Frequently Asked Questions

At Sound and Music, we support anyone who wants to make music and sound. We enable individuals to challenge expectations and discover their potential, and act as a friendly guide for those who want to listen deeper.  

Our work sustains more careers, progresses creativity and achieves greater equity across the UK. 

We are guided by our Fair Access Principles, a code of best practice which ensures our work is open and inclusive for all.  

Sound and Music is supported by Arts Council England and proud to be a National Youth Music Organisation.  

Sound and Music works across the UK.

Our office is based in Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green in East London. Find out more about Oxford House

We work flexibly with a mix of in-office and remote working. 

We use the term ‘composer’ to describe any individual who creates new work using sound or music, whether they perform it themselves or write for others — and whether they work with software, with notes on paper, through improvisation, or in other ways.

Whatever your methodology, we know that a professional qualification is not a prerequisite for the role of creating exciting, new and innovative work.

We also know that the word composer conjures many (often unhelpful) images and ideas, and we are working hard daily to change that, to challenge perceptions and to reflect all those composing across the UK today.

In short, we want to support you to own the term composer, and to crack on with the most important thing — creating!

Meet some of the composers we are working with now

We support and showcase the breadth of new music activity across the UK through our platforms including The Sampler.

We cannot promise promotion, but as long as your activity appeals to our audiences we will try to help spread the word. 

Will Dutta - Chief Executive - will.dutta@soundandmusic.org

Hannah Bujic - Head of Artist Development - hannah.bujic@soundandmusic.org

Victoria Johnson-Henckel - Head of Digital and Audience Engagement - victoria.johnson@soundandmusic.org

Beatrice Hubble - Head of Education - beatrice.hubble@soundandmusic.org

Alex Wright - Head of Development - alex.wright@soundandmusic.org

Sonia Stevenson - Head of Music Patron - sonia.stevenson@soundandmusic.org

Nuria Rivero - Finance Manager - nuria.rivero@soundandmusic.org

Grace Bailey - Executive Administrator - grace.bailey@soundandmusic.org

Ella Fradgley - Communications Coordinator - ella.fradgley@soundandmusic.org

Temi Salau - Audience and Insight Executive - temi.salau@soundandmusic.org

Nathalie Meghriche - Composer Liaison Manager (Music Patron) - nathalie.meghriche@soundandmusic.org

Kunal Singhal - Patron Growth Manager (Music Patron) - kunal.singhal@soundandmusic.org

Nicole Rochman - Creative Project Leader - nicole.rochman@soundandmusic.org

Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis - Creative Project Leader / The Sampler - laonikos.pc@soundandmusic.org

Fiona Allison - Creative Project Leader - fiona.allison@soundandmusic.org

Eleanor Gribbin - Education Coordinator - eleanor.gribbin@soundandmusic.org

Chris Lillywhite - Fundraising Co-ordinator - chris.lillywhite@soundandmusic.org

We support and celebrate anyone working with music and sound across the UK through our artist development programmes: In the Making, for young composers aged 14-18 and In Motion, for those aged 18 and over. 

Our artist-led programmes run annually and build on 15 years of expertise to create a dynamic space for individuals to design and work on their own creative journey.  

In the Making is a 12-month programme supporting young composers to grow in confidence and expand their skills and creative ambition.

In Motion is an 18-month programme supporting 10 composers to experiment with new ways in how they make work and sustain their career. 

We strive to foster an active community by connecting composers across both programme and equipping individuals to share their creative knowledge, skills and enthusiasms.  

Further FAQs about our artist development programmes are available on this page.  

Click here if you’re 14-18 and would like to apply for In the Making 

Click here if you’re 18 and over and would like to register for In Motion 

In line with our Fair Access Principles whenever possible, we offer constructive feedback to unsuccessful applicants to our programmes.

This ensures that applicants understand why they were not selected, and above all should help them move forwards in a positive frame of mind.

We hope our feedback will encourage composers to reapply where relevant, or to apply successfully to other opportunities.

Our paid digital commissions invite composers, writers and researchers to explore untold stories and address barriers within new music, by responding to themes and topics that impact us all.  

