In early March 2023, we welcomed five young composers to our Egham campus as winners of the second year of the Royal Holloway Composition Competition.

In early March 2023, we welcomed five young composers to our Egham campus as winners of the second year of the Royal Holloway Composition Competition. We received entries from across the world, with a consistently high standard. Our composition staff provided feedback for every entry, but we invited just five to participate in our Workshop Event. 

For this event, our resident experts Prof. Dan Rebellato (Drama, Theatre, and Dance) and Dr Tom Parkinson (Music) worked with current Musical Theatre students to workshop the winner’s scenes. Our setup directly mirrored the production process seen on professional productions, where writers work directly with directors, actors, and producers to adjust, tailor, and finalise their production. Our Competition Winners were provided not only with this expert feedback, but we also made high-quality recordings of their scenes in performance. 

Thanks go to our brilliant 2^nd and 3^rd year students singers and accompanist, who all volunteered their time on a Saturday; special thanks also to Dan Rebellato and Tom Parkinson, as well as our Composition Lecturers who helped in the review process for the competition.

The Royal Holloway Department of Music is one of the largest in the UK, offering a very broad and diverse range of courses, all taught by expert scholars. We are the only Music department in the country to hold a prestigious Regius Professorship, awarded by Her Majesty The Queen. Ranked among the top Music departments in the UK for both our teaching and our research, we also benefit from a vibrant creative campus community. Our Music and Theatre degree pathway is particularly popular with students interested in Musical Theatre, with our professional connections to major venues like the National Theatre and the Royal Opera House.

Photos: Dan Rebellato and Dan Elphick.