Each year, the ORA Singers 2025 Young Composers programme welcomes 50 students who will receive free coaching in choral composition. Successful applicants are enrolled as either Young Composers or Apprentices.
Ten Young Composers will receive up to ten hours of one-to-one mentoring with a professional composer, who will develop the skills of each composer as they help them write a brand new choral work. During the scheme, Young Composers’ ideas will be workshopped by ORA's professional singers, who will perform and record their pieces at the end of the scheme; a panel of industry experts will also give the composers detailed feedback and advice.
Alongside the ten Young Composers, 40 Apprentices will gain advanced compositional skills through a series of free online, in-depth workshops led by professional composer Rory Wainwright Johnston, with a particular emphasis on key elements of choral composition and its techniques. Apprentices will also have opportunities to meet with industry experts and undergraduates, gaining an insight into the music industry and tips on applying to University/Conservatoire.
The ORA Singers Young Composers’ Programme is designed to seek out and develop the untapped potential in young musicians across the UK, and deliberately targets those who have not yet had access to specialist tutoring. Applicants are able to submit a personal statement, along with any previous composition (complete or incomplete), which is assessed by ORA Singers. The Programme is not just looking for the best composers, but students with passion and potential, and wants to encourage all students that are interested in composition to enter.
Applicants must have been born on or after 1 September 2006, and be in attendance at a UK non-fee-paying secondary school.
Full details can be found on the ORA Singers website. Applications close on Monday 3 February 2025.
