Composers’ Academy
Composers’ Academy is an established programme for exceptional musicians from diverse backgrounds who are looking for the opportunity to develop their skills as composers and to create a new 10-minute piece as part of the Philharmonia’s Music of Today series.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the selected composers… the opportunity to workshop their music with world class musicians and to refine their work as part of the process, and to have a performance in such a revered venue, and to receive high quality recordings.”
Anna Clyne, Philharmonia Featured Composer 2022/23
Information for applicants
Composers’ Academy is an established programme for exceptional musicians from diverse backgrounds who are looking to develop their skills in composition through coaching and mentoring.
We warmly welcome applications from composers of all backgrounds, and are particularly committed to supporting composers from underrepresented demographics, such as women, those from the Global Majority, and people with disabilities. We actively invite applicants to declare such characteristics in their application form, though this is not compulsory. We are also keen to ensure the application process is as widely accessible as possible.
We ask that you provide three examples of your work (both sound file and score) as part of your application. Selected applicants will be invited to a remote interview to talk more about music and aspirations. Please note that the programme does take place in London, and you will be expected to be available in person for workshops, rehearsals with players and critical feedback.
There is no application fee or cost to those who apply to the programme.
How to apply
Applications for the Philharmonia’s 2026/27 Composers’ Academy will open next year.
Listen to the recordings of our 2024/25 composers, released October 2025
Explore our other Philharmonia Composers’ Academy releases here.
Nneka Cummins, 2022/23 Composers' Academy fellow
About the programme
For classical music to endure, it must be relevant to the widest possible audience. We must foster the talent and audiences of the future, supporting new works to be written and platforming diverse voices which can have a wider reach, as well as widening the talent pool, to ensure that the very best of classical music is being developed and shared.
- A series of masterclasses and workshops covering advanced composition technique, industry insights, and advice from professional musicians and contemporary composers
- 1:1 support throughout the programme from a Composers’ Academy mentor
- Dedicated time to rehearse your composition with an ensemble of Philharmonia musicians, a conductor and your mentor, and to receive feedback
- A performance of your composition at the Royal Festival Hall in London
- A professional recording of your commission, released through NMC Recordings
The Philharmonia supports Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles, a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes, competitions and awards for composers.
We are committed to providing opportunities to underrepresented composers and, therefore, we will offer a place to at least one musician from a minority ethnic background, and at least one female and/or non-binary artist.
Composers 2025/56
Claire Cope
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.
Claire has collaborated with a variety of ensembles and musicians, including trumpeter Lucy Humphris, saxophonist Andy Scott, The Carice Singers, and the Fairey Brass Band. Her 2021 commission for the Apollo Sax Quartet was also a winning score in the 2024 LunArt Call for Scores.
Claire has participated in the LunArt Composer Hub, the Let’s Bespoken Mentorship programme and the Three Choirs Festival New Voices Composer Academy. In July 2025, Claire was one of four selected composers to attend the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute at Princeton, where the New Jersey Symphony orchestra premiered her piece Agita. In August 2025, US based duo Iva Ugrčić and Satoko Hayami premiered Claire’s first piece for flute and piano at the National Flute Convention in Atlanta.
Ellen Drewe
Ellen 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 formusic that highlights the triumphs and flaws of humanity.
Ellen recently graduated from their master’s in composition at the University of Cambridge under Marta Gentilucci. At Cambridge, they regularly conducted the King’s College Orchestra, and received the Bertram Faulkner prize.
Ellen’s undergraduate was at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) under Morgan Hayes, where they spoke on BBC Breakfast on behalf of RAM, and their piece was selected for the RAM 200 pieces.
Harry Rees
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.
Christian Mason: Composers' Academy mentor
Christian Mason’s music is characterised by interweaving and subtle metamorphoses of sounds that often create dreamlike atmospheres. Winner of the 2025 Grawemeyer Award for Invisible Threads, Mason’s work spans orchestral, chamber, and installation formats, and has been described as “astonishingly inventive and powerful” (The Strad).
He has received major commissions from leading ensembles and orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Philharmonia Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Arditti Quartet, and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. His compositions have been performed at top international festivals such as Wittener Tage, Eclat, and the BBC Proms.
A founding Artistic Director of Octandre Ensemble, Mason’s recent highlights include Sympathetic Resonance with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, The Oddity Effect for Ensemble Modern and SWR Vokalensemble, and the environmental cantata The Singing Tree.
Past accolades include the Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize (2015), British Composer Award, and Mendelssohn Scholarship. He holds a PhD from King’s College London, where he studied with George Benjamin, and has worked as assistant to Sir Harrison Birtwistle. Mason is a mentor for young composers and his works are published by Breitkopf & Härtel.
Partners & supporters
The Philharmonia’s Composers’ Academy is generously supported by:
