The BBC has announced that there will be a special Young Composer Prom this year, featuring six newly commissioned works from the 2021 competition winners.

The Prom will take place on Saturday 30th July at Battersea Arts Centre, with the BBC Concert Orchestra led by conductor Alice Farnham.

BBC 100

The composers have been supported and mentored by Dobrinka Tabakova and Gavin Higgins on works that are inspired by the theme of 'BBC 100, celebrating 100 years of the BBC'.

Since its inception in 1998, BBC Young Composer initiative has launched numerous musical careers, with the scheme is committed to reaching a wide pool of talent of all technical abilities, backgrounds, and musical styles across the UK.

It has offered a platform young composers aged 12 to 18 from across the UK to further their artistic and professional ambitions.

It will become a biennial event from 2023.

Proud

Director of BBC Proms, David Pickard stated: "Seeing the talent that comes through BBC Young Composer is one of the highlights of my year, and I am delighted that we will be celebrating them with the first ever BBC Young Composer Prom in our 2022 season.

The future of music is very bright, and I'm proud that this scheme continues to help develop the composers of the future."

Quality and creativity

Mentor Gavin Higgins added: "2020 and 2021 was incredibly hard for young people in the UK and so I was overwhelmed by the quality and creativity I saw from our young composers.

With twice as many entries to the BBC Young Composer Scheme than in previous years, and the standard of work incredibly high, the future of music in the UK is in safe hands.

The support the BBC provides to the next generation of creatives is more important than ever, and I am thrilled that the BBC has decided to support not only the winners of this year's competition, but also many others who impressed the judges with their skill, creativity, and craft."

He added: "Music really does change lives, and these young composers have bright futures ahead of them."

Music really does change lives, and these young composers have bright futures ahead of themGavin Higgins

New resources

In addition, the 2022 BBC Young Composer scheme launches a new package of resources, development opportunities and events for teachers and students across the UK to support the music-makers of the next generation.

These will include films, lesson plans and special access to an innovative tool from Spitfire Audio to schools across the country — with the hope to inspire more young people to get creative with music and consider a career in the music industry.

There will also be a new programme of live and online activity for teachers, schools and young people available from July, offering a variety of opportunities to learn and create with BBC Young Composer, including a full day of workshops in the summer open to all young musicians interested in creating their own music aged 12 — 18.

Workshops

Further schools workshops will be on offer later in the year, with a focus on increasing skills and confidence in music composition.

The BBC Young Composer Network will also launch, which is a new database for teachers, schools, and partners to sign-up for access to Continuing Professional Development (teacher training) activities and resources.