Introducing the 2024
Young Composers and Apprentices
ORA Singers is excited to announce the 50 students taking part in the 2024 Young Composers’ programme.
ORA Singers has been thrilled to see a sharp increase of interest in the programme since its inception in 2019, receiving a large number of applications from students year on year.
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The scheme sees 10 selected ‘Young Composers’ receive 10 hours of free, one-to-one mentoring with professional composers, who develop their skills in composition whilst helping them write a brand new piece for ORA Singers. Throughout the process, mentors identify and develop areas of need or interest, helping the Young Composers develop into confident and mature composers, as they guide them through the process of writing a new choral work.
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Half-way through the scheme, Young Composers are invited to a Workshop, where they are given further coaching on Western Choral Composition from a Guest Composer, and they have their ideas and sketches workshopped by ORA Singers; offering further specialist tips and advice from a singer’s perspective. The Workshop offers the Young Composers a rare and unique chance to work with professionals in the industry, learning about the unique challenges of writing for voices.
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The Young Composers’ programme comes to a close with the Showcase Concert. ORA Singers is thrilled to have continued their partnership with the Three Choirs Festival, who will host the Showcase Concert in Worcester Cathedral on 2nd August. The Showcase Concert will see ORA Singers perform and record the Young Composers’ completed works live in front of an audience and a panel of industry experts. Each Young Composer will receive detailed feedback from the panel, along with a video recording of their piece to kick-start their portfolios. The Showcase will also feature a prize-giving.
The 10 selected 2024 Young Composers are:
Anna Hyde-White, Cheltenham
Atharv Gupta, Chelmsford
Annabel Baxter, Harrogate
Joe Jolliffe, Waterlooville
Harrison Lee, Barnet
Shreya Sharma, Newcastle
Luke Carter, Wilmslow
Jasmine Khatib, Cobham
Tamsin Crook, Penrith
Josh Clark, Southampton
ORA Singers is pleased to welcome the 2023 Mentors back to the Young Composers’ programme; Alexander Campkin, Sorana Santos, Florence Anna Maunders, Toby Young, and Kemal Yusuf (left to right). Each Mentor coaches two Young Composers in one-to-one sessions, as they develop their skills whilst guiding them through the process of writing a new choral work. The Mentors are all professional composers, and have each been commissioned by ORA Singers in the past.
2024 Apprentices
In addition to the 10 Young Composers, the 2024 programme welcomes 40 Apprentices who are enrolled onto a free course of online, in-depth Composition Workshops.
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Over the course of nine sessions, composer Rory Wainwright Johnston coaches the Apprentices in various aspects of choral composition, including texture, harmony, notation, techniques, history and more. After each session, Apprentices are set tasks which exercise the skills introduced in each session, and receive personalised feedback from Rory.
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The Apprentices are also given opportunities to hear from industry professionals, and gain an insight into the professional world of choral composition.
The 40 selected 2024 Apprentices are:
Erin Roberts, Grimsby
Indiana Bowles, Ickenham
Amar Clark, Hove
Yasmin Islam, Twickenham
Jarvis Crompton, York
Sam Murray, Cumbria
Frank Adlam, Devon
Blake Littman, Plymouth
Alexandra Pourgourides, Ealing
Melina Baresh, London
Rowan Tichener, Southampton
James Thompson, Twickenham
Kari Layton, Watford
Melanie Gourlay, Watford
Ellis Rose, Milton Keynes
Ella Roy, London
Anvi O'Shaughnessy, Twickenham
Harry Deighan, Sunderland
Raven Gimeno, Cheshire
Saffron Nayar, London
Emily Eygelaar, London
Arthur Parrack, Oxford
Matylda Szybiak, Hounslow
Marcus Georgescu, Bedfordshire
Ottilie Brazier-Pethick, Uplyme
John Newton, Horsham
Keefer King, London
Eliza Austin, Wolverhampton
Rosie Hallam, Leeds
Elizabeth Maher, Milton Keynes
Lauren Bailey, Newbury
Tom Bainbridge, Sunderland
Tristan Green, Bedford
Timothy Cowling, Cirencester
Ayush Shiebu, Wirral
Max Mason, London
Rebecca Cabras, Twickenham
Gabriella Lei Tenorio, London
Ana Elizabeth Gumende, Wimbledon
Demi Emakpore, Sidcup
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Participating Schools
Cheltenham Bournside School
HSDC Havant, Hampshire
Wilmslow High School, Cheshire
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, Southampton
Waldegrave School, Twickenham
Lipson Co-operative Academy, Plymouth
Hounsdown School, Southampton
Graveney School, London
Morpeth School, London
St Mark's Catholic School, Hounslow
College of Richard Collyer, Horsham
Aylesbury High School, Milton Keynes
Balcarras School, Cirencester
Ursuline High School, Wimbledon
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
Cobham Free School, Surrey
St Clement Danes, Ickenham
Manor Church of England Academy, York
Twyford Church of England High School, Ealing
Parmiter’s School, Watford
St Aidan's Catholic Academy, Sunderland
Wanstead High School, London
Harlington Upper School, Bedfordshire
City Of Wolverhampton College, Wolverhampton
St Bartholomew's, Newbury
St Anselm's College, Wirral
Townley Grammar School for Girls, Bexley
St Aidan's Church of England High School, Harrogate
Cramlington Learning Village, Newcastle
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Cumbria
Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Hove
The Woodroffe School, Devon
Chiswick School, London
Stantonbury School, Milton Keynes
All Hallows Catholic College, Cheshire
The Swan School, Oxford
Colyton Grammar School, Dorset
Lawnswood School, Leeds
Castle Newnham School, Bedford
Fulham Cross Girls' School and Language College, London
The 2024 Young Composers’ programme has been generously supported by
