About

Emily Pedersen, composer

Anglo-Danish composer Emily Pedersen started composing after moving to the UK following a nomadic upbringing in Thailand, Denmark and Malaysia.

Emily has since had her piano piece, “Now Think.” published by Faber Music Publishing in Karen Marshall’s book “HerStory: The Piano Collection.” As well as this, she has won and been a finalist for several composing competitions including the Ora Singers Youth Composer Competition in 2019, the National Centre of Early Music Young Composer Competition in 2020 and the Clements Prize in 2021.

Her music has been performed across the UK, at venues such as Kings College Chapel, London; Symphony Hall, Birmingham and St Margaret’s Church, York. This year, Emily has been selected as one of the young composers for the Ludlow English Song Festival, for which she will write a piece in the English song tradition which will then be performed. She also received a commission for the EMPOWER International Women’s Day concert in Manchester, where her piece will be played alongside other commissions and discussion panels.

In lockdown no. 3 in 2021, Emily founded the “Quarantined Voices” project, in which each week she wrote a piece of music for a different household to promote connectivity, creativity and communication while living under the UK’s Covid-19 restrictions.

Emily has been mentored by Richard Allain through the Ora Singers Youth Composer Competition and was taught composition by Dr Gavin Wayte at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music.

Currently based in Manchester, Emily studies composition at the Royal Northern College of Music with Dr Laura Bowler. She is composer-in-residence for two Manchester based chamber groups, Courtyard Brass and the Hathersage Quartet.