We use cookies on this website to improve the experience we provide. By continuing to use our site you agree to this, or visit our cookie policy to manage your settings.
Saved courses
Search website

Composition alumni

Undergraduate

Segun Akinola

"My time studying at RBC was vital because I had fantastic one-on-one tutors who understood me and helped me work on my weaknesses as well as my strengths. They opened my ears to music I’d never heard before which had a lasting impact on me."

  • MA degree in Composing for Film and Television, at the National Film and Television School.
  • Named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2017
  • Served as the music director and composer for Doctor Who from "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" (2018) until "The Power of the Doctor" (2022).
  • His "Dear Mr Shakespeare" score was given an Honourable Mention in the 2017 BSO Jerry Goldsmith Award for Best Original Score for a Short Film.
  • In 2019, Akinola received a nomination at the Screen Nation Awards in the "Rising Star" category. He was nominated for his work on Black and British: A Forgotten History, Doctor Who, and Wonders of the Moon.

Charlotte Bray

"I first began composing at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, having previously studied cello. There, I was given a wonderful freedom to find my own voice while being gently guided through various music and styles. This experience left me with strong foundations and the confidence to pursue a career as a composer on my own terms."

  • Winner of the 2019 Ivor Novello Award and 2010 RPS Composition Prize
  • Commissions from BBC Symphony Orchestra, ROH, LSO, and DSO Berlin
  • Featured at BBC Proms, Aldeburgh, Aix-en-Provence, Verbier and more
  • Composer-in-residence roles in Geneva, Kuhmo, Spannungen, Oxford
  • Portrait discs released on NMC and RTF; praised in The Guardian and Gramophone

Dr Kirsty Devaney

"My time at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire was influential in shaping my creative practice. It provided a supportive environment to explore new ideas and gain valuable hands-on experience collaborating with inspiring musicians. The values and skills I developed during my undergraduate studies continue to shape my professional and creative work."

  • BASCA British Composer Award finalist; works broadcast on BBC Radio 3
  • Commissions include LSO, Quatuor Bozzini, Orchestra of the Swan
  • Founder of the Young Composers Project at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
  • Winner of the BERA Anna Craft Prize for educational research
  • Active voice advocating for equity in music education and within contemporary composition

Daniel Fardon

"RBC's Composition Department had a profound impact on my development as a music creator, collaborator, and person. The department’s uniquely open and innovative spirit—shared by both staff and students—creates an environment where artists are empowered to truly thrive."

  • 2020 Ivor Novello Award and 2018 RPS Composition Prize winner
  • Commissions from LSO, BCMG, Britten Sinfonia, Carducci Quartet
  • Former Wigmore Hall Apprentice Composer; regular BBC Radio 3 broadcasts
  • Composed and conducted 2-hour theatrical Symphony of Us for Coventry UK City of Culture
  • Teacher of Composition and Academic Music at The Purcell School for Young Musicians
  • Commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra to write the original music for a series of children’s concerts based on the book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers.
  • Artistic director of Hackney Music Live, a charity which brings intimate and accessible concerts to the Borough of Hackney's hidden gems, celebrating world-class musicians.

Andy Ingamells

"I came to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for my BMus and returned later to pursue a PhD, drawn by a department that genuinely welcomed experimental ideas and encouraged me test them out in galleries, nightclubs, and concert halls. That openness to collaboration across disciplines and unconventional presentation still shapes how I compose – and how I teach today at Cork School of Music in Ireland."

  • Interdisciplinary composer-performer working internationally with a focus on experimental music that merges composition and performance.
  • Commissions from institutions including Museum Ostwall, Deutschlandfunk, Cheltenham Festival, IKON Gallery, and Sound and Music.
  • Collaborations with Turner Prize-winner Susan Philipsz on large-scale public artworks for Tate Britain and Station Clock (2014–2023).
  • Co-creator of critically acclaimed duet works with Seán Clancy and Kathryn Williams; performances broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and supported by PRSF.
  • Music performed by leading ensembles such as Bozzini Quartet, Apartment House and Orkest de Ereprijs.
  • Label Manager at Birmingham Record Company and Lecturer in Composition at Cork School of Music / MTU.
  • Recipient of major awards and funding from PRSF, Arts Council Ireland, Help Musicians, Jerwood Foundation, and shortlisted for the George Fitzmaurice Award (2023).
  • Featured in The Times, The Wire, Frieze, Tempo, and Deutschlandfunk Kultur; described as “curiously life-enhancing” and “completely remarkable”.
  • Invited to present at leading institutions including Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

Rob Jones

"Looking back, my years at Birmingham Conservatoire (2011-2015) were an incredible period of growth. It wasn't just about new experiences; it was where I truly learned the power of collaboration, a skill that's become a cornerstone of my career. In fact, I credit those lessons directly with enabling me to launch Misfits Music Institute, my music charity that's now making a real difference for people across the West Midlands."

  • Adopt a Composer 2020 - Broadcast on BBC Radio 3
  • Written short opera for Dutch National Opera (Amsterdam)
  • Music Performed in Turkey, South Africa, Croatia, The Netherlands, Switzerland and others
  • Co-Founded Misfits Music Institute
  • Misfits Music Institute was Highly Commended in 2024 BBC Radio WM Make a Difference Awards (Community Category)
  • Raised over £620,000 in grant funding for community music projects in the West Midlands 2018-2025
  • Awarded the BMus Course Prize 2015 from Birmingham Conservatoire
  • Highly Commended in BBC Young Composers Competition 2012

Frank Moon

"Birmingham Conservatoire offered me the freedom on the composition course that I needed, especially the encouragement and opportunity to study different global musical cultures. This has had the biggest impact on my career - the influence of other musical cultures has been present in all my work ever since."

  • Composer for Royal Ballet, ROH, and international dance-theatre
  • Scored Salome (San Francisco Ballet) and The Metamorphosis (ROH)
  • Nominated for National Dance Awards for Outstanding Creative Contribution
  • Performs at BBC Proms, Glastonbury, Royal Opera House, and abroad
  • Known for live oud playing in film scores and cross-genre performances

Benjamin Stefanski [also known as Raffertie]

"There are many aspects of my education at the Conservatoire that have shaped and remain part of my work, in a foundational, conceptual, but also in a pragmatic sense, which I feel has allowed me to have a chance at making a living in music. I think back fondly on inspiring, sometimes humbling, composition lessons that I feel helped me to have new perspectives on my own work, while also giving me confidence to pursue music."

  • Acclaimed electronic artist and Ivor Novello winning composer for Best Original Score
  • Credits include Academy nominated film ‘The Substance’, and Emmy / BAFTA winning TV show 'I May Destroy You’.
  • Known for genre-blending production and orchestral-electronic fusion
  • Early work released on Ninja Tune; supported by BBC Radio 1 and Pitchfork
  • Scores featured on Netflix, Amazon, and international platforms

Rosie Tunley

"The supportive staff in the Composition Department at RBC taught me that any form my music takes is valuable. As a songwriter, I felt nurtured and encouraged to pursue a career in composition both inside and outside the concert hall. This is where I discovered my love for multi-disciplinary live events - something I now produce professionally."

  • Debut album 'Night Creature' praised by The Quietus & Electronic Sound Magazine
  • UK-wide tours with standout support slots for BEAK>, Stealing Sheep, Submotion Orchestra & Flamingods
  • Commissioned for immersive sound projects by Coventry City of Culture, Birmingham Commonwealth Games & LUSH Cosmetics
  • Supported by Sound UK & PRS Foundation for an electronic & choral project with Ukrainian vocal ensemble Kozachky
  • Programme producer for NightGarden Festival, “an affordable and inclusive audiovisual adventure" (Creative Tourist)
  • Founder of Kikimora Records, championing female & gender-expansive artists in experimental/electronic music
  • 5 years as Programme Co-ordinator for the internationally renowned Supersonic Festival in Birmingham.

Postgraduate

Dr Kirsty Devaney

"My time at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire was influential in shaping my creative practice. It provided a supportive environment to explore new ideas and gain valuable hands-on experience collaborating with inspiring musicians. The values and skills I developed during my undergraduate studies continue to shape my professional and creative work."

  • BASCA British Composer Award finalist; works broadcast on BBC Radio 3
  • Commissions include LSO, Quatuor Bozzini, Orchestra of the Swan
  • Founder of the Young Composers Project at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
  • Winner of the BERA Anna Craft Prize for educational research
  • Active voice advocating for equity in music education and within contemporary composition

Bobbie-Jane Gardner

"Studying at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire was the best decision I made for my career in music. After several years working as a professional composer in the community, my postgraduate studies gave me the knowledge, confidence and freedom to explore various new and experimental approaches to composing. I was helped to discover who I was as a composer and create an identity outside of collaborative composition."

  • Commissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Ex Cathedra, Grand Union, Heart n Soul, London Symphony Orchestra, Spitalfields Music, Onyx Brass, Persona Arts, Punch Records, the Stringcredibles, Tom Kerstens’s G Plus Ensemble, Vivid Projects and Wild Plum Arts.
  • Arrangements for various ensembles including for opera singer Byron Jackson, the BBC Concert Orchestra and Alicia Keys, in support of a special arrangement for Netflix’s Queen Charlotte series.
  • Worked with film makers, visual artists, choreographers, theatre makers and chefs.
  • Her most ambitious project was a citywide musical ode to her home town called ‘for-Wards’, working with over 800 Brummies.
  • Worked with Academy award-nominated filmmaker & photographer Brian Cross (B+) on music of the unseen which celebrates seminal composer-arrangers.
  • Her music has been performed nationally at Cheltenham Music Festival, Birmingham’s Frontiers Festival, London Jazz Festival and internationally, including the United States.

Andy Ingamells

"I came to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for my BMus and returned later to pursue a PhD, drawn by a department that genuinely welcomed experimental ideas and encouraged me test them out in galleries, nightclubs, and concert halls. That openness to collaboration across disciplines and unconventional presentation still shapes how I compose – and how I teach today at Cork School of Music in Ireland."

  • Interdisciplinary composer-performer working internationally with a focus on experimental music that merges composition and performance.
  • Commissions from institutions including Museum Ostwall, Deutschlandfunk, Cheltenham Festival, IKON Gallery, and Sound and Music.
  • Collaborations with Turner Prize-winner Susan Philipsz on large-scale public artworks for Tate Britain and Station Clock (2014–2023).
  • Co-creator of critically acclaimed duet works with Seán Clancy and Kathryn Williams; performances broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and supported by PRSF.
  • Music performed by leading ensembles such as Bozzini Quartet, Apartment House and Orkest de Ereprijs.
  • Label Manager at Birmingham Record Company and Lecturer in Composition at Cork School of Music / MTU.
  • Recipient of major awards and funding from PRSF, Arts Council Ireland, Help Musicians, Jerwood Foundation, and shortlisted for the George Fitzmaurice Award (2023).
  • Featured in The Times, The Wire, Frieze, Tempo, and Deutschlandfunk Kultur; described as “curiously life-enhancing” and “completely remarkable”.
  • Invited to present at leading institutions including Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

Maya Verlak

"The teachers at the RBC's composition department believed in my potential, offering the unfettered freedom and dedicated time necessary to blossom into a professional composer. The profound trust they placed in me was a powerful catalyst, empowering me with the confidence to relentlessly pursue and secure a thriving career in composition."

  • Commissions from Brussels Philharmonic (BE), Ensemble Klang (NL), Hermes Ensemble (BE), Nemo Ensemble (BE), Asko/Schonberg Ensemble (NL), Ensemble A.pe.ri.od.ic (USA), Ensemble Interface (DE), Apartment House (UK), International Ensemble Modern Academy (DE)
  • Composer- in-residence with Ensemble Klang (NL)
  • Portrait discs released on Another Timbre (UK), Ensemble Klang Records (NL) and Birmingham Record Company (UK)
  • Book publication with Instrument Inventors Initiative’s Blueprint series, NL
  • Senior composition teacher at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam (NL) since 2018
  • Member of instrument Inventors Initiative since 2019
  • Received AHRC Midlands3Cities funding for Doctoral studies in 2015-2018
  • Curator and co-founder of Post-Paradise concert series, (UK), PIY scores (NL), Research concert cycle (NL)