Selected collaboration for the 2022 Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence Scheme
About the music creator
Hector Fiennes (b. 2001) is a third-year undergraduate studying Music at Royal Holloway, where he is a tenor Choral Scholar in the Chapel Choir.
As a singer, Hector has performed alongside ensembles such as the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Southern Sinfonia, and in notable venues such as the Cadogan Hall, St John’s Smith Square, St George’s Hall Bristol, and Poole Lighthouse. As well as singing, he plays orchestral percussion, and is a keen organist, having achieved his Grade 8 with distinction in 2019.
Aged eleven, Hector became a chorister at Sherborne Abbey, which give him the opportunity to explore a varied choral repertoire, and many compositional styles. He first became interested in composing as a young teenager, and this quickly became a passionate hobby outside of school. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, he decided to work towards an ALCM diploma in Composition, which he was awarded in February 2021 with a distinction-level mark. Hector continues to compose, and being a chorister, he particularly enjoys writing for voices and has had choral pieces performed by the Royal Holloway Chapel Choir on a number of occasions, including in their Midweek Music concert series.
About the creative writer
Hattie Atkins is a Mancunian writer, currently studying for a master’s degree in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. Her prose and poetry - which often meditates on the intersection between bodies, place, and identity – has appeared in various journals, such as Gutter Magazine, en bloc, and Lemon Peel Press, and has been anthologised by the Common Breath and Forest Publications. Her poem, ‘Semiotics,’ was the first runner-up in the 2022 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize.
On being selected for this opportunity, Hattie says: "I'm thankful for the opportunity to work on such a collaborative project, and I'm excited to see how the conversation between artist, writer, and musician will emerge and unfold."
Image of Hector Fiennes & Hattie Atkins
