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Young Composers
The LPO Young Composers programme aims to support the progression of talented orchestral composers.
Mentored by the LPO’s Composer-in-Residence, the Young Composers spend a season with the LPO, each creating a new work for chamber orchestra that is performed by Foyle Future First musicians and LPO players at the Debut Sounds public showcase concert at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Creating a new work for the LPO
The LPO’s Composer-in-Residence – award-winning Cuban-American composer, Tania León, provides expertise and guidance in a series of seminars and workshops, guiding the compositional process. Over the season, Young Composers create a new work of up to eight minutes for a chamber orchestra of LPO players and Foyle Future Firsts (the Orchestra’s graduate scheme for aspiring orchestral players). This year, the Young Composers are collaborating with choreographers, to produce new works of music and dance to be performed at the Debut Sounds concert on Thurs 27 June 2024. We are delighted to be partnering with Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance on this exciting collaboration.
Structure of the year
As well as several composer seminars, there is a three-hour workshop in the spring – a chance for composers to experiment with new ideas, talk to players and receive feedback in a constructive and inquisitive environment. This is followed by further workshop-rehearsals leading to the final concert performance in June.
During the year, composers also have the chance to attend concerts, observe rehearsals, meet guest composers and get involved with the LPO’s wider education work.
How do I apply?
Applications for the LPO Young Composers Programme 2023/24 are now closed. Applications for 2024/25 will open in early 2024.
Young Composers 2023/24
Meet the composers
Jasper Dommett (b. 1997) is a British composer pursuing a PhD at the Royal College of Music. They graduated with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in 2023, and were also awarded a DipRAM. Jasper achieved first-class honours at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Their music has received numerous accolades, with “Night Music” earning nominations for an Ivor Novello Award and Michael Tippet Medal, and ultimately winning the Paul Mealor Composition Award. “Dreams of Isolation,” composed for Sir Andrew Davis and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, received acclaim for its “haunting textures” and “impressive melodic writing.”
A finalist for the Royal Overseas League Composition Medal, Jasper showcased their innovative approach with “Discotheque” for London Sinfonietta, evolving into “Disco! Disco! Good! Good?” for Riot Ensemble.
Collaborating with violinist Fenella Humphreys, in 2022 they wrote “The Light Messenger,” a dynamic violin concerto. Their passion for Queer opera drives their PhD research, celebrating LGBTQIA+ experiences and creating more inclusive work.
Eliana is one of the most versatile composers and arrangers in Colombia. She studied composition and psychology at the National Conservatory of Colombia. She studied a Masters degree in composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Central Bank of Colombia to the most promising young musician and thanks to the kind support of The Henry Wood Accommodation Trust Fund.
Eliana has a background in classical music, jazz, pop and Colombian traditional music. One of the main focuses of her work is the inclusion of Latin-American traditional music in her classical and jazz compositions. She collaborates with artists of different styles. Her music has been played in the USA, Netherlands, Canada, Colombia, Argentina and in the UK at the Lake District Summer Music Festival, Chichester Festival and First Light Music Festival.
Zhenyan Li (b.1998) is a Chinese composer based in London. Her works are inspired by theatrical elements, especially the performing style of traditional oriental theatre. Li’s music has been performed worldwide including Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia, Netherlands, UK and China. Recent highlights include the premiere of her piece ‘Hashigakari’, at the Lucerne Festival, which was selected to Ensemble Modern ‘Happy New Ear’ concert series. Additionally, her opera ‘Cummings & Goerings’ premiered as part of the ‘Tête-à-tête’ Festival and her chamber work ‘Hide and Seek’ debuted at the London Symphony Orchestra Discovery concert series. Other projects also include commissions for Beijing International Music Festival, International Guitar Society, Central School of Ballet, Psappha Ensemble and Leeds Lieder Festival. As an active collaborator, she has worked on projects with Architectural Association, London Film School, as well as individuals, artists Lulu Wang, percussionist Beibei Wang, conductors Martin Rajna, Otis Enokido-Linehem and Jessica Cottis.
Li is currently a PhD, student at the royal Academy of Music, studying with Professor Philip Cashian and David Sawer.
She is also an active Chinese flute player. She is a member of the London Chinese Opera Studio and Silk and Bamboo Ensemble, regularly participating in performances at the SOAS University of London.
