BBC Young Composers inspired by UCL East art and science have work premiered at BBC Proms

Audiences at a special BBC Proms event in Nottingham on Saturday 7 September will be the first to hear the pieces, which have been mentored by composers Gavin Higgins and Helen Grime. The conductor for the performances will be Hugh Brunt.

Over the past year, the UCL East Community and Cultural Engagement team has been working with the BBC Proms team on their BBC Young Composer programme, a national competition for 12-18 year olds to compose a 5-minute piece for the BBC Concert Orchestra to be performed at the Proms.

The collaboration, made possible through our East Bank partnership with the BBC, has provided the inspiration for last year’s winners’ commissions in the form of reflections on Luke Jerram’s Gaia globe artwork and research from our UCL People and Nature Lab academics working on the BiomeHealth Project.

The six new commissions being premiered at the BBC Proms will also be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The Young Composers are:

Pascal Bachmann
Atharv Gupta
Avram Harris
Advaith Jagannath
Reese Carly Manglicmot
Jamie Smith

Through the East Bank partnership, UCL is continuing to work with the BBC team to develop a sound installation for the exhibition spaces on Level 1 of Marshgate later this year, to coincide with COP29 in Baku in Azerbaijan, as well as other climate-focused public programming.

Find our more about our UCL Gaia Public Programme