OPUS 1
For aspiring or developing composers, we offer the chance to work with our musicians and mentors to develop your skills as a music creator.
Whether you’re early in your career, have recently completed further or higher education, are self-taught, or approaching composition later in life or from another career path, Opus 1 is principally designed to support those who have had limited or no opportunities to work with professional musicians.
Each year, six music creators are selected to write for a trio of Britten Sinfonia musicians. With guidance from internationally recognised composer and Programme Director Dani Howard, and with support from some of the UK’s leading chamber musicians, composers will develop and test their ideas in a workshop session before submitting their completed pieces for a Britten Sinfonia concert performance.
As a music creator on Opus 1, you will receive a standard bursary of £250, with additional travel expenses available for those based outside London or the East of England. The programme is open to applicants of all ages, educational backgrounds and qualification levels.
The 2025 application process has now closed. Sign up to our newsletter, or follow us on social media for updates on the 2026 application round.
Meet our 2025 Opus 1 composers
“I feel I have learnt such a great deal from this experience, not just about composition, but about how to carry myself as a musician and how to work collaboratively with others.”
What are the aims of the scheme?
Britten Sinfonia is widely recognised for its commitment to supporting and nurturing early-career artists and composers.
The aims of the Opus 1 programme are:
- To provide accessible opportunities for aspiring and early-career composers to collaborate with professional musicians.
- To encourage the exchange of musical ideas and support composers in developing their skills in writing for orchestral instruments.
- To highlight music creators under-represented in the classical music sector and to promote greater fluidity between musical genres.
How will it work?
The six selected composers will be asked to write a trio for flute, viola and harp. The first workshop will be delivered remotely and is an opportunity for composers to receive instrument demonstrations and notation advice before producing their initial ideas. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
Composers will then receive an online tutorial with Programme Director, Dani Howard to discuss their ideas before the second session.
The second session will be delivered in person at a mutually convenient location for the composers and musicians. Each composer will have an individual session (55 mins) with the musicians and Programme Director, to explore the work done between workshops and receive constructive feedback ahead of submitting their new work for performance.
Composers will have the opportunity for a second tutorial with Dani to further refine their ideas and discuss the feedback from the workshop. They will be required to submit their final draft three weeks prior to the performance.
The Opus Horizons Showcase will take place at 5.30pm on Saturday 15 November at Kings Place, London. The rehearsal and performance will be recorded for personal use.
Bursaries
The six selected composers will each receive a standard bursary of £250 for their contribution to the programme, with some discretionary travel budget available for those based outside London or the East of England.
“Opus 1 has made me feel more confident about the music that I write, helping me to rediscover a love for composing by working with a really high calibre of ensemble. There was a collaborative richness that emerged from working with the same people over an extended period of time (not just the musicians, but also the wider organisation in general), and the culmination of the scheme in a high-quality concert/recording offered additional meaning and motivation to the process.”
Am I eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for Opus 1 you must:
- Be over 18 years old at the point of applying.
- Have been based in the UK for the last two years.
- Plan to remain resident in the UK for the duration of the programme.
- Provide one score and either recordings or MIDI samples of your work.
- You must be available for the key dates outlined during the application process.
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Any questions?
If you have any additional questions or would like to get in touch about Opus 1, please contact Chris Bell (chris.bell@brittensinfonia.com) and he will respond as soon as he can.
Britten Sinfonia Opus is made possible with the generous support of PRS Foundation, the Garrick Charitable Trust, and the Thriplow Charitable Trust.
Learn about previous Opus 1 composers
Ed Driver
Opus 1 composer, 2023
Ed Driver is a British composer currently based in London. He read music at the University of Birmingham, where he studied with Michael Zev Gordon and Ryan Latimer, and upon graduation he was awarded the COMPASS Composition Prize in association with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He studied with Kenneth Hesketh and Dai Fujikura for a master’s degree in composition at the Royal College of Music, where he was an H R Taylor Charitable Trust Scholar, also holding a Vaughan Williams Bursary.
Janet Wheeler
Opus 1 composer, 2023
Janet read music at Cambridge, studying composition with Robin Holloway. After running a school music department and working as a producer for BBC Schools Radio, she has specialised in composing and conducting, mostly working in choral music. She has been commissioned by ORA Singers, NYCGB,, Papagena, Lincoln’s Inn and Ely Cathedral. "Film Noir", written for Onyx Brass in 2021, won the JAM president’s award. Her music is performed in many cathedrals and college chapels and has been sung at the Three Choirs Festival, and by BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus on BBC Radio 3.
Erin Thomson
Opus 1 composer, 2023
Erin Thomson (b. 2000) is an award-winning Scottish composer from the outskirts of Glasgow whose work has recently been performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martyn Brabbins and was awarded the Musicians’ Company Silver Medal in 2022 at their installation dinner in Goldsmiths Hall, London. She has had her work performed across Scotland; in Aberdeen, St Andrews and Orkney as well as venues such as the prestigious Glasgow’s City Halls and Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. Erin's work has also received international acclaim, having been performed in New York City in 2022.
Sam Greening
Opus 1 composer, 2024
Sam Greening recently graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a Distinction in his Masters Degree, working across concert music, theatre, and dance. Sam is interested in high contrast, continuously shifting tempi, and subtly placed sounds, all within simple gestural forms. EXAUDI premiered his setting of Marina Tsvetayeva's Insomnia 8, a shell where the ocean is still sounding. Collaborative projects include Work-in-Progress, with writer Sam Redway-Wells, and music for choreographer Hebe Salmon's piece Giselle, this time it's about me which premiered at The Place. Sam received the King's College Bertram Faulkner Prize in his final year at Cambridge University.
Britten Sinfonia is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PLL.
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