Errollyn Wallen: The Composers’ Fund

Thomas Trotter, John Butt and Errollyn Wallen are all King’s alumni and this recording project celebrates the rich legacy of British musicians who have passed through the chapel doors. Errollyn is extremely honoured to have been commissioned by Thomas and John , whose performances of her music have had a significant impact on her compositional development. It was singing in King’s Voices that Errollyn first came to work with John, with Stephen Cleobury giving the premiere of the BBC commission Our English Heart for BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra and Catherine Bott for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. The themes and inspiration of the music on this forthcoming recording range from stories of the sea from Tudor times and beyond, setting biblical, religious, original and historic texts — and a virtuosic work in praise of the tiger.

Errollyn Wallen MBE is an internationally renowned composer and performer who is the first black female to have a work featured in the BBC Proms. Her prolific output includes seventeen operas to date and awards include the Ivor Novello Award for Classical Music and a British Composer Award. She composed two large scale works for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games for London 2012. Errollyn founded her own Orchestra X (their motto: “we don’t break down barriers in music…we don’t see any”) whose latest orchestral album, PHOTOGRAPHY, was voted Top Ten Classical Albums of 2016 by USA’s National Public Radio. Errollyn Wallen was included in BBC 100 Women 2018.