Ben Wallfisch judges Guildhall Young Artists Composition Competition

11 young composers aged 8–18 make it to the final of Guildhall Young Artists composition competition 'RELEASE', selected by an adjudicating panel including Grammy, Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA nominated Ben Wallfisch and Julian Philips, Head of Composition at Guildhall School.

In March 2021, all 1,600 students who access a Saturday music school across the Guildhall Young Artists network, including Junior Guildhall and the Centres for Young Musicians, were invited to submit a composition to four categories: Songwriting, Digital Media, Music to Picture and Concert Music. As well as cash prizes for the top 3 compositions in each category, participants could also win other prizes including an online masterclass with an industry leading artist.

Jeffery Wilson, Junior Guildhall Coordinator of Composition, came up with the idea for the competition as a platform for students to express their creativity. Students who had no previous composition experience were particularly encouraged to enter, with all participants receiving written feedback on their compositions.

The adjudication panel had the difficult decision of narrowing down over 130 entries from a range of ages and abilities to a short-list of 30 compositions, down to 13. Three compositions were chosen from each category and there were 11 finalists in total, with two people winning two categories. Congratulations to our finalists:

• Songwriting: Will Everitt (first prize), Thomas Sewell (second prize), Rosie Trentham (third prize)
• Digital Media: Oscar Ruddick Trentmann (first prize), Fiorenza Newland (second prize), Ronan (third prize)
• Music to Picture: Emile Curtin and Jacob Cavendish (joint first prize), Avram (second prize), Aris Sabetai (third prize)
• Concert Music: Jack Robinson (first prize), Thomas Sewell (second prize), Aris Sabetai (third prize

The adjudicators for the final round were Ben Wallfisch, composer, conductor and orchestrator; Anthony Strong, singer, pianist and songwriter; Julian Philips, Head of Composition at Guildhall School and Mike Roberts, Head of Electronic & Produced Music at Guildhall School. You can see the Release playlist and all of the finalist’s compositions on YouTube.

Ben Wallfisch, who has worked on over 75 feature films and co-composed Blade Runner 2049 says: “Congratulations to all the young composers who reached the final round. I was blown away by the music and breath of inventiveness.

I also want to say a couple of words about my own personal connection with the Guildhall Young Artists community through the five years I spent as a student at Junior Guildhall, studying composition with my friend Jeffery Wilson in the early 90s.

Jeff truly nurtures his students by bringing out their individual strengths and passions. Every week he'd rigorously cover the rudiments of classical orchestration, structure, harmony and counterpoint, but he also paid just as much intention to all the primitive experiments with electronic music I was bringing in every week on a cassette, and relentlessly encouraged my obsession with film music.

Above all, he constantly found ways to inspire and always sent me home with obscure scores and CD's that I'd pour over before my next lesson. I feel I owe so much to Jeff and those wonderful years we spent together, so was very happy when he reached out to me to be a part of this fantastic initiative."

A few of the finalists told us what the competition means to them:

Will, Age 17 says: “It’s amazing to win a competition with such high quality, and more than anything it’s incredible to receive such a great opportunity to share my work. Opportunities for young composers have been in short supply during the pandemic, but the GYA Release competition has given us a platform to showcase our compositions and I’m extremely grateful to have taken part.”

Thomas, Age 17 says: “The Guildhall competition was a fantastic opportunity for me to release some of my musical ideas to a wider audience, and put effort, with fantastic help from my composition tutors at CYM and at school, into producing pieces of work that hopefully people will enjoy listening to. I am so grateful the two pieces were acknowledged and appreciated by the panel of judges, and I look forward to continuing to write music both at CYM and beyond!"

Rosie, Age 17 says: “As a songwriter to date, it’s been hugely encouraging to have one of my songs considered alongside the work of so many talented young composers. It has inspired me to broaden my work into other styles in the future and to appreciate the overlap between popular music and new classical music.”

Oscar, Age 18 says: "Braindance was a piece that I really put a lot of time and effort into, and it feels like one of my most creative works so far as a composer. This is definitely one of my favourite compositions, because it feels that I really created something of my own. I composed, arranged, and produced the entire track by myself in my room, and it feels amazing to have it recognised like this."

Fiorenza, Age 16 says: "My time while participating in the competition has been really beneficial to building my confidence when sharing my music. Being a teenage girl on the production scene has been a challenge, from people not taking me seriously, to not appreciating my art form. I have learned, however, that there are always fellow music lovers out there, who will listen to any forms of it they can find. This competition has shown me a new side of the industry, and reminded me why I started creating in the first place. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to listen to music ranging over the country, and receive feedback from industry professionals."

Ronan, Age 8 says: “I have never composed before. I really love creating music because I see with my ears and I can express myself. I was very pleased to share how I experience the world."

Ronan's parent says: "Ronan has been improvising on the piano long before he could talk. However, we had never thought to encourage him to compose until I saw the competition advertised. He absolutely loved it and we are so pleased that he finally feels that he can express himself. We'll be spending the summer composing. We are very lucky that Ronan's music education is supported by the Amber Trust, a charity that funds music tuition for children who are blind or low vision." 

Emilie, Age 14 says: "I am incredibly excited and surprised to get into the final of the GYA release competition, I never imagined that it would be possible and definitely did not expect it as it was the very first time I composed thinking of a film. It is really encouraging me to explore composition even more, as a way to express myself through music. As I recently discovered Digital Audio Workstations as well as composing on a score, I think it is opening a whole new world of musical adventures. I am so grateful that this ‘Release’ project has helped me explore my creativity in so many ways (both musically, as well as through visual arts)."

Jacob, Age 17 says: “I have always been intrigued by the ability of music to tell a story and to create visual images in the mind, so writing a piece for an imaginary film was a very exciting opportunity. I also enjoy writing new works for orchestras and conducting. I was Highly Commended in the 2020 BBC Young Composer Competition (Upper Junior category) for a piece I wrote for a project with the Nonesuch Orchestra. These experiences have greatly inspired me to continue exploring new directions in composition.”

Avram, Age 12 says: “I’m twelve now, but I wrote my piece a few months ago when I was eleven. I love composing, and I love sharing music. I’ve always improvised a lot but only started composing recently, so the competition has been fun and a great learning experience. I feel honoured that Benjamin Wallfisch has listened to my music. Most of all I think it’s brilliant that Guildhall has encouraged everyone to join in and create new works in such a supportive atmosphere.”

Jack, Age 17 says: "I am very pleased to have been selected as a finalist for the GYA competition and am very excited for what Guildhall has to offer for me and the other finalists."

See the Release playlist and all of the finalist’s compositions on YouTube.