Tom discusses his career since completing his MusM in Composition

by | Sep 13, 2021 | Alumni/careers, Arts, Postgraduate | 0 comments

Tom, a MusM Composition (Instrumental and Vocal) Graduate, now working as a Composer for Faber Music discusses his career since leaving the University of Manchester.

“I’m a composer of notated music – I’ve written pieces for BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, and the Philharmonia, and am currently working on commissions for BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and London Sinfonietta. In many of my pieces, I try to combine a sense of wit, invention and playfulness with a sensuousness or luxuriousness in sound.

I enjoy being a composer because music is the best thing in the world – I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. More specifically: when, after months of difficult work, a piece seems to gain enough momentum to take off and the ideas come thick and fast, the excitement is really intoxicating. It’s maybe only bettered by the experience of finally hearing a piece performed well by great musicians.

My studies at the University of Manchester were absolutely crucial to my development as a composer – I received inspiring and meticulous tuition on my pieces, was part of a rewarding community of composers, and benefitted from the University’s admirable emphasis on giving performance opportunities for composers.

I heard so much of my music – such a number, range and calibre of performance opportunities is unheard of in a university environment. The experience, confidence and recordings that I acquired as a result of this commitment to performing composers’ work were invaluable in entering the professional world as a composer.”

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