Britten Sinfonia Opus 1 Commission

Well, it’s been a whirlwind of a summer! I have been accepted onto Britten Sinfonia’s composer development scheme Opus 1. Six composers were chosen out of 130 applicants to write a new piece for flute, viola and harp. The scheme will run for just over 2 months, during which time we will have workshops with the musicians and a mentoring session with Dani Howard.

We have already had our first online workshop, in which the musicians demonstrated the capabilities of their instruments and talked about idiomatic writing. We then had a chance to ask follow up questions. Our next workshop will be in person. Here, we will be able to hear our sketches and initial ideas, and to get feedback from the musicians. After that, we have five weeks to complete the piece and submit our scores and parts.

This is a really exciting opportunity! I have loved working on this piece so far, exploring the different blends of timbres. As much as I have enjoyed it, I’ve found it equally as challenging. It has really stretched me as a composer. Having a tight deadline when working on something completely new is something I have found particularly challenging. I’m looking forward to seeing how the piece develops as I work on it over the next month.

The pieces will be performed at Kings Place as part of the Opus Horizons Showcase. The Opus 1 showcase will be followed by the Magnum Opus showcase at 19:00.

Concert information

Date: 15th November 2025
Time: 17:30 (doors open at 17:00)
Location: Kings Place, Kings Cross, London