Phoenix Rousiamanis (they/she) is a composer of instrumental and electronic music, a songwriter and a performer.
Their works have been performed by performers and ensembles such as Juliet Fraser, Greek National Radio Orchestra, Riot Ensemble and Psappha Ensemble, and have been distributed by NMC Recordings. She also releases experimental hyper-pop under the name sexwithmdonna and writes and performs as part of ‘Knowing the Oak Tree’, a hybrid electroacoustic duo that has toured in Switzerland, Germany and the UK with support from the Francis Chagrin Award and Stadt Zürich.
Phoenix studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music with scholarships from the Countess of Munster Trust and the Vaughn Williams Foundation. They are the 2022 winner of the RNCM Gold Medal competition and finalist of the RMA’s ‘Tippett Medal’. They were chosen for the Psappha 2021 ‘Composing for schemes’ and Brighter Sound’s 2023 ‘Trans_formation’ residency.
Crystalla is a multi-genre Composer, Conductor/Music Director, Pianist and Singer. She recently completed a Masters in Composition at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Since leaving Cyprus, Crystalla has fully indulged herself into the UK’s music scene, composing and performing for the BBC SSO, Riot Ensemble, CHROMA Ensemble, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Cheltenham and Dartington Music Festivals, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s Chorus and Edinburgh Art Festival. Crystalla has received various nominations for a short film, including ‘Best Composition,’ for the Glasgow Film Festival, British Short Film Awards and Norwich Film Festival 2021.
Her recent work includes composing for percussionist Delia Stevens on Psappha’s ‘Composing For…’ scheme and a wind quintet performed/recorded by the Britten Sinfonia. She recently composed, conducted and adjudicated for the Florence International Choral Festival 2023. She also led her new music ensemble, ‘Dias Ensemble,’ in the Duke’s Hall, premiering six contemporary works to celebrate the Royal Academy of Music turning 200.
Crystalla is currently based in London and is writing a multi-genre ‘popera’ called ‘Chronicles of Millennial Dating,’ and she is a Magnum Opus composer for Britten Sinfonia 2023, where she will be composing a Concerto for Jazz, Scat Singer at the end of her residency.
Contact us
If you have any questions about our Young Composers programme please contact Lowri Davies, Education & Community Project Manager on 020 7840 4203 or [email protected]
[email protected]
The LPO Young Composers programme 2023/24 is generously supported by Allianz Musical Insurance, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and the Vaughan Williams Foundation.
LPO Young Composer Alumni
Jakob Bragg
Philip Dutton
Zakiya Leeming
Matt London
Tayla-Leigh Payne
Conrad Asman
Alex Ho
Yunho Jeong
Rafael Marino Arcaro
Angela Elizabeth Slater
Robin Haigh
Sun Keting
Geoffrey King
Paweł Malinowski
Alexander Tay
Maciej Bałenkowski
Joshua Brown
Daniel Davis
Sylvia Lim
Aileen Sweeney
Clare Elton
Andrzej Karalow
Ashley John Long
Barnaby C Martin
Carlijn Metselaar
Lillie Harris
Laurence Osborn
Ailie Robertson
Neil Tòmas Smith
Karol Nepelski
Stef Conner
Nathan James Dearden
Yvonne Eccles
Alex Paxton
Hunter Coblenz
Michael Cryne
Lisa Illean
Katarzyna Krzewińska
Robert Peate
Jonathan Brigg
Sergio Cote
Peter Longworth
Paulina Załubska
Eugene Birman
Aleksandr Brusentsev
Arne Gieshoff
Edmund Hunt
Hannah Kendall
Daniel Kidane
Peter Yarde Martin
Stephen Willey
Mark David Boden
Laura Jayne Bowler
David Curington
Hollie Harding
Erick Flores
Blai Soler
Emily Wright
Mihyun Woo
Tristan Brookes
Isa Khan
Aaron Parker
Sasha Siem
Colin Alexander
George Lyle
Vlad Maistorovici
Oliver Weeks
Mica Levi
Jason Noghani
Steven Daverson
Gavin Higgins
Emma-Marie Lee
Caroline Rawlinson
Mark Simpson