Blasio Kavuma: Power Up Music Creator

“I am a composer, curator and producer exploring how to integrate black musical thought into my work. I am currently studying for my PhD at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

I’m proud to have taken part in three major composer schemes since 2018. Sound and Music’s Pathways programme involved me collaborating with dance company Wayward Thread. Exploring themes of spirituality through contemporary breakdance, black gospel music and contemporary composition, this won the 2019 George Butterworth Prize for composition.

In 2019 I joined label Nonclassical’s associate composer scheme, where I received mentoring and training from Gabriel Prokofiev in music production. I was commissioned by Southbank sinfonia for a piece integrating hip-hop aesthetics with orchestral music (Si(g)nification for Orchestra), and my piece Mvnt in Blue for piano was released on Nonclassical’s Outside the Lines vol. 3 EP.

I currently have a place on the Royal Philharmonic Society’s composer scheme, where I am receiving substantial guidance and training for how to develop my profile and career. The scheme also involves a commission with Manchester Camerata.

In Sep 2021 I was commissioned by director Dawn Walton to compose 5 songs for her production of Merlynn Tong’s Antigone, featuring an all-black cast. The production received a 5-star review in What’s on Stage magazine.

In 2022 I was one of five composers to work on a large-scale comic opera Gods of the Game, commissioned by Sky Arts, which had a run of seven shows and was broadcast in November 2022.”