Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence Scheme 2026-27
We invite music creators, composers, sound artists and creative practitioners who are currently studying in any year of undergraduate or postgraduate study at Music at Royal Holloway to submit an application for this special 10th anniversary opportunity.
What is it?
The Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence scheme is a unique opportunity to create new work in response to Royal Holloway's wonderful art collection and the Picture Gallery itself.
Now in its tenth year, the scheme brings together music creators, the University's Arts Collection Team and Music at Royal Holloway to explore the relationship between music, sound, visual art, and the spaces in which we experience them. For this special anniversary year, we are opening the scheme to 10 music creators, with an open call that gives you the opportunity to propose what you would like to create. There is no fixed ensemble and no set creative brief this year. Instead, we want to hear your ideas.
We are particularly interested in proposals that explore the possibilities of sound within the Picture Gallery. This might include acoustic music, electronics, digital and DAW-produced music, soundscape, spatial or surround-sound work, experimental performance, or a combination of these approaches.
We are also keen to hear from a wide range of musical genres and creative practices. Your work does not need to fit neatly into a particular musical category.
10 composers. 10 years. 10 new creative responses.
For the 10th anniversary, 10 music creators from across Music at Royal Holloway will be selected to develop new creative responses to the Picture Gallery and its collection.
You will be invited to propose the project you would like to develop. This could be a short acoustic chamber work, a piece combining live performers and electronics, a digital or electronic work, a soundscape, a spatial or surround-sound performance, or something else entirely.
For acoustic projects, the maximum ensemble size is five live performers. Electronics and digital technologies can form part of your proposal, and we are particularly interested in ideas that explore the acoustic and spatial qualities of the Picture Gallery.
There is no requirement to work with a particular ensemble or group of performers. You should think carefully about what your project needs and propose a scale that can realistically be developed, rehearsed and performed within the residency period.
The successful music creators will receive support and guidance from Dr Nathan James Dearden (Associate Professor in Music Composition) and Dr Thomas Baynes (Lecturer in Music and Screen Media) through a mixture of one-to-one mentoring and professional development sessions.
You will also have opportunities to engage with the Arts Collection Team and explore the Picture Gallery and its collection in more detail as part of the development process.
Depending on the nature of your proposal, there may also be opportunities to work with performers, experiment with electronics and digital technologies, and explore the use of spatial or surround sound within the Gallery.
The process
The project will take place across two main phases.
October–December 2026: Incubation
The first stage is about research, experimentation and development. You will have time to explore the Picture Gallery and its collection, test ideas, develop musical or sonic material, and think about how your project might respond to the space. This is an opportunity to experiment and take risks before moving into the creation of the final work.
January–March 2027: Creative and Rehearsal Phase
From January, you will move into the creation, production and rehearsal of your project. The precise process will depend on your proposal. You might be composing and rehearsing with performers, producing electronic or recorded material, developing a sound installation, experimenting with spatial audio, or combining several of these approaches.
Project Timeline
Monday, 21 September 2026 Applications open
Monday, 5 October 2026 Applications close
Monday, 12 October 2026 Applicants notified of outcome and full information sent to successful applicants
Monday, 12 October 2026 Research and development begins
Monday, 11 January 2027 Draft deadline for music creators
Monday, 18 January 2027 Rehearsal and collaborative workshop period begins
W/C Monday, 8 February 2027 Final deadline for music creators
Thursday, 11 March 2026 Premiere performances will take place
What should I apply with?
We want to hear about what you would like to do.
Your proposal does not need to be a finished composition or fully developed project. However, you should give careful thought to its scope and what you think can realistically be achieved within the available time and resources.
Your application should tell us:
- What you would like to create
- How your idea responds to the Picture Gallery or its collection
- What musical, sonic or creative approach you would like to explore
- Who you might want to work with, if you have particular performers or collaborators in mind
- What technical or practical resources you might need
- How you would develop the project between October 2026 and March 2027
We are interested in ideas from across a broad range of genres and practices. You might work in classical, contemporary, electronic, jazz, popular, experimental, folk, film, game music, sound art or another musical tradition.
We want to hear ten different ideas from ten different creative voices.
Who can apply?
This opportunity is open to students from any year group studying at Music at Royal Holloway, including undergraduate and postgraduate students.
You do not need to have previously taken part in the Picture Gallery Composer-in-Residence scheme.
Apply now
To apply, please complete this application form below. Any follow-up questions should be directed to nathanjames.dearden@rhul.ac.uk. If your application files are too large for the form files, please email them to nathanjames.dearden@rhul.ac.uk.