Emily Pedersen – Composer

Described as a “rising star” (ORA Singers) and “on many a ones-to-watch list” (Johnny James, Creative Tourist), Danish-British composer Emily Pedersen was born in Thailand and raised in Malaysia before relocating to Britain in 2013. Pedersen studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she achieved a First Class Honours degree, and at the Darmstadt Ferienkurse. She looks forward to beginning her Masters degree as a scholar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in September 2025.

Pedersen has written for musicians and ensembles including the Ora Singers, the Piatti Quartet, the Hallé Orchestra and soprano Juliet Fraser. Her work has been performed across the UK, including at Symphony Hall, Birmingham; Kings College Chapel, London; and the Ludlow Assembly Rooms.

Pedersen’s work often explores emotional and sensory experiences and narrative. Linking narrative-based structures with an approach to harmony that combines interval vectors and traditional functional harmony allows Pedersen to build vibrant musical worlds.

In 2024, Pedersen made her Bridgewater Hall debut as recipient of the RNCM’s annual Symphony Orchestra commission. Also in 2024, the premiere production of Pedersen’s chamber opera, Screenshot, sold out the Stoller Hall Carole Nash Recital Room after being supported as winning project of the RNCM Creative Innovators’ Award and Alumni Choice Award in 2023. This year, Pedersen had works published by XXI Music Publishing.

Passionate about music education, Pedersen is currently a Composition Mentor for the EMPOWER OpusHER composition prize, and a substitute Composition Tutor at the Junior RNCM. This year, she looks forward to returning to the Stoller Hall in April for the premiere of her new work, Omnes, to be performed by ORA Singers and Suzi Digby OBE, commissioned by The Cuthbert Family on behalf of ORA Singers and Suzi Digby OBE.