Aberdeen Performing Arts are seeking 2 composers or musicians to respond to a unique archive of love letters written to the ground beneath our feet.

Dear Soil is a living collection of letters that are tender, playful, worried, grateful, and all addressed to the earth. Installed as a moss-topped filing cabinet at Light the Blue Festival in Aberdeen, the archive holds hundreds of messages directed downward, into the soil.

Each commissioned artist will spend dedicated time with the letters, then compose and perform a new piece of music that grows from that encounter. Genre, instrumentation, and form are entirely open.

“Soil is a world. Not a backdrop, not a resource. A living community that is the condition of most terrestrial life as we know it.”
— Maria Puig de la Bellacasa, Matters of Care

What’s on offer

- £2,000 commission fee
- Access to the Dear Soil archive during development
- Technical support from the APA team
- Public performance on 1 October 2026, North East Climate Week, Big Sky Studio, Music Hall Aberdeen
- Credit and documentation of the work

Key dates

Archive open: 2–13 June 2026, Music Hall Aberdeen
Application deadline: Friday 19 June 2026, 5pm
Applicants notified: 3 July 2026
Performance: 1 October 2026, North East Climate Week, Aberdeen

Eligibility

Open to Scotland-based composers and musicians working in music, sound art, or music performance. Applicants must be able to visit the Dear Soil installation at Light the Blue Festival and be available to perform on 1 October 2026. Applicant’s age must be 18+

See here for more details and how to apply

Application deadline: Friday 19 June 2026, 5pm