SECRET radio transmissions between British Intelligence and the European Resistance movements in the Second World War feature in a landmark new music piece which will be heard in Huddersfield tonight.

New York-based composer-performer Annie Gosfield has created a new work for the Danish ensemble Athelas Sinfonietta which will play her piece at Bates Mill tonight (10.30pm) as part of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Gosfield says that when she was asked to write a piece, her thoughts turned to her first piano teacher who had been involved in the Resistance during the war.

That and the involvement of an ensemble from Copenhagen in the project, led Gosfield to research the methods used by Danish and French resistance groups, how they communicated and how they were helped by the British Special Operations Executive.

Her new piece, Floating Messages and Fading Frequencies, features electronic sounds inspired by radio static, shortwave oscillations and popular music of the time alternating with purely acoustic music.

Gosfield is regarded as creating some of the most compelling sounds in today’s new music. She finds the warmth in mechanical, musical, industrial and signal noise and her use of sampled sounds is described as “sophisticated and captivating.”

The piece is performed in Huddersfield just days after its world premiere in Dartington and its performance at Bates Mill is part of this year’s festival’s wide-ranging focus on Danish contemporary music.

It brings together Gosfield’s Trio with Denmark’s leading new music ensemble, Athelas Sinfonietta.

The theme continues at the concert with a new suite by Karsten Fundal based on his music to the Resistance film Flame & Citron, and is rounded off with EWA7, Gosfield’s signature ‘industrial’ piece for factory sounds, guitar, drums and percussion.

Tonight’s other major concert sees the return of the Arditti Quartet to hcmf.

They will be joined by virtuoso pianist Ian Pace to play a programme of work by the Greek compose Iannis Xenakis. The concert is at St Paul’s Hall at 7.30pm.

Tomorrow sees the hectic round of concerts and events continue.

Head for the Lawrence Batley Theatre tomorrow afternoon (3pm) to catch work by a series of young Danish composers and by Icelandic-German composer Steingrimur Rohloff played by the Figura Ensemble.

At 5pm, the Phipps Hall will feature what promises to be an exciting concert by the National Youth Jazz Collective and South Asian Music Youth Orchestra.

They have been working together on a collaborative project called Milan – 2011 which will be played by a hand-picked ensemble of 20 of the country’s most talented jazz and Indian musicians.

Head from that across the road to Huddersfield Town Hall (7.30pm) and the UK premiere of Brian Ferneyhough’s piece, Chronos Aion played by the French Ensemble Linea plus works by French composer Fabien Lévy and Italian composer Francesco Filidei.

Sunday offers more of the music of Xenakis (Town Hall, 4pm) and by the festival’s composer-in-residence Bent Sørenson (St Paul’s Hall, 7pm).

For many the festival has been as much about getting involved as listening to some of the most innovative music around.

There have been many discussions, workshops and a number of free events to encourage participation.

By Wednesday, over 2,000 people had attended free events, many of them enjoying concerts courtesy of the festival’s Free Monday promotion.

This Sunday, it is hoped many families will join musicians from the Figura Ensemble to draw, compose and perform their own music.

This delightful Family Morning is at the university’s creative arts building from 10am on Sunday and is being run for a second year because it was such a big hit last year. Tickets are £4.

l Sponsorship is crucial to large scale events like the festival which has an international reputation. It raises the profile of the town, brings many visitors to the region and opens up opportunities for musicians and for residents of the town.

One of hcmf’s sponsors, Welcome to Yorkshire says it partnership with the festival gave it the opportunity to ensure that audiences from across this country and across the world received a warm Yorkshire welcome along with lots of information about why the county is one of Europe’s leading cultural destinations. Its support contributed to last Saturday’s Oslo/Triptych concert, the programme which included the UK premiere of the piece Oslo/Triptych by Scottish composer James Dillon – whose career began in Yorkshire with the first ever public performance of his work – a piano piece performed at hcmf// in 1978.