Errollyn Wallen, Chair

Errollyn Wallen is a multi award-winning Belize-born British composer and performer. Her prolific output includes twenty-two operas and a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber and vocal works which are performed and broadcast throughout the world. She was the first black woman to have a work featured in the Proms and the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music for her body of work. Errollyn composed for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games 2012, for the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, a specially commissioned song for the climate change conference, COP 26, 2021, and a re-imagining of Jerusalem for BBC’s Last Night of the Proms 2020. She is one of the top 20 most performed living composers of classical music in the world.

BBC Radio 3 featured her music across the first week of 2022 for its flagship programme, Composer of the Week and she has made several radio documentaries including Classical Commonwealth, nominated for the Prix Europa, which explored the impact of colonialism on music in the Commonwealth. Her carol, Peace on Earth was part of the Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King’s College, Cambridge at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2022.

Errollyn Wallen founded her own group, Ensemble X whose motto is “we don’t break down barriers in music…we don’t see any”. Their orchestral album PHOTOGRAPHY on the NMC label was voted a Top Ten Classical Album by USA’s National Public Radio. Orchestra X performed Errollyn’s composition Mighty River, which was featured in PRSF’s New Music Biennial 2017 and which was performed at this year’s PRSF Biennial by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Inspire at Coventry Cathedral and the Southbank, London.

Elaine Agnew
County Antrim composer Elaine Agnew received a BBC Proms commission for double orchestra and solo flute and the premiere of Dark Hedges by the Ulster Youth Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, Sir James Galway and conductor JoAnn Falletta at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in 2012 was a huge success, one reviewer describing it as “compelling from beginning to end.”

The Irish Chamber Orchestra opened their concert at the Konzerthaus in Berlin in January 2013 with Strings A-Stray to celebrate the German launch of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.  Dublin dancer Fiona Quilligan choreographed two pieces Seagull and Statues in her new show Pas De Chat at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin.

Elaine’s many works have been performed, commissioned and broadcast worldwide by artists such as Sir James Galway, the Vogler Quartet, the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, Lontano, cellists Robert Cohen and Evžen Rattay, the European Union Chamber and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, Chamber Choir Ireland, the Kaunas Chamber Choir, violinists Isabelle Faust and Catherine Leonard, pianists Angela Hewitt and Romain Descharmes and conductors Kenneth Montgomery and Jane Glover.

David Hill
Renowned for his fine musicianship, David Hill is widely respected as both a choral and orchestral conductor. His talent has been recognised by his appointments as Chief Conductor of The BBC Singers, Musical Director of The Bach Choir, Music Director of Southern Sinfonia, Music Director of Leeds Philharmonic Society and Associate Guest conductor of The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the University of Southampton in 2002 for services to music.

Born in Carlisle and educated at Chetham's School of Music, he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at the tender age of 17. He took an organ scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge under the direction of Dr George Guest, returning there as Director of Music from 2003-2007. David's previous posts have included Master of the Music at both Winchester and Westminster Cathedrals as well as Music Director of The Waynflete Singers and Artistic Director of the Philharmonia Chorus. He is in great demand for choral training workshops worldwide and is a choral advisor to music publishers Novello. As an organist he has given recitals in most major venues in the UK and toured extensively abroad.

David has made over 70 recordings and contributed to the film sound tracks of Narnia and Shrek the Third. He is engaged in recordings for Naxos of major English choral composers with The Bach Choir and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. David has also appeared as guest conductor with more than a dozen orchestras in the UK, Europe and the USA. His commitment to new music has led to his conducting first performances of works by Judith Bingham, Carl Rütti, Francis Pott, Patrick Gowers, Jonathan Harvey, Philip Moore and Naji Hakim, Sir John Tavener and Philip Wilby amongst others.