In our Alumni Spotlight series, we celebrate the journeys of artists who have been part of our programmes and find out what they’re up to now. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Nneka Cummins, a boundary-pushing composer and producer who joined our New Voices programme in 2022.
Nneka Cummins (they/them) is a British-born Nigerian-Bahamian composer whose vibrant sonic world blends groove-driven rhythms, extended techniques, and sampled electronics into richly textured soundscapes. Drawing inspiration from Afrofuturism and deconstruction, Nneka creates flowing, organic melodies that challenge and reframe what contemporary classical music can be.
Originally self-taught, Nneka studied Law and qualified as a solicitor before committing to composition. Their formal music training began in 2020 at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where they received both the Gareth Neame and Trinity College London Scholarships and later the Director’s Prize for Excellence in Composition. Their work was featured at the Trinity Laban Gold Medal Showcase 2022 at Kings Place, London.
New Voices and Beyond
In 2022, Nneka joined the New Voices programme, where they developed a new electroacoustic work, culminating in a presentation at the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room for nonclassical’s Outside the Lines concert (May 2024) and the release of the ‘Saplings EP’ [2025].
‘Track 1‘ of Saplings was also featured on nonclassical’s ‘Outside The Lines Vol. 7′ [2024], a sonically-diverse collection of music from Nonclassical’s Artists in Residence and the seventh edition of the annual compilation. A series described by The Wire as “a useful sampler of adventurous work by emerging artists.”
Nneka Cummins performing at Trinity Laban © Tas Kyprianou
Reflecting on their New Voices experience, they said:
“Sound and Music gave me the space and budget to more deeply explore my electroacoustic practice. My project provided experimentation time with players and my mentoring sessions were technical and focused.
Most crucially, my project leader Fiona Allison was so incredibly knowledgeable and encouraging as I was navigating this growth period.”
Recognition and Recent Projects
Nneka’s talent has been widely recognised. In 2021, they won the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Rushworth Composition Prize and saw their work Metal Tapestry performed by Ensemble 10:10.
They were selected for the Philharmonia Composer Academy 2022–2023, and their orchestral work ‘3 Planets‘ premiered at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in May 2023. It was later released on NMC Recordings as part of the label’s 35th anniversary compilation. That same year, they received a prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation Artist Award.
Nneka is currently a resident artist with nonclassical (2023–2025) and has a major new piece, ‘finding gills [while they try to drown you]‘ for orchestra and electronics, which was performed at Sinfonia Smith Square.
Nneka Cummins performing at Trinity Laban © Tas Kyprianou
They will make their Wigmore Hall debut on 19 July 2025, where ‘Jiri agba (with colour)‘ [2025] will be performed by Ubuntu Ensemble as part of the African Concert Series.
Other exciting performances include the world premiere of ‘Awake‘ [2024] by The Marian Consort at the Harrogate Music Festival on 6 July 2025, and a new orchestral work to be performed by Chineke! at the Southbank Centre on 29 November 2025, as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations.
Nneka’s recent and upcoming projects reflect a commitment to pushing boundaries and creating works that are both experimental and emotionally resonant — always grounded in healing, community, and innovation.
Listen: Sapling(s) EP
Nneka’s recent release, Sapling(s) [2025], is a three-track suite of powerful electroacoustic compositions, released on 28 February 2025. Each piece is accompanied by a visual performance, available on Nneka’s YouTube channel.
“Sapling(s) is a vibrant collection of 3 sonic worlds generated from glitched and live wind instruments. The sapling(s) are experiments, ideas in germination and bursts of creative potential ripe for future exploration.”
This work was made possible through Sound and Music’s New Voices programme, with support from Arts Council England, PRS Foundation and the Vaugahn Williams Foundation.
Listen: 3 Planets (Philharmonia Composers’ Academy Volume 6)
Each year, the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Composers’ Academy invites a select group of emerging composers to write a new chamber work for an ensemble of Philharmonia players. These pieces are workshopped, recorded, and released by NMC Recordings as part of an annual compilation. In 2023, Nneka was one of the featured composers, and their piece, ‘3 Planets‘, was included in Volume 6, released on 27 October 2023.
“3 Planets felt underdeveloped for a long time… until suddenly it wasn’t. At times, composing this piece was a personal test of creative faith, but it certainly was a joy and privilege to work with Philharmonia Orchestra to test and perform these ideas.”
3 Planets explores the contrasting atmospheres of three celestial bodies through a blend of extended instrumental techniques and custom-built sampled sounds. Nneka constructed a sampler early in the process to bring cohesion across the movements, preserving distinctive timbres for each one to carve out unique sonic identities. The combination of live instruments with integrated electronics created a textured and exploratory trio of sonic realms.
Join us in shaping the future of new music
We are proud to have supported Nneka Cummins through New Voices, helping nurture their bold, genre-defying voice. Programmes like New Voices and In Motion empower music creators across the UK to bring radical new music to life.
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