2025/26 Philharmonia Instrumental Fellowship and Composers’ Academy

The Philharmonia’s Talent Development programmes are committed to developing the next generation of talent in the classical music industry. Each year, we appoint a cohort of Instrumental Fellows and Composers Fellows. Across the year, they work with and are mentored by members of the Orchestra, developing their artistic skills alongside some of the world’s leading musicians.

The Philharmonia’s new cohort of Instrumental Fellows for 2025/26 are:

Daisy Noton – flute
Will Kidner – bassoon
Imogen Timmins – trumpet
Isabella Ward Ackland – horn
Matthew Lait – tuba
Emily Clark – viola
Edward Mead – cello
Joana Moura – double bass
Guozhi Long – percussion
Ewan Miller – timpani
Clara Gatti Comini – harp

The Philharmonia’s Composers’ Academy is an established programme for exceptional musicians from diverse backgrounds who are looking to forge a composing career.

Each year, the Philharmonia appoints three composers, who are given the opportunity to develop their skills as composers and to create a new work as part of the Orchestra’s flagship Music of Today chamber music series.

The programme begins with a series of workshops and masterclasses, before the composers work closely with members o the Philharmonia to create and rehearse their new commissions. The fellowship culminates in the live premiere of the three compositions at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and a profesionally produced recording.

The Philharmonia’s three Composers’ Academy Fellows for 2025/26 are:

Claire Cope
Ellen Drewe
Harry Rees 

Claire Cope is an award winning British composer, pianist and bandleader whose work spans both contemporary classical, and jazz and improvised music. Her music has been performed in Europe and the US, and she is the recipient of a Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award (2022) and a UK Arts Council DYCP grant (2023). Her latest album as bandleader of her 11 piece jazz group Ensemble C was released on Adhyâropa records to widespread critical acclaim.

Ellen Drewe is a composer and conductor whose music explores social commentary through the interplay of playful and sinister musical textures and the fusion of acoustic instruments and electronics. They use a mixture of fables, fine art and observations as inspiration for music that highlights the triumphs and flaws of humanity. They have composed for numerous ensembles, including the Riot Ensemble and BSO’s Kokoro, in venues such as West Road Concert Hall and the V&A Museum. Earlier accolades include being shortlisted for BBC Young Composer (2016)

Harry Rees is an emerging Irish composer from Enniskillen. They graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2025 with a First Class Bachelor of Music (Hons) in Composition, studying under Michael McCartney, Ceri Tippetts, Mark Boden, Owen Lloyd, and Tic Ashfield. Harry’s music has been performed and workshopped by ensembles including Sinfonia Cymru, The Hermes Experiment, Absolute Zero Viola Quartet, and the Neary-Adams String Trio. Harry has been selected for high profile emerging composer schemes, including having their music performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales as part of their Composition: Wales scheme, collaborating with Britten Sinfonia through their Opus 1 scheme, and having their work workshopped as part of the Penarth Chamber Music Festival. Drawing on influences such as birdsong and poetry, Harry’s music explores surprise and transformation, blending tonal and non-tonal elements with timbral techniques that produce richly textured and kaleidoscopic sonic landscapes.