Young conductor and young composers

The young conductor Bradley Wilson has been announced as the inaugural conductor in residence with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO), whilst the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) and BBC Radio 3 have announced the NCEM Young Composers Award 2023.

Bradley Wilson (Photo Black Lives in Music)

Bradley Wilson's appointment as conductor in residence with the LSSO follows an open call from Guildhall Young Artists and Black Lives in Music to nurture diverse talent and representation within the orchestra. Whilst in post, Wilson will be involved in all aspects of the orchestra, including attending audition panels and taking sectional rehearsals, as well as conducting the LSSO in concert.   

Currently in his final year of studying for a Bachelor in Music with Performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Bradley Wilson is an instrumentalist and conductor. As a trumpet player with Chineke! Orchestra, he has performed in a wide variety of concerts. 

In addition to guest appearances with the Orchestra of the Swan, and Music of the Unseen, he serves as music director for The Rusty Players, and conductor for The Peoples Orchestra. As part of his studies in Birmingham, Bradley Wilson plans to form a new Midlands-based orchestra for the global majority with an aim to provide a safe performance space for amateur musicians and students.  

Full details from the Black Lives in Music website.

Each year the NCEM Young Composers Award is presented by the NCEM in association with BBC Radio 3 and they are delighted to welcome the virtuoso period instrument group The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble as partners for 2023. 

Young composers are invited to write a new piece for The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble based on a popular tune from the Spanish 'Golden Age' of the 16th and 17th centuries, creating their new work in the same spirit by using the melody as a starting point for musical ideas.

The Award is open to young composers resident in the UK up to the age of 25 and is judged in two age categories: 18 and under, and 19–25. Composers must register their interest by 12 noon on 17 February and scores should be submitted by 17 March 2023.

The short-listed composers will be invited to a collaborative workshop at the NCEM in York led by composer Christopher Fox and The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble. In the evening the shortlisted pieces will be performed with the judges present, when the two winning compositions will be announced.

The winning works will be premiered in a public performance at The Stoller Hall in Manchester on 9 November 2023 and the concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Early Music Show. The NCEM will meet all travel and accommodation costs for those selected to attend.

Full details from the Young Composers Award website.