The RPS Composers programme is a development programme for promising UK-based composers establishing their careers. We offer a paid commission and premiere with a noted ensemble, venue or festival, dedicated mentoring, and professional support to help composers embed the skills, confidence and networks needed to build sustainable careers.
Applications for the 2026 RPS Composers programme are open now. Here follows information on the programme and how to apply. If you may like this information in a different format, for accessibility reasons, please call us on 020 7287 0019 or use our online contact form by clicking this link, and we will do our best to help.
Establishing yourself as a professional composer is rarely easy and, in a challenging funding landscape following the consequences of the pandemic, this has undoubtedly become even harder.
Annually, the RPS Composers programme aims to transform the prospects of promising UK-based composers. We are pleased to welcome applications for the 2026 programme.
Besides offering a paid commission – performed with one of a range of noted ensembles, venues and festivals – we support a cohort of composers at critical turning points in establishing their careers, helping them develop the skills and confidence they need to seek further commissions and performances of their own beyond the programme. We’re looking for composers secure in their compositional writing who are in the early stages of their careers and will benefit from a year-long range of sessions and activities. Composers will join us for some preliminary sessions later in 2025, before the programme fully gets underway in January 2026.
The RPS Composers programme includes the opportunity to meet and draw insights from key figures in the music business and professional composers, group sessions to fuel your confidence and ability to promote yourself and your music, and individual sessions looking at your own personal objectives and how we might help you fulfil them. Through the programme, we aim to give you an insight into the range of settings in which you and your music can have real impact, encouraging you to think more about the scope of everything you can do as a professional composer.
deadline: 25.03.25
Timeline
4 February 2025: applications open
25 March 2025: applications close at 11am
April-May 2025: applications reviewed by expert panel
June 2025: all applicants will be notified if they have been shortlisted by the end of the month
4 July 2025: interviews for shortlisted applicants will take place
28 July 2025: introductory meeting for cohort
September 2025: places and partner ensembles and organisations will be confirmed
October 2025: the 2026 RPS Composers programme cohort will be announced
Autumn 2025: initial sessions and conversations with partner ensembles and organisations
January 2026: professional development sessions continue and composers begin writing
April-December 2026: composers receive their premieres
By being selected for the programme, we will proudly present you as an RPS Composer, part of a lineage that goes back to Beethoven and Mendelssohn, and has more recently supported composers like Charlotte Bray and Daniel Kidane, helping you get the recognition your music deserves. Your continued success matters to us and, once the programme is over, we aim to find an occasion to bring the cohort back together, giving you chance to reflect with us and each other on what you have achieved resulting from your RPS experience and what further resolutions you next need to make.
'The RPS Composers programme is an incredibly thoughtfully structured programme which supports composers at a crucial time in their development. The professional development sessions were brilliantly programmed and a great opportunity to brush up on skills and connect with important people in the industry. Working with my partner organisation allowed me to experiment musically and explore ideas of spatialisation in sound which I had not previously had the time or space to consider. This resulted in a performance at a major UK festival and a second performance in London.' Soosan Lolavar, RPS Composer 2023
'The RPS Composers programme came at a perfect time for me. I felt confident in my abilities as a composer and artist but was unsure of the place that my work had within the wider landscape of contemporary music in the UK. I had reached a point in my career where I'd had some professional success but felt I lacked knowledge to reach the next stage. Through the commission and professional development sessions, this opportunity made it clearer for me to see what my next steps will be to continue building a career as a freelance composer.' Fergus Hall, RPS Composer 2024
What does the RPS offer?
Usually we grant around seven or eight commissions which we expect to have a value of £3,000 each, for a chamber or solo work plus its premiere performance with a leading ensemble, venue or festival in the UK. Each of these valued partners plays a vital role in your experience, giving you a practical insight into their creative work and how you as a composer can most fruitfully collaborate with more organisations like them in future. Additionally, from Autumn 2025 you will attend a number of sessions and workshops through the year designed for you to make plans and enable you to establish a good footing in the music profession. You will meet contacts who will be invaluable for your future, who will offer specialist guidance and help you to address a range of practicalities of being a professional composer. Most of these sessions will take place remotely over Zoom, but we may hold some of them in person where it is practical to do so. We estimate all such activity will take place across approximately 15–20 days over the course of the year.
Our current cohort of composers is writing for 12 Ensemble, RLPO's Ensemble 10:10, Hebrides Ensemble, The Hermes Experiment, The Marian Consort, Presteigne Festival and Wigmore Hall Learning. To give you a general impression of what is offered, you can read about our current commissions and the composers fulfilling them on our website. While plans are still taking shape, we expect a similar range of opportunities to be offered in the year ahead. Before finalising our partners for 2026, we look forward to meeting shortlisted composers at interview and hearing more about your plans and aspirations.
With each partner, we will set the brief and parameters for the work you are going to write in the first months of the programme with a view to you being able to make significant headway with it from the start of 2026. Each will have its own submission date, likely a month or two before performance, and premieres are expected to take place from April to December 2026.
Who is it open to?
The programme is for composers of any nationality based in the UK who plan to build their career here. Accordingly, the content of our year-round sessions is based on principles and situations you will encounter in the UK music profession, and led by UK industry experts. Furthermore, we strive for our cohort of composers to meet online or in person as a group throughout the year, and it is anticipated that each composer will visit the UK ensemble, venue or festival for whom they are composing.
Vitally, you should be at a stage where you are able to demonstrate genuine commitment to establishing a career as a composer, both in what you write in your application, and also in the proficiency of the music you submit. For most people, this programme is likely to be most useful when you have already been working in the music profession in some capacity and are looking to reach the next level. You may have graduated in the last few years, or some time ago. Equally, a formal degree or equivalent qualification is not compulsory. We recognise that composers pursue many different routes at different stages in their lives, so we look forward to hearing your individual story.
Please note, this opportunity is not open to those studying at Undergraduate or Masters level from September 2025 onwards. If you are still studying, we recommend that you focus on all that your college or university can offer, and you’re welcome to apply in a future year. Composers working towards a PhD are welcome to apply if you are already working professionally to some extent alongside your studies. Equally, given its purpose to help establish your career, this opportunity is only for those aged 18 and above.
We're always keen to hear from those who have not considered applying to the RPS before, but you are equally welcome to apply again if you have in a previous year, so long as you take the time in your application to tell us what has been creatively occupying you since you last applied. If you are applying again, please don’t simply duplicate what you told us about yourself last time.
We are continually striving to address how we can minimise barriers to the widest possible range of applicants. We are proud to have adopted Sound and Music's Fair Access Principles, we work closely with Black Lives in Music, and we are also signed up to the Keychange initiative, aiming to achieve 50:50 parity of marginalised genders in the composers we support. We warmly welcome applications from composers of all backgrounds, particularly under-represented demographics, such as those who represent the global majority, those who are disabled, and those from working class backgrounds. If you feel that any part of our offer – or the experience in applying for it – could inhibit you or another candidate from applying, please do let us know (our contact details are below) and we will be happy to address this.
What is the process?
Applications can be made via our online application form. Applicants should complete the form themselves where possible, but may elect another person to complete it on their behalf if needed. You will also need to submit two of your compositions for consideration by our panel – details of how to do this can be found in the Application Guidelines. We will notify all applicants if they have been selected for interview by the end of June, and thank you for your patience. Selected applicants will be invited to a short interview in July – to be held on Zoom – to talk more about your music and aspirations.
What does it cost to apply?
There is no application fee or cost to apply.
When is the closing date?
The closing date is 11am on Tuesday 25 March 2025. We regret we cannot consider any applications or supporting materials received after that time.
Is this the 'RPS Composition Prize'?
Yes, this is the opportunity previously known as the 'RPS Composition Prize' though we changed the name a few years ago to reflect that it offers more of a lasting association with the Royal Philharmonic Society, given that its recipients join our distinguished roster of composers which dates back 200 years.
If you have any further questions, please contact our Administrator Emily Porter on admin@philharmonicsociety.uk or 020 7287 0019.
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