Changing Gear is YSWN’s artist development programme offering emerging music creators based in Yorkshire and the Humber commissions, equipment and support to compose and perform exciting new works.
This year, three women and minority gender creators working across a range of genres will be selected to compose new electronic music inspired by the 200th anniversary of modern railways and perform it in York, a key city in railway history.
What is involved?
If you are selected, you will be commissioned to create a new piece of electronic (or primarily electronic but featuring vocals and/or other instruments) music that takes your practice up a step on an artistic and/or technical level.
We have partnered with the National Railway Museum in York and each creator will be invited to discover items in the museum collections which could be used as a source of inspiration, from historic objects to archive films and documents.
This might involve exploring the sonic palettes of trains past and present, music that evokes travel and speed, the stories of some of those who worked on or lived near to railways – or any other angle that sparks your creativity.
You will join a lineage of experimental and electronic artists such as Kraftwerk and Steve Reich who have taken sonic and thematic inspiration from trains – whilst also claiming women and minority gender people’s place among these male-dominated histories and cultures.
We are also working with the University of York, who will offer time in the music department’s state-of-the-art immersive sound studios – which include a 20+ ambisonic loudspeaker array – as well as technical support to encourage you to take creative risks and develop your skills.
We would like the new work to be around 10-20 minutes in length (or in total, if it is made up of shorter parts or songs). You will perform the new work twice in autumn 2025: first in a gallery among trains at the National Railway Museum, and secondly in a concert auditorium at the University of York.
What support is offered?
If selected, you will receive a fee of ÂŁ1,470 (based upon 7 days at ÂŁ210 per day) for your participation in the programme – including time developing, composing and performing your piece, as well as receiving mentoring.
YSWN will cover your travel and accommodation costs (where needed) for the two performance dates, as well as for the visit to the National Railway Museum. We will record one of the performances and document it with photos, all of which you will be free to use yourself after the project ends.
Each selected creator will benefit from six hours of mentoring over the course of the programme, delivered equally by University of York staff and by YSWN’s freelance pool of music industry professionals (who include musicians, producers, sound engineers and DJs) or by other suitable mentors who you propose, subject to an agreed budget. We also aim to continue support, by offering feedback on funding applications you make after the programme has finished and keeping you informed about future YSWN opportunities.
Who can apply?
Changing Gear is open to women (cis or trans) and people of minority genders aged 18 and over – there is no upper age limit.
You will be based in Yorkshire and the Humber. This means either living here permanently, or if you are a student, it is your previous/holiday address, or your term-time address if you will still be studying here in 2025/26. We particularly welcome applications from those of the global majority and Disabled people. An access fund is available to support successful Disabled applicants.
As a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PPL, we will target this opportunity at emerging creators. You will probably already be making your own electronic music in any genre, perhaps at home, but it won’t yet have been widely performed in a professional context. Or maybe you primarily create using acoustic instruments or vocals but have some experience of electronic music and want to develop those skills further with support from your mentor.
We aim to work with a diverse group of music creators whose work may encompass genres such as electronica, contemporary classical, urban, jazz and experimental musics.
How do I apply?
To apply for Changing Gear, fill out the following Google form, which asks questions about you, your music and how you hope to benefit from the programme:
Changing Gear 2025-26 application form
If you would prefer to submit a video application, please answer the questions from the form in a short video and send it, along with the requested music links, to info@yorkshiresoundwomen.com.
The closing date is 11.59pm on Sunday 13 July 2025.
Timeline
A panel from the YSWN team, the programme partners and one guest musician will assess all of the eligible applications and be in touch with both successful and unsuccessful applicants by the end of July 2025.
We anticipate that the visit to the National Railway Museum will take place on a mutually agreed date over the summer, and any studio days will be during August and September 2025.
The two performances will take place on Saturday 1 November 2025 (daytime) at the National Railway Museum and Wednesday 19 November 2025 at the Rymer Auditorium, University of York (evening), and you will need to be available for both.
What if I have a question that isn’t covered here?
Email us at info@yorkshiresoundwomen.com and we will help.
About YSWN
Yorkshire Sound Women Network (YSWN) is a Yorkshire-based CIC championing gender equity in audio. YSWN inspires and enable women and people of minority genders to explore sound and music technology, running projects devoted to artistic development, education and network-building. YSWN also works with the audio industry to promote equality, tackle discrimination and increase opportunities.
Founded in 2015, YSWN’s mission is to support a flourishing industry which welcomes, encourages and progresses the inclusion of women and people of minority genders at all levels from studio floor to board room, and reflects the diversity of its participating communities.
YSWN is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PPL