Introducing the 2023
Young Composers and Apprentices
ORA Singers is excited to announce the 50 students taking part in the 2023 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 record number of applications from students across the UK for 2023.
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 partnered with the Three Choirs Festival, who will host the Showcase Concert in Gloucester Cathedral on 23rd July. 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 record of their piece to kick-start their portfolios. The Showcase will also feature a prize-giving.
The 10 selected 2023 Young Composers are:
Rich Mandal, Year 12, Denbigh School, Milton Keynes
Hannah Lam, Year 13, Westcliff High School for Girls, Essex
Tristan Ng, Year 11, Bourne Grammar School, Lincolnshire
Jack Brierley, Year 11, St. Aidan's Church of England High School, Harrogate
Joshua Laye-Sion, Year 11, Christ's School Richmond, London
Cara Wilkins, Year 10, St Philomenas Catholic High School for Girls, London
Holly Bacon, Year 12, Kendrick School, Reading
Advaith Jagannath, Year 11, Tiffin School, London
Emerald Light, Year 12, Silverdale School, Sheffield
Bella Blood, Year 12, York College, York
ORA Singers welcomes a new group of Mentors 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.
2023 Apprentices
In addition to the 10 Young Composers, the 2023 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 eight 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 2023 Apprentices are:
Michael Carew, Year 9, Ridgeway High School, Merseyside
Mark Avery, Year 9, Chipping Campden School, Chipping Campden
Ben Atherton, Year 10, Dartford Grammar School, Kent
Dawid Szymiczek, Year 10, Boston Grammar School, Lincolnshire
Miriam Ilderton, Year 10, Ealing Fields High School, London
Sebastian Tucker, Year 10, Royal Latin School, Buckingham
Simeon Bloom, Year 10, Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
Kate Wilson, Year 10, Waldegrave School, Twickenham
Amelia Greenfields, Year 10, The Tiffin Girls' School, London
Gregor Hutchison, Year 11, Dane Court Grammar School, Kent
Sam Bishton, Year 11, Trinity CofE High School, Manchester
Guillermo Fernandez-Aguayo Martin, Year 11, Alexandra Park School, London
Borimir Ivanov, Year 11, Tiffin School, London
Sara Maruboyina, Year 11, The Henrietta Barnett School, Watford
Sampanna Raut, Year 11, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Stafford
Jakub Gutek, Year 11, St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood
Gareth Lewis, Year 11, King Edward VI School Stratford, Warwickshire
Emily-Hafwen Davies, Year 11, Gartree High School, Leicester
Kate Sitaraman, Year 11, West London Free School, London
Nicole Palka, Year 12, Wirral Grammar school for Girls, Cheshire West
Mia Odeleye, Year 12, Graveney School, London
Becky Brown, Year 12, Huntington school, York
Isla Gordon, Year 11, Settlebeck High School, Cumbria
Isher Jagdev, Year 12, Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
Miriam Cooper, Year 12, St Bartholomew's Secondary School, Newbury
Ben Cohen, Year 12, JFS, London
Simon Brant, Year 12, Parmiter's School, Watford
Luke Gore, Year 12, Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School, Kent
Stephan Nicoll, Year 12, Busheymeads School, Bushey
Reuben Russell Thompson, Year 12, Christ’s Sixth Form, London
Rosie Sutton, Year 12, Sir John Lawes School, Harpenden
Max Knight, Year 12, Richard Challoner school, Surrey
Caleb Wilton, Year 12, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Birmingham
Chava Ambuehl, Year 12, Coombe Girls' school, Surbiton
Lauren Periam, Year 12, Huntington Secondary School, York
Lauren Westgarth, Year 12, Parmiter's School, Watford
Samuel Davie, Year 12, The King's School, Grantham
Sophia Martinez Freitas, Year 13, St George's Catholic School, London
Pierre Jones, Year 13, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, Bristol
Delphine Ngodi, Year 13, London Academy of Excellence, London
Rory Wainwright Johnston - Apprentice Leader
The 2023 Young Composers’ programme has been generously supported by Signatur, The Symondson Foundation, and The Thistle Trust. ORA Singers is pleased welcome Scala Radio as the Official Media Partner of the Young Composers’ scheme.
