Laura Mvula

Award-winning composer and musician

Graduated in 2008

Originally hailing from the south Birmingham suburbs, musician Laura Mvula has become a high profile recording artist and composer. Her debut album, Sing to the Moon, was released in 2013, with an orchestral re-recording released in 2014. Her second album, The Dreaming Room, was released in 2016. Both albums were received to critical acclaim and garnered Mercury Prize nominations. The Dreaming Room also won the Album Award at the 2017 Ivor Novello awards.

Laura's achievements to date include her winning two MOBO awards – Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act – the Ivor Novello Album award in 2017, plus nominations for BRIT and Q awards, and two Mercury Music Prize nominations. She also composed the music for the 2017 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Antony and Cleopatra, which opened in Stratford and later transferred to The Barbican Centre.

Laura’s piece Sing to the Moon was performed at the BBC Last Night of The Proms 2019. In the same year Laura was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Birmingham City University for her services to music, presented to her by Chancellor Sir Lenny Henry.

When she was younger, Laura hated performing and she admits that when she arrived at Birmingham Conservatoire to study a BMus (Hons) in Composition she was very shy and uncertain of which direction she wanted to go in musically but her confidence soon developed.

"Being around a lot of excited musicians who were happy to be doing what they're doing was an amazing experience. Studying there taught me confidence," she explained.