Rooted in Liverpool’s music ecosystem: Mark Simpson returns home as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 25/26 Artist in Residence

Mark Simpson (Photo: Matthew Johnson)

Composer and clarinettist Mark Simpson has been announced as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RLPO) new Artist in Residence for the 25/26 season. Simpson’s residency is launched with the UK premiere of his viola concerto, Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth, with the RLPO conducted by principal guest conductor Andrew Manze and featuring viola player Timothy Ridout. The 30-minute work is a musical response to a Romanian proverb encouraging you to ‘face your fears head on and move forward with courage’. (Soloist Timothy Ridout gave the world premiere last December at the Philharmonie). The concert will also feature a rarely heard version of Pictures at an Exhibition by Sir Henry Wood, featuring every one of the RLPO's famous church bells collection.

Further ahead, in January 2026 Simpson leads RLPO musicians as clarinettist in a programme pairing his own Geysir with Mozart’s Gran Partita. Then in March 2026, the RLPO, vocal ensemble EXAUDI and baritone Mark Stone perform Simpson’s oratorio The Immortal, conducted by Daniela Candillara. In this large-scale score for baritone, small chorus and orchestra, Melanie Challenger’s text explores paranormal events in the late Victorian era when mediums in different countries began writing down the same messages from a deceased psychical researcher who was harbouring a dark secret.

In April 2026, Simpson appears as soloist in John Adams’s clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons with the RLPO’s contemporary music group Ensemble 10:10, conducted by George Jackson in a concert that also includes the UK premiere of Josephine Stephenson’s In Time Like Air. Finally, Simpson's season with RLPO concludes with a recital with pianist Ian Buckle in which they play Simpson's Lov(escape) and Echoes and Embers. Simpson describes how, “at this relaxed evening with me in the Music Room, I’ll be talking about growing up in Liverpool and how vital it was for my musical development and performing the music by my former composition teachers that brought me along the way”.

Simpson’s story is rooted in Liverpool’s music ecosystem and reflects both the city’s rich classical music infrastructure and the importance of access for young people. Born in Liverpool, Simpson began his musical journey in the Merseyside (now Liverpool Philharmonic) Youth Orchestra, which led him to the National Youth Orchestra. In 2006, at just 17, he became the first-ever winner of both BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year. 

His own formative experiences, from council-funded music tuition to Saturday morning ensembles, mirror the ambitions of the Orchestra’s In Harmony programme, which continues to transform the lives of children across Liverpool through music. This season also marks the 75th anniversary of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the very ensemble where Mark Simpson began his journey, and highlights Liverpool Philharmonic’s leading role as a champion of new music. The RLPO is one of the UK’s most active commissioners and performers of contemporary work, having premiered more than 300 new pieces in the last 20 years, and continues that commitment in the 2025/26 season.

Full details of the RLPO's new season from their website, and further details of Simpson's residency from his publisher's website.