We run four opportunities annually that are shaped by our Composer Advisory Group and hosted on the British Music Collection: a living archive of works and stories that celebrates the rich and diverse range of voices working in composition today. 

Individuals will receive a national platform for their work, publicity and support from our team. We offer fees of between £500 and £1,500 depending on the scale of the commission. 

Well, thank you for asking!  

As a charity, we rely on a number of sources to fund the vital work that we do. As budgets tighten and demand for support increases, it’s more important than ever to ensure we can guarantee the long-term future of our work.  

You can support the future of new music by making a donation. Your contribution will provide life-changing composition workshops for young composers, help sustain the careers of adult composers across the country and work towards a more inclusive and equitable new music scene for all. 

Find out more about what we do and make a donation. 

We are keen to offer experience where possible to those that are looking for it. Due to the high level of interest we open opportunities for internships, work experience and volunteering periodically across the year. Keep an eye on our homepage and social media for upcoming opportunities.

If you experience a technical issue with the website, please report it to info@soundandmusic.org

If your question has not been answered, please contact info@soundandmusic.org and we’ll aim to get back to you as soon as possible!  

Read below for FAQs about our artist development offers. 

Registration for In Motion is open from 1 December 2023 – 8 January 2024. During this time, if you are interested in applying for the programme you can register to be sent an application pack in early January.

We use the registration period as a way of letting people know about the programme without the pressure of applying in full. You can ask us questions (see our Infrequently Asked Questions sessions) or get in touch directly, to find out more about the programme and whether it’s right for you.

We also use the monitoring data we collect in the registration period to work out whether we need to do more to reach any under-represented groups. 

We offer both coaching and mentoring to composers on In Motion, as these offer different approaches to support. 

Coaching is a supported space where you can reflect on you, your wider work and where you would like it to go. You can explore what’s working well and potential strategies for overcoming barriers in your way. Your trained coach will listen without judgement, reflect and ask insightful questions to work with you in creating an empowering environment for you to reflect and work things out. 

A mentor is usually an expert in their field who can help you develop in your work by sharing their own skills and experiences. Like a coach, they will ask questions and encourage you, and may also signpost to other people or opportunities that may progress your development.

The selection panel includes members of the Sound and Music team and independent composers. More information about the selection process and who is on the panel will be available when we send out application packs in January.

We are guided by our Fair Access Principles, a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes.

We’re aiming to develop links between the composers on In Motion and on our young composer programme, In the Making.   

Working with young composers is a key skill development we we'd like all of our In Motion composers to take part in. We know that composers of all ages have a lot to offer to each other in terms of inspiration, learning and confidence building, and we want to create opportunities as part of these programmes for composers to get together (online and in person) and share ideas. Therefore, the content and context for the interactions between In Motion and In the Making composers comes from the composers themselves. This is a great opportunity to be playful and explore your work in a different context that will bring new perspective and clarity.

 There will be different ways in which In Motion composers can take part in this, which might range from setting a mini creative brief for a group of young composers or curating extracts for Minute of Listening (Sound and Music’s listening resource for classrooms), to providing a mentoring session or delivering a session at the Composition School. All In Motion composers will be expected to take part in some form – you don’t have to have any previous experience, and depending on what you choose to do there will be additional payment for your time. 

Don't panic! This application is not a measure of your musical or compositional achievements to date. We want to learn more about your musical interests and creative ideas, how we could best support you to explore this, and why you love making music. 

Our advice is always for you to be yourself in your application or Zoom interview. Our application process is designed to help you share this with us in the way that feels easiest for you.

Applicants will be selected on a monthly rolling basis throughout the application period of 1 January to 30 April 2024. If we do not accept your application straight away, you may be placed on our waiting list. Waiting list applicants are contacted no later than six weeks before the Composition School residential to confirm whether they have received a place.   

Please note that we expect a high number of applications for the programme and early application is advised.

All applications will be reviewed by two members of the Sound and Music team who have a wide variety of experience across the music sector.   

If you opt for a Zoom interview, you will be sent the photo and profiles of your interviewers beforehand. 

We are guided by our Fair Access Principles, a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes.