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







