BBC Proms Inspire Competition

Wednesday 28 June 2017

RCMJD composer Chelsea Becker has been named as a winner of the 2017 BBC Proms Inspire Competition in the Lower Junior Category.

Her winning piece, New York, will be performed at the 2018 BBC Proms and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. As part of her prize Chelsea will also receive a BBC commission, mentoring from a professional composer and access to exclusive Inspire projects. RCMJD composers Denis Coleman and Alexia Sloane were highly commended in their respective categories.

Chelsea commented: 'I am absolutely speechless and can't believe that I was chosen out of all of the amazing people who entered. My piece is really special to me, as it is based on my memories of New York from being a little girl and visiting the Empire State Building, and thinking that I was such a small part of a bigger world. I have to thank my RCMJD teacher Simon Speare for all the hard work and commitment he has put in to helping me achieve this and for all the support from everyone. I am very grateful and I can't wait to see what comes of it.'

The BBC Proms Inspire Competition is the culmination of the BBC Proms’ annual scheme which gives the nation’s brightest young composers aged 12-18 years old the opportunity to expand their musical horizons, and get a taste of what it means to be a composer in the 21st century. This year’s competition was judged by a panel of leading composers which included RCM alumnae Charlotte Bray and Hannah Kendall.

Find out more about the competition on the BBC Proms Inspire website.