New Music - Composers to Get Excited About in 2023

It’s time to celebrate some exciting emerging composers making waves in the UK.

At DEBUT, we love looking to the future of classical music and celebrating the brilliance of the musicians around us. Over the last year I have been stunned by some of the new music I have seen coming out of the UK’s composition scene. As a bass clarinettist I’ve learnt to think creatively about the music I play and the collaborations I make, and along the way I’ve had the immense pleasure of working with some ground-breaking emerging composers. If you’re excited about new music (or are just beginning to discover this world), take a look at four of our favourites for 2023!

by Hannah Shilvock

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Ben Nobuto

Ben Nobuto is a British/Japanese composer, pianist and producer from Kent. Ben’s music draws on internet culture and popular idioms in a playful, iron and surreal manner, and often explores how memory and meaning are transmitted and embedded in sound. Ben has just won the Chamber-Scale composition award at the Royal Philharmonic Society 2023!
Ben’s music has been commissioned by some big names such as: the Manchester Collective, CBSO, Manchester Camerata, Ligeti Quartet, NYCGB and Birmingham Contermporary Music Group - and he has been recently played on BBC Radio 6 & Times Radio amongst others.

Top picks:

• Ben’s ‘BentoBeats’ series on his instagram @nobuto - which is a series of short virtual collaborations with a huge variety of different musicians, merged with captivating animations (also created by the multi-talented Ben!)

• Ben has a stunning new piece for 8 singers called ‘Sol’, released at the start of February as part of a new album by NYCGB.

Future exciting projects:

Ben has a new album coming out this year which I had the pleasure of recording bass clarinet for! I promise you it is going to be an absolute treat for your ears. Follow him for future announcements!

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Olivia Murphy

Olivia Murphy is a multi-award winning composer, conductor & improvisor based in South-East London. After studying jazz saxophone at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Olivia turned to composition as her main focus. Olivia puts herself in role of the story-teller with her composing, using her music to serve as an emotional outlet and to bring memories to life.
From 2020-2022, Olivia was composer-in-residence for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, MD’ing for the band in major venues such as Ronnie Scotts, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Derry Jazz Festival. Olivia has also recently formed her own jazz orchestra - OMJO!

Top Picks:

• Olivia Murphy Jazz Orchestra EP: ‘Somewhere, Not So Far Away (live)’. 4 new original compositions performed by 21 incredible musicians recorded at Birmingham Symphony Hall.

• ‘Four’ for solo vibraphone, premiered in the US. This is one of my personal favourite pieces by Olivia, she uses the vibraphone to create such a captivating sound-world!

Future exciting projects:

Look out for more live dates for OMJO coming in 2023… soon to be announced! You won’t want to miss the captivating live show.

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Zygmund de Somogyi

Zygmund is a British-Filipino composer, artist, writer and performer currently living in London. Their work combines meta-modernism, digital folklore and recontextualisation of genre through concert works, studio albums, film scores and interdisciplinary projects. Zygmund has had their music performed all over the world including in Canada, the USA, Malaysia, Ireland, Germany and Cyprus.
Interestingly, Zymund’s inspiration is drawn from a wide array of diverse areas - most notably punk music!

Outside of composition, Zygmund is artistic director and editor of contemporary music magazine PRXLUDES, championing the work of emerging composers.

Top Picks:

• Psychological-horror opera ‘hikikomori!’ - commissioned by Opera in Oborne. The opera was written in 2021, exploring self-isolation, grief, healing and returning to a new and possibly more fearful society.

• ‘Close Your Eyes and Think About Someone You Love’ for 10 saxophonists and 8 percussionists, written in 2020. The sound world in this piece is truly captivating, I LOVE the instrumentation, and urge you to take a listen!

Future exciting projects:

Zygmund will be joining the ‘Promising Composers’ at Salastina (LA Chamber Music Series) this year - creating a chamber ensemble work to premiere this summer in Calfornia!

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Millicent B James

Millicent B James is a multi-talented composer, performer & artist based in Birmingham. She combines gospel, jazz and afro-futurism to create a whole myriad of sonorities within her music. Millicent is continually inspired by her Jamaican heritage, African Mythology and her own personal life story.
Millicent has been chosen by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain’s Young Composers scheme for 2023!

Top picks:

• ‘Moyo, Vol. 2’ EP - available on spotify and other streaming platforms.

• BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room: Lemar Session - three pieces arranged and conducted by Milicent B James, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra featuring Lemar.

Future exciting projects:

Look out for the release of ‘Come Show Them the River’, performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, later this year on NMC recordings, commissioned as part of their centenary celebrations.

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