The Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence Scheme is a ground-breaking residency in which successful student composers from the Department of Music will have their musical responses to the Picture Gallery and some of its wonderful paintings performed by an invited ensemble each year.

This residency is a professional development programme for music creators of the Department of Music to receive specialist, industry-standard workshop sessions and tutorials, working collaboratively with invited artists, ensembles and tutors to create new works that are premiered as part of the International Concert Series. 

These new compositions are the result of a special collaboration between the College’s Art Curator Dr Laura MacCulloch and Nathan James Dearden, a College Composer, Conductor of the New Music Collective and Performance Manager at the Department of Music.

Project overview for 2016

The first year for this ground-breaking residency saw three successful students from the Department of Music have their musical responses to the Picture Gallery and some of its wonderful paintings performed by members of the New Music Collective. These new compositions were the result of a special collaboration between the College’s Art Curator Harriet O’Neill and Nathan James Dearden, a College Composer, Conductor of the New Music Collective and Performance Manager at the Department of Music.

The inaugural Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence Scheme was presented in collaboration with the Finnissy at 70 Festival at Royal Holloway, a new music festival supported by the Institute of Musical Research. Each composer received a one-hour consultation lesson with renowned composer, Michael Finnissy.