

06 Aug 2021
We are pleased to announce the seven composers newly joining the 2021-22 RPS Composers programme, representing some of the brightest, most exciting voices in the UK.
Over the course of the coming year each will work with and write a new composition for one of our valued partner organisations: Cheltenham Music Festival, Music in the Round, Presteigne Festival and Wigmore Hall with whom we've collaborated for a number of years, and also newly this year Manchester Camerata, Riot Ensemble and the Chorus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. Alongside this, we will be supporting the composers with a programme of sessions and activities to develop the vital skills, confidence and contacts they need to establish their careers. In this, we are hugely grateful to Schott Music and our guest session leaders, who will be sharing their expertise.
Click each composer’s name below to find out more about them and their work:
RPS General Manager, Robin Sheffield, says:
‘We are thrilled to welcome this group of composers to the 2021-22 RPS Composers programme. Each one of them shows such exciting promise and we’re delighted not only to support them in their next steps, but also for them to draw on each others’ own individual diverse backgrounds and experience. As ever, we are so grateful to our partners and the professional composers who helped us decide this year’s cohort, having received an overwhelming number of applications. In continuing our efforts to be as open and inclusive as possible, we are proud to adhere to Sound and Music's Fair Access Principles and to PRS Foundation’s KeyChange initiative to achieve 50:50 gender parity in the composers we support. What’s more, as we strive to see what more we can do for the many talented composers we cannot offer a place to, we’re pleased to signpost various other opportunities and also recommend them to colleagues in the profession.’
We are grateful to a range of donors for supporting our work with the composers including the ABRSM, Delius Trust, Fidelio Charitable Trust, Garrick Charitable Trust, PRS Foundation, the RVW Trust, Presteigne Festival, the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund and anonymous donors.
If you would like to consider supporting our work, please do consider joining as an RPS Member. Every subscription helps us to help musicians and composers at key stages in their careers, ensuring classical music continues to thrive for years to come. Find out more here.