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Errollyn Wallen
Errollyn Wallen CBE (born 10 April 1958) is a Belize-born British composer and musician, who moved as a child with her family to London, England.
Wallen was appointed Master of the King's Music in 2024 by King Charles III, in his first appointment to the post. She is the first Black person to serve in the position, having in 1998 been the first Black woman to have a work featured in the Proms.
Errollyn Wallen moved to London, England, from Belize with her family when she was two years old. While her parents moved to New York in the United States, she and her three siblings (one of whom is the trumpeter Byron Wallen) were brought up by an aunt and uncle and she was educated at a boarding school. She credits her interest in poetry and music to her uncle, whom she described in an interview as "Victorian" and responsible for her taking lessons in piano.
Before studying music, she trained as a dancer at the Maureen Lyons School of Dance and the Urdang Academy, both in London. She moved to New York City to train further at the Dance Theatre of Harlem (1976–78) but later abandoned her training, turned to music composition and returned to the United Kingdom. She studied music at Goldsmiths' College (1981) and composition at King's College London (1983), and earned an MPhil degree at King's College, Cambridge. Wallen has stated that she had begun composing professionally before her studies at Cambridge.
Her memoir Becoming a Composer was published in November 2023. Leah Broad concluded in a review by saying: "Becoming A Composer is a generous, warm-hearted book that all aspiring musicians should read. Her message that very real difficulties can be best faced with kindness, consideration, and collaboration feels important at the present moment, giving a blueprint for an optimistic future for classical music. ‘I am glad that I eventually gave myself the permission to do this thing’, she writes, ‘there is endless treasure if we can but dare to walk the path that opens up for each of us."
Wallen is currently serving as Master of the King's Music, the first Black woman to serve in that position, appointed in 2024 by King Charles III in his first appointment to the role. She lives in Orkney.
Wallen's music draws on a wide range of influences, including avant-garde classical music, as well as popular songwriting. Her work has been performed in leading concert halls and theatres around the world.
Her first orchestral commission was a concerto for percussion and orchestra, written for percussionist Colin Currie and premiered by him during the finals of the BBC Young Musician competition in 1994. This piece was subsequently performed at the 1998 BBC Proms, making Wallen the first Black female composer to receive a performance at that festival.
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Errollyn Wallen
Errollyn Wallen CBE (born 10 April 1958) is a Belize-born British composer and musician, who moved as a child with her family to London, England.
Wallen was appointed Master of the King's Music in 2024 by King Charles III, in his first appointment to the post. She is the first Black person to serve in the position, having in 1998 been the first Black woman to have a work featured in the Proms.
Errollyn Wallen moved to London, England, from Belize with her family when she was two years old. While her parents moved to New York in the United States, she and her three siblings (one of whom is the trumpeter Byron Wallen) were brought up by an aunt and uncle and she was educated at a boarding school. She credits her interest in poetry and music to her uncle, whom she described in an interview as "Victorian" and responsible for her taking lessons in piano.
Before studying music, she trained as a dancer at the Maureen Lyons School of Dance and the Urdang Academy, both in London. She moved to New York City to train further at the Dance Theatre of Harlem (1976–78) but later abandoned her training, turned to music composition and returned to the United Kingdom. She studied music at Goldsmiths' College (1981) and composition at King's College London (1983), and earned an MPhil degree at King's College, Cambridge. Wallen has stated that she had begun composing professionally before her studies at Cambridge.
Her memoir Becoming a Composer was published in November 2023. Leah Broad concluded in a review by saying: "Becoming A Composer is a generous, warm-hearted book that all aspiring musicians should read. Her message that very real difficulties can be best faced with kindness, consideration, and collaboration feels important at the present moment, giving a blueprint for an optimistic future for classical music. ‘I am glad that I eventually gave myself the permission to do this thing’, she writes, ‘there is endless treasure if we can but dare to walk the path that opens up for each of us."
Wallen is currently serving as Master of the King's Music, the first Black woman to serve in that position, appointed in 2024 by King Charles III in his first appointment to the role. She lives in Orkney.
Wallen's music draws on a wide range of influences, including avant-garde classical music, as well as popular songwriting. Her work has been performed in leading concert halls and theatres around the world.
Her first orchestral commission was a concerto for percussion and orchestra, written for percussionist Colin Currie and premiered by him during the finals of the BBC Young Musician competition in 1994. This piece was subsequently performed at the 1998 BBC Proms, making Wallen the first Black female composer to receive a performance at that festival.