collective is a perfect mirror of collaborations between the two sides of the channel.  

In 2019, during their second year of being a collective, Diaphonique joined the funding ranks of lovemusic on one of their very first projects: ‘Everything Starts Elsewhere’ a commissioned piece by Jérôme Combier. The three of them embarked on a journey across the UK (a journey far from over!) through Diaphonique’s support: 5 concerts on tour. The trio performed in very small intimate venues where they were very close to the public. This emblematic tour gave them a needed boost in their career. 

Everything starts elsewhere references a text by Argentinian poet Roberto Juarroz, alongside the creative process of transmission that begins in the imagination of composers, which then evolves into written form, and is thus interpreted by the musicians and reinterpreted by the public. The text also refers to the itinerant nature of music, especially for this project that reflects music from both sides of the Channel: created on one side and performed on the other. 

Diaphonique’s support has allowed lovemusic to experience different approaches in music education, industries, aesthetics and approaches to creating music.

For instance, they have taken inspiration from British concert presentations and the aspect of making the performance about the lived experience. This contrasts nicely from the more traditional listening-oriented experience in French music scenes. A dual enrichment of their inspirations. It is with this ensemble development, and cross-channel collaborations support that lovemusic has been able to maintain connections with UK contacts and to come back, each time increasing the impact of their cultural exchange. 

Diaphonique’s support has also allowed for a very natural feeling of moving through different projects, a natural growth.

“The links we’ve created through all these projects, [the things we have been able to support through Diaphonique], has helped us shape a little bit of the aesthetic we want to develop.”

— Adam and Emiliano

Through Diaphonique’s support and funding, lovemusic is unrestricted in the creative direction they wish to take a project: they can for example choose between performing at big venues or doing big shows vs very small and intimate ones.

“We’re in a place now to be able to do [bigger scale projects] because of the support from Diaphonique.”

— Adam and Emiliano

A timeline of Diaphonique-funded projects:

Everything Starts Elsewhere with Jérôme Combier 

Talking Music: 

Talking Music marks a point in the trajectory of lovemusic as a collective. It has been hugely successful to the point where they continue to perform it occasionally. 

It is an exploration of the power of the spoken word. This programme brings together four radically different works they commissioned by Helmut Oehring, Michelle Agnes Magalhaes, Erin Gee and Philip Venables, all taking a different approach to the idea and identity of language and how this can be incorporated into musical performance. 

 Helmut Oehring’s piece is based on speeches given before the war in March 2022 by the Russian President and Foreign Minister, also drawing on the composer’s mother tongue – sign language; Philip Venables explores the power of liberated verbal expression, approaching Simon Howard’s texts from a musical perspective; American singer and composer Erin Gee explores non-verbal communication by using the voice as an instrument of open sound production, rather than a vehicle of identity; and Michelle Agnes Magalhaes’s The Word, invocation for a language that revives invites each member of lovemusic to take part in the creative process, using translations into their mother tongues to update and colour the original Brazilian Portuguese text created in collaboration with poet Micheliny Verunschk. 

Talking Music has been performed at Musica Festival in Strasbourg, Festival d’Automne in Paris, Klangwerkstatt Berlin, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Cité Musicale - Arsenal in Metz, Musiques Démesurées in Clérmont-Ferrand. 

Heart of Light: 

Heart of Light is Adam and Emiliano’s favourite project (of all their projects!) It features Hyacinth Garden, a staple in their repertoire, written by Finbar Hosie. It was the first time they worked on something so deeply connected to all of them and embodies a turning point in the building of the collective values and mode of working. 

Heart of Light was imagined for the month of February, the last month of winter, a distinctive colour lingering on the horizon giving the audience the impression something new is coming. Light has a central place in the ideas behind all the music. 

The Hyacinth Garden invites the audience on a political and sensuous exploration through waste lands and gardens, in search of togetherness and separation in space and sound. Noriko Baba’s Bonbori is a sound painting of the beauty of Japanese lacquerware glimmering in candlelight in a dark room. Mic Spencer’s new piece, nuthin lik disperr, part of his love letters cycle, is inspired by the poem of the same name by Tom Leonard, an ode to the joy of metaphorical darkness. Santiago Díez Fischer’s love fragments takes Sappho’s fragments on love and desire as the starting point, beginning with the line, “You Burn me” and is part of a new album released in the Spring of 2023 documenting his work with lovemusic. Finally in Sasha Blondeau’s Sortir du noir (title "stolen" from Georges Didi-Huberman’s book of the same name) two types of light collide - strong and intentional (roaming searchlights) with fleeting and inadvertent (lamps of lost people). 

L’Autre with Sacha Blondeau: 

An idea of a theme was established with Sacha but then became the theme of the whole project. 

Drawing on diverse inspirations such as television, online trolling, academic theory, and literature, (L) AUTRE juxtaposes intense outbursts of anger with mysterious predictions from an inept clairvoyant, while David Patrick Kelley deftly wheels a deck of cards alongside a haunting bass flute solo. 

In this new project lovemusic delve into the concept of otherness - the state of being different and foreign to one's identity, labelling individuals as subordinate and excluding them from social norms. The starting point for this project was a collaboration with Sasha Blondeau on a new work Autres inapproprié•es which forms part of their new cycle of works "Devenir|s mutant es".  Referencing Trinh Minh-ha's theory and Donna Haraway's Cyborg concept, this new work questions identity and difference. Works by Neil Luck, Ann Cleare, and Bára Gísladóttir explore themes ranging from acting to meditations on self and the power of anonymity while Finbar Hosie's The Hyacinth Garden, through vignettes of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, explores disillusionment in the society we live in. (L) AUTRE begins with a new installation/performance work by Lara Gallagher exploring the interrelationship between corporeality and water, utilising sound to connect and create, inspired by an Irish myth of marginalised white foals leaping into the sea. 

The Sad Album with Laura Bowler: 

Lovemusic had heard of Laura in the past. She had also been supported by Diaphonique. There was already a connection in a sense which got to be strengthened through their artistic paths. This was a partnership with the Musica festival. 

The project is about grieving so the artistic direction involved being open and vulnerable and sharing personal stories of loss and grief. There is a lot of dark humour embedded, perhaps driving at making the audience uncomfortable or feel that discomfort, or instead relieve the tension. Take the audience in the grieving journey. 

The Sad Album is a journey into the darkest, most absurd, and tender corners of grief. Bringing together Laura Bowler and  lovemusic on stage, this performance invites the audience into a living room filled with personal stories — imbued with frustration, rage, and moments of complicity. 

The Diaphonique Journey continues! 

Lovemusic + WACK: 

Coming up in 2026, Diaphonique has helped fund yet another lovemusic project. This time, it is a collaboration with Neil Luck and Jennifer Walshe, the British WACK duo: An immersive one-hour performance combining archival material, staged interaction, and contemporary music.  

Commissioned from Neil Luck, the piece intertwines theatre, sound, and visuals in a hybrid and experimental collage. The project includes a new commission and promotes artistic experimentation with emerging artists.