The nomination process has opened for the 2016 British Composers Awards.

The 14th annual awards celebrate the art of contemporary music composition in the UK, honouring composers of works across eleven categories that received their UK premiere between 1st April 2015 and 31st March 2016.

Encourage

A spokesperson told 4BR: "We encourage anyone with a passion for new music to nominate eligible works, and for the first time this year, composers may nominate their own pieces."

Nominations can be made via the British Composer Awards website ( www.britishcomposerawards.com) with nominations closing on Tuesday 5th July. Full rules and guidelines are on the website, and it is important to note that there have been a number of changes to the nomination requirements and categories this year.

Widest range

Artistic Directors Julia Haferkorn and Ed McKeon told 4BR: "The 2016 British Composer Awards are the most open ever. This is the year that Leicester won the Premier League, and the year that the widest range of new music will be considered on its own merits.

It's free to enter, and anyone can submit nominations — including the composer. We already have the most diverse and extensive set of panellists for any major music award in the UK.

We're really looking forward to discovering new work that we haven't heard before that reflects the excellent work being made by composers."

It's free to enter, and anyone can submit nominations — including the composer. We already have the most diverse and extensive set of panellists for any major music award in the UKArtistic Directors Julia Haferkorn and Ed McKeon

Presented

The Awards are presented by BASCA and sponsored by PRS for Music. They are presented in association with BBC Radio 3, who will providing exclusive broadcast coverage of the award ceremony.

For more information go to:

Website: www.britishcomposerawards